


Chasing Fireflies

by Takara_Phoenix



Series: Phoe's Headcanon-Timeline [47]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Anal, Bondage, Bottom!Percy, D/s, Donny di Angelo leads a quest, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Hand Jobs, Hurt/Comfort, Knotting, M/M, Magic, Masturbation, Mpreg, Next Generation, Nicercy - Freeform, Nicercy's kids, Nicercy's kids get the spotlight, Nico and Percy raising their spawn, Oral, Quests, Rimming, Sex Toys, Shounen-ai, Slash, Spanking, Threesome - M/M/M, Top!Nico
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-28
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-02-06 14:28:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 100
Words: 411,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1861359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takara_Phoenix/pseuds/Takara_Phoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is part of my headcanon-timeline, part of the important parts. The Nicercy-parts. So unlike other stories that focus on the sidepairings, this focuses on the development of Nico's and Percy's relationship. But unlike the others, this takes the main focus on Donny and his life.</p><p>--<br/>June 2032, a new summer at Camp Half-Blood for the children of Nico and Percy. And this summer will be especially exciting for their oldest son, Donny. Because the boy gets his first quest and at the side of his best friend Thea Chase and his secret love Sander Rodriguez, he has to save summer. Literally.<br/>Now while the next generation finally get their chance to shine, their parents aren't exactly resting either. After all, raising half-demigods is a complicated quest in itself too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dear Diary

Title: Chasing Fireflies – The Next Generation of Heroes

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; post both series

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, h/c, mpreg, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, D/s, bondage, masturbation, toys, spanking, rimming, handjobs, magic, knotting, collars, past rape/abuse, (temporary) character death, depression, threesomes, shoujo-ai, hetero

Main Pairings: Sander/Donny, Trend/Derek/Sam and Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Chris/Clarisse, Piper/Annabeth, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Jason/Reyna, Travis/Connor, Malcolm/Katie, Lou/Miranda, Jake/Will, Kayla/Nyssa, Alabaster/Liam, Tyson/Ella, Paul/Sally, Hades/Persephone, Tempest/Blackjack

Side Pairings OCs: Trend/Sam, Herc/Thea, Joe/Nico, Marshall/Sara, Loki/Blance, Dash/Kara, Vic/Stella/Jonas, Chuck/Melissa, Luke/Thess, Kitty/Percy, Fred/Carry, JP/Milly

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Clarisse la Rue, Chris Rodriguez, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Jason Grace, Will Solace, Jake Mason, Katie Gardner, Malcolm Cage, Miranda Gardner, Lou Ellen, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Nyssa Black, Kayla Hein, Alabaster C. Torrington, Thalia Grace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Octavian Simmons, Ella, Tyson, Grover Underwood, Sally Blofis, Paul Blofis, Chiron, Small Bob, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack, Tempest, Arion

Gods: Hades, Persephone, Demeter, Poseidon, Artemis

Own Animals: Shadowchaser (Donny's shadow-pegasus), Trickster (Sander's pegasus), Nightowl (Thea's pegasus), Fighter (Sam's pegasus), Rush (Trend's pegasus), Poker (Jack's pet-bunny)

Own Characters of the Next Generation:

 _Nicercy_ : Bianca Maria 'Bia' di Angelo, Hades Poseidon 'Donny' di Angelo, Sally Persephone 'Percy' di Angelo, Theseus Paul 'Thess' di Angelo, James Charles 'Jimmy' di Angelo, Laura Silena 'Silly' di Angelo, Jackson Tyson Jack' di Angelo

 _Chrisse_ : Calandra 'Cally' Rodriguez, Chrysander 'Sander' Rodriguez, Charisma 'Carry' Rodriguez

 _Pipabeth_ : Theadora Tiphane 'Thea' Chase, Lucas Thomas 'Luke' Chase, Tristan Frederick 'Fred' Chase, Matthew Robert 'Matt' Chase

 _Jayna_ : Hercules 'Herc' Grace, Thalia Hylla 'Thyl' Grace, Jupiter Perseus 'JP' Grace

 _Frazeleo_ : Esperanza Nicole 'Nico' Zhang, Sammy Marie Zhang, Emily Fey 'Milly' Zhang, Claryssa 'Claire' Zhang

 _Matie_ : Amarilla 'Amy' Cage, Anthismos 'Andy' Cage

 _Louranda_ : Kathryn 'Kitty' Ellen, Alabaster 'Basty' Ellen

 _Jakill_ : Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Mason (adopted; daughter of Apollo)

 _Stolls_ : Hunter 'Hunt' Hood, Hayden 'Heist' Hood (adopted; sons Hermes)

Own Demigods: Samuel Raser (Ares), Derek Rhys (Demeter), Trend Austin (Athena), Marshall Mikaelson (Enyo), Sara Mers (Mars), Joanna Foxx (Vulcan), Phylicia Rosenberg (Persephone), Bellatrix la Fey (Ares), Phineas DeVorut (Venus), Melissa Montgomery (Dionysus), Charles Smith (Apollo), Stella Ribeiro (Aphrodite), Jonas Meyer (Enyalios), Victor Kruger (Hephaestus), Erik Anderson (Enyo), Lila Lovegood (Hecate), Rainbow Jordan (Iris), Takara Thompson (Trivia), Sedanur Aykan (Apollo, augur), Loki Murdock (Mercury), Blance Lamour (Chione), Ulrika Schuster (Eris), Arielle Schneider (Triton), Liam O'Riley (Hecate)

Summary: Donny di Angelo never cared about fighting or becoming a hero. Quite the opposite of Sander Rodriguez, who was the greatest Greek hero of their generation. Together with his beloved cousin Nico Zhang and his best friend Thea Chase, Donny faces the hardest quest possible. The one for confidence and love. His biggest support though are his parents and siblings. Being a teenage demigod was hard, being the son of the greatest hero ever was even harder.

 

**Chasing Fireflies**

_ The Next Generation of Heroes _

 

1\. Dear Diary

 

A teenage boy of sixteen years laid sprawled over his black silken bedsheets. He had curly, pitch-black hair that was long enough to stand into every possible direction, his sea-green, deep eyes staring curiously into a book that laid in front of him, his olive-skinned cheeks slightly flushed.

“It's embarrassing and girly! Why does mom want me to do this?”, whined the boy.

“Shut your mouth, Donny”, chuckled a voice from the window. “He's only worried about you.”

A girl with the same olive skin and dark curls leaned against the desk, her arms crossed over her silvery white gown. Her hair was put up into two pigtails, her black eyes staring at the boy.

“But it's still girly and I don't want to”, sighed Donny, clinging to the empty book. “Can't you just stay and tell him to leave it alone, please Bia?”

“No”, replied Bia and shook her head. “Aunt Thalia collects Cally and me tonight, the hunt leaves for Europe tomorrow morning. I told you I can't stay for long. And mom is right being worried.”

She slowly walked over to the bed, running her fingers through his hair, leaning down to kiss his forehead. He bit his lower lip and heaved a sigh before turning away from her, ignoring her until she sighed sadly and left the room. His eyes were tightly closed, his body trembling. He stayed like that for a couple of minutes before slowly blinking and looking at the stupid book. Heaving a sigh, he grabbed a pen, opening the book at the very first page.

 

/diary|entry\

 

_Diary of Hades Poseidon di Angelo_

 

_Uh... Hi? Or 'Dear Diary', or whatever._

_I have no idea what I'm doing. Never had a diary before. Still wouldn't have one if not for my mom. So... what am I supposed to write into you, stupid book?_

_Maybe I should introduce myself. Well, I already said my name, right? Stupid name, isn't it? But there is a valid reason why my parents named me that._

_Oh, do I have to start that early...? Okay, so... My dad is Nico di Angelo, the most awesome son of Hades ever. And my mom is Percy di Angelo, née Jackson, the greatest hero that has ever-ever-ever lived. See, my mom is a son of Poseidon and since the sea is where all live comes from, all children of the sea have the ability to give birth too and are freakishly fertile (which explains my six siblings...). So my mom is a guy. But he's still the best mom ever. Even though he claims that that's not true because his mom is already the best mom ever. Which is not true since Grandma Sally – that's my grandma – is the best grandma already. And she can't be both, right?_

_Okay, so that's my parents. Percy and Nico di Angelo. But my grandparents are the reason I have that stupid name. As you may have noticed, I'm named after both my biological grandfathers. The reason for that is because my parents wanted to express their gratitude toward them. Because Grandpa Hades and Grandpa Poseidon swore to protect me and my siblings from Uncle Zeus. That started when mom was first pregnant with my big sister. She's named Bianca Maria, after my dad's dead sister and mother. He and Grandpa Hades always claim that she is the splitting image of them both. Anyway, so my big sister's existence annoyed Uncle Zeus even more than my parents' existence did because children of two so powerful demigods were more likely to become super-powerful too. The Big Three – that's what my grandpas and my uncle are called too – fought for many months. Not really fighting, more like quarreling, you know? But they were about to fight. Like, World War Three fighting. That was when mom realized he was pregnant again. With me. Yeah, I'm only like ten months younger than my big sister. But when Uncle Zeus threatened with war, the goddesses put their feet down and told him he was being stupid. Especially his daughter, my Grandma 'Phone. She specially blessed me and put me under her protection. It was a real surprise since she normally doesn't even really like grandpa's children, but she had learned to live with my dad and she really liked my big sister too. And of course, Auntie Demeter told Uncle Zeus that if he messes with her daughter, he'd also mess with her. And Auntie Aphrodite too, because she really, really, really likes that mom and dad are together (she calls that shipping, but I'm not sure what ships have to do with love...). So one by one many of the gods joined the side of my grandparents, until Uncle Zeus realized that he would stand no chance. He admitted defeat, reluctantly at least. But he's still out for us, hoping that one day a quest may cost our lives._

_Anyway, to show how grateful they were towards their fathers, they named me after them both. But you really can't walk around, being named Hades Poseidon in a society with gods and demigods. So everybody only calls me Don. And some, the ones closest to me, get to call me Donny._

_Since I already introduced my parents and grandparents – oh, I nearly forgot about Grandpa Paul, he is that really awesome mortal, even though he's a teacher, he's really nice! He's married to my Grandma Sally and they're both living in New York. So... where was I? I sometimes lose my thoughts, because it's really hard to concentrate on one thing. Mom calls it ADHD, but my aunts and uncles call it being a seaweed brain, though I'm not quite sure what that's supposed to mean. Ah, yeah, since I already introduced my parents and grandparents, I should probably also introduce the rest of my family, right? My siblings. First, I really love them all. It's great having siblings. But I kind of love my bigger sister more than my younger siblings. We're really close._

_Bianca Maria, but most only call her Bia for short, looks really like Aunt Bianca did. I saw old pictures of her, after all (really old since my dad was born in 1924, which was like over hundred years ago, but that's a really long story and I'm tired so I'll not write it now!). Which means she is really pretty. And also really powerful. Most children of Grandpa Hades either have power over the death and shadows, or over wealth and riches. But Bia can control both. She's seventeen now. Or, well, she would be seventeen now. But... she joined the huntresses of Artemis shortly before her birthday. Which is kind of the reason mom gave me this diary. Because he's worried that I take my sister's leave bad. What I kind of do. I mean, next to mom, my sister always was the most important person in my life. And now she's gone. Well, not completely gone of course, she was just here to visit for example. But now she spends most of her time roaming the world with the other huntresses and left me behind just like that. The... thing I really fear is... I mean, I know the stories. Dad and his sister Bianca used to be really, really, really close too. And then she joined the hunt. And died. And I really, really, really don't want my sister to die. Being a huntress is dangerous. I don't want her to be in danger..._

 

/break\

 

Donny sobbed slightly and rubbed his eyes as he saw tears falling onto the pages of the diary. He hated that he was being so emotional about stuff like that. It made him feel girly. But that was most likely because of the Ares cabin, they truly managed to make everything emotional sound girly and stupid sometimes. Biting his lips, he turned back to his diary...

 

/entry|continuation\

 

_Bia is not the only sibling I have though. I'm the second oldest child of seven at all. Seven di Angelos, which means... I have five younger siblings too._

_The youngest is Jackson Tyson, he's named after our Uncle Tyson, mom's brother. And he has mom's last name as first name. But because he's too cute to be called Jackson, we mostly call him Jack or Jacky. He's only four, so of course he's cute. All my siblings were cute when they had been that young. He looks just exactly like mom and has his powers too. That's why he got the name Jackson. He's very boring though, I mean he's just too young for me to do much with him._

_The second youngest are the eight-years old twins James Charles and Laura Silena. They're named after mom's grandparents and two old friends of him who had died during the Titan War. Silly is all the cute, well-behaved Sea Princess while Jimmy is a totally creepy Ghost Prince._

_The next older ones are Sally Persephone and Theseus Paul, who are twins too. They're only two years younger than me, which makes them fourteen. I think Thess, that's what we call my brother, feels the same toward me as I feel toward Bianca. He's very clingy , but other than that he's mostly very shy. He got our mom's powers, while his twin-sister, who we call Percy for short, which was totally the idea of Uncle Connor and Uncle Travis to annoy mom, is a bit more like dad, having his powers. The two of them are always together, typical twins. But since Percy is very mischievous, she always gets them into trouble. The two of them have really many friends too. Very much unlike me... Oh, maybe I should say something about me now too, huh?_

_Well... I'm not very special, I guess. I mean, I'm not tall, I'm not muscular and I really suck when it comes to fighting. I know that mom is disappointed that I can't do anything with a sword, even though he never says it. But he always wanted to give me his old sword, Riptide. Though it's totally useless in my hands. Other than that? Yeah, I'm the biggest freak at Camp Half-Blood. And Camp Jupiter probably too. I can control water just as well as death and shadows. I have the powers of both my parents. Which means that yes, I talk to ghosts, horses and fishes. And thanks to Grandma 'Phone's blessing I am also able to communicate with the animals of spring. Like bumblebees and butterflies and fireflies and stuff. They call me a Disney Princess (well, Aunt Clarisse calls me Disney Princess Junior). Because I talk to animals no one aside from me understands._

_Like I said, I'm a freak. I mean, my younger siblings have like a hoard of friends, while I have... Well, I have my big sister, who doesn't really count since she is my sister. And her best friend, Cally Rodriguez, who doesn't really count either since she's my sister's best friend and joined the hunt together with my sister. I have a best friend, yeah. Thea Chase, but she's the daughter of my Aunt Annabeth, who is my mom's best friend, so most of the time I think that Thea probably wouldn't be my friend if not for our mothers... But Thea always whacks my head for saying that. She claims I'm the 'most adorable thing ever' and we would totally be friends in every reality possible. Cally's twin-brother Sander is a friend of ours too. And his best friend Herc Grace, but Herc lives in New Rome, just like my cousin Nico Zhang and her siblings. See, that makes is exactly two friends I have. And Sander is only in this because our sisters are best friends._

_No one aside from them want to have anything to do with me. Because I'm a freak, like I said. I guess they're scared of me or something like that. I don't blame them though. I guess I would be freaked out too if I were a normal demigod and faced with some meddled hybrid of two super powerful demigods, who talks with about anything._

_But I'm grateful enough to have the friends that I have. Thea is the best friend I could wish for, she's just as wise as her mom. Well, as one of her moms. And as beautiful as her other mom. Yeah, she has two mothers, like I have two fathers. I guess that's part of why we are best friends. But she and her siblings had been possible because of her grandmother Athena, who gave birth to children by a thought. It seems her children have the same ability. So Thea had been born from a thought, which is even more weird than my birth (but don't tell her or she'll get mad at me again). And my sister and Cally, I really, really like them even though they're away now. And Cally's brother, who is... uh... Sander is really, really, really great. He's a trickster like his father and because of his mom's training he is like the leader of Camp Half-Blood. There's no better hero than him! He's very awesome and always nice to me, which, well, is kind of no one aside from Thea and my family. But he has much responsibility, as the camp leader and stuff. And he has a best friend in New Rome. Herc Grace, who is like **the** biggest hero of Camp Jupiter these days, just like his dad was back in my mom's time. But New Rome is really far away from New Athens... I mean, different sides of the US, after all! Oh, and my cousin Nico, well her name is Esperanza Nicole Zhang but she doesn't like that so everyone only calls her Nico, lives there too with her siblings and Aunt Hazel, Uncle Leo and Uncle Frank. Though she is not really my cousin since she is the daughter of Uncle Frank and Uncle Leo – Uncle Leo can control fire and you certainly know the legends of the phoenix who is born by the ashes of it's flame, which somehow means that his fire bears life too. So technically Uncle Leo is Nico's mom. I know my family is weird. But I still love them all..._

 

/entry|end\

 

“Is he asleep?”

“Fell asleep with his pen still in his hand”, the green-eyed man smiled softly, taking both the book and the pen away from his son to lay them onto the desk. “I knew he would write into it.”

The taller man with olive skin and dark eyes smiled just as softly as he pulled the blanket over their son, sitting down next to the teen to run his fingers through the dark curls. He turned to look quizzically at his husband, who joined him, sitting down next to him.

“And we're really not going to read the diary, Percy?”

“Nico”, grunted the son of Poseidon with a warning glare. “That's his privacy. I gave him the diary so he gets a chance to sort his own thoughts. And not for us to sniffle around in them.”

“I know, I know”, sighed Nico, laying one arm around his husband's waist. “I'm just... worried.”

Percy chuckled amused, leaning up to kiss the son of Hades softly. “No need to be worried. I think he will come around. Just give him some time to think things through.”

“What do you mean by this?”, grunted Nico skeptically.

“He's having some trouble, but that will pass”, smiled Percy. “He just needs to settle with his own thoughts and feelings. Once he understands them, it will be better again too. Just like with me back then. You know my life turned out to become perfect once I realized _you_ are my life.”

“So cheesy”, snorted the son of Hades amused. “Come on, let's go to bed too. I'm dead on my feet and we'll have to get our chaotic children ready for camp tomorrow.”

“Don't remind me”, groaned Percy and stood. “That will be a fight again...”

Nico chuckled, pulling Percy closer as they walked out of their son's bedroom again, kissing Percy's cheek. “But you know what that means, right?”

“Huh?”, asked the son of Poseidon innocently and blinked with big, sea-green eyes.

The Ghost King smirked wickedly, licking Percy's ear-shell to whisper softly. “Two months of only you and me in this house. It's Jack's first summer. This means we will have the house all to ourselves. Two months of you, me and this house. All. To. Ourselves.”

“Oh... it sounds heavenly to have you all to myself again!”, grinned Percy lazily, wrapping both his arms around his husband. “And not being woken by the girls fighting who gets to go to the bathroom first in the morning...”

“No, instead I'll wake you with something else demanding your attention”, purred Nico, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “I'll finally get to take you again.”

“But you are not making me another one of those rascals”, warned Percy sternly, poking Nico's chest. “If so, I will personally tear your dick off. Regardless of how fond I am of it.”

“You're so cruel, my love”, chuckled the son of Hades, kissing his husband.

“And you are so horny, my love”, smirked the son of Poseidon, returning the kiss. “You know I love your horniness, my Ghost King. But no taking it too far while the children are in the house.”

“That's why I'm so glad they'll soon be out for a while”, whispered Nico with a wicked grin. “Then I can finally do all the dirty, dirty things to you again.”

 


	2. My Brother's Boyfriend

2\. My Brother's Boyfriend

 

Donny yawned widely as he woke up. He felt uncomfortable. And upon sitting up, he knew exactly why. He was still wearing his black jeans and shirt from the day before. Blinking confused, he remembered how he had fallen asleep on his new diary after writing.

“Donny! Donny! Donny!”, screamed someone very loudly.

Hades Poseidon winced slightly as the door to his bedroom was pulled open and his youngest sibling ran up to jump onto his lap and hug him. Grunting slightly, the older di Angelo looked down at the five-years old hugging him tightly.

“Morning, Jacky”, smiled Donny, ruffling his brother's hair.

“Percy and Silly are fighting again”, pouted the sensible youngest di Angelo. “I don't like that!”

“Well, how about you go packing then and I'll take care of the girls?”, suggested Donny.

Large, sea-green eyes stared up at him and Jacky nodded determined, bolting off. The youngest di Angelo was very ADHD sometimes. Their dad always blamed their mom for that. And out of them all, Jackson also looked the most like their mother. Even though aunt Annabeth insisted that Donny shared nearly as many features with Percy. The oldest son of Nico and Percy stood up and stretched. Walking over to his closet, he pulled a pair of skin-tight black leather pants and a tight-fitting sleeveless shirt that had three big cuts over the chest.

“Donny? Are you up already?”, asked his mother.

“Yeah. Jackson woke me”, grunted Hades Poseidon a bit grumpily.

Percy smiled amused and entered the room, slowly closing the door behind him. He sat down on the bed, motioning for his oldest son to join him. Frowning slightly, the boy obeyed. The olive-skinned teen sat down next to him, looking at Percy with large, curious sea-green eyes.

“What's up, mommy?”, asked the sixteen-years-old softly.

“I don't know. You tell me”, smiled the son of Poseidon softly. “I saw you used the diary I gave to you. Even though you protested quite loudly yesterday.”

“Well, you can be very persuasive”, shrugged his son awkwardly. “I still don't believe that that will help me any though. Anyway, what's for breakfast, mom?”

“You father is making pancakes. Be a good boy and force your sisters out of the bathroom, please? I have to pack Jacky's things with him now and Thess and Jimmy still didn't get to use the bathroom thanks to the girls”, asked Percy with pleading eyes and stood.

“Sure thing, mom”, nodded Donny and followed his mother out.

The son of Poseidon smiled after his oldest boy. Donny was always trustworthy, he always did everything to help. Not that his other children weren't willing to help, but the twins – both sets of twins, mind you – most of the times managed to distract each other enough to not be of any help at all and Jackson, his beloved youngest son, was even more ADHD than _Leo_ and that was saying something. It was the reason Percy tried to keep Jacky as far away from Leo as possible. Because whenever the firebug was babysitting Jackson di Angelo, something always managed to first burn up and then get flooded. Never again, worst combination ever.

“Jacky? Did you already pick everything out you want to...”

“Yes, mommy! Yes, I did! See? See?”, grinned the mini Percy broadly, running up to his mother and taking his hand to pull him into the completely messy bedroom. “I put everything on my bed!”

“Yes, you indeed put _everything_ on your bed”, sighed the son of Poseidon.

He collapsed exhausted on the blue swivel chair, wide, sea-green eyes staring at the overloaded bed. About everything his youngest son owned was laying on the bed. His teddies, his puppets, his toy cars, all his clothes, from the swimming shorts to the plushy pullover Sally had knitted for him. Groaning slightly, he turned to look at the proud five-years old in front of him.

“I did good?”, asked Jackson with the largest sea-green eyes possible.

“You did great”, grunted Percy, because really, what else was he supposed to say? “Go and help your father with the pancakes while I pack your things, my dear?”

“Yey! Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes!”, yelped Jackson and ran out of the room.

Percy sighed again and stood. It was too freaking early in the morning to deal with this kind of chaos. His love was right, two months without the children would be Elysium on earth. He could hear his two daughters fighting with Donny about who should use the bathroom now while Jack was downstairs, telling Nico something in a very loud voice. He loved his children dearly and wouldn't want to miss a single one of them, but sometimes he wondered how on earth he and Nico managed to deal with seven children. But... Now they only had to deal with six.

Percy hugged the teddy bear he had just taken from the bed close to his chest at that thought. He knew, he truly knew, that Lady Artemis and even more so Thalia would watch out for his oldest child. But... the last Bianca di Angelo that had joined the hunt had died... Even though Percy himself had promised to protect her. Nothing guaranteed that his Bianca would live. Shaking his head, he put the teddy into a backpack. Now was not the time for such thoughts. She was fine and she was a clever girl, there was no more reason to be afraid than when she had been on quests.

They grew up way too fast. Percy couldn't bear to even think of the day Jacky would be old enough to leave home... It would be a sad and lonely time. Maybe he should reconsider the whole no more children policy... No, he was just being ridiculous. By the time Jacky would be old enough to leave home, he could probably already expect grandchildren from Donny. Laughing slightly at that thought, he continued to pick out the things Jacky truly needed for the summer. He had his hopes up for Donny. The boy was probably the most honorable lad he had ever met. His other children were most of the times well-behaved and honorable too, but the two with the Hades-genes, Percy and James, were more often mischievous than anything. While Silena was very much in her own world, loving gossiping with the fishes and swimming. And the other two with Poseidon's powers were Thess and Jack. His youngest had good intentions, but was too ADHD to always archive his goals. Thess, on the other hand, had his head way too high up in the clouds. The boy could spend hours over hours riding through the clouds with the pegasi.

“Love?”, brought Nico's voice him back from his musings. “Would you like to join us for breakfast or wait until that greedy bunch we lovingly call our children has wolfed down everything?”

“What?”, blinked Percy confused. “Oh. Yes, yes. I'll come.”

He put the last piece of folded clothes into the backpack and stood. Walking up to his husband of eighteen years, he wrapped his arms around the Italian's neck, pulling Nico down into a kiss. Even after twenty years of dating, he would never tire of that. The son of Hades smirked into their kiss and laid his arms around Percy's waist.

“What a nice greeting in the morning”, murmured Nico with a smirk. “How about we chase the kids out and continue this in our bedroom, my love?”

“We will go and eat breakfast now, my love”, chuckled Percy amused. “Come now.”

He linked their hands and pulled the other demigod out of the bedroom, making a mental note to later on clean the room properly again. Even before they entered the kitchen, he could already hear their children's loud voices. James and Silena, their nine years old twins, were already sitting on the table and judging by the wide gestures Jimmy was doing, he was probably already planning a trip with the pegasi. His twin nodded absentmindedly, talking the same time as her brother, but about something completely different. She was planning her evenings with the lake nymphs. It always amazed Percy that both of them could talk at the same time and yet still understand what the other was saying. Jack was laying on the floor, cuddling with Mrs. O'Leary.

“Morning, mom”, grinned their other daughter as she entered the kitchen.

She passed her parents and kissed her mother's cheek. The two Percys smiled at each other. The son of Poseidon ruffled the curly black hair of the young teenager. Sally Persephone. Since their oldest daughter was already named after Nico's mother – Bianca Maria – they had named their second oldest child after their living mothers. And thanks to the very useless Stoll brothers, the girl now had the same nickname as her mother. Persephone, Percy for short. She grinned cheekily at her mother and went over to serve the pancakes Nico had put aside. The girl was completely obsessed with her grandpa Hades, always wearing black and too often talking to the dead.

“Well, there are still two missing”, noted Percy with a frown as he sat down.

 

/break\

 

Donny sighed relieved as he got out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. His relaxed expression melted away as he noticed his younger brother sitting on the toilet-seat, awkwardly fidgeting with his hands. Thess was making faces and swinging his legs at the side of the seat. The fourteen-years-old had dark eyes and longish black, shaggy hair.

“Thess?”, asked Donny softly. “Something wrong? Why aren't you downstairs for breakfast?”

“I... wanted to ask you a favor, big brother”, murmured Thess sweetly.

“Okay?”, grunted the older son of Nico and Percy curiously. “What's up?”

He rubbed his hair dry and put his towel aside to get dressed. Thess was still fidgeting and biting his lips. A very unusual behavior for the otherwise cheeky water-bender.

“I... Can you help me telling mom and dad something?”

“Sure”, shrugged the older boy, pulling his leather pants up. “What is it?”

“I kind of... sort of... I mean, uh...”, stuttered Thess before blushing furiously. “I may have a boyfriend now and I don't want dad to send zombies after him!”

Donny blinked with the widest, sea-green eyes possible at his little brother. His two years younger brother. His baby brother. Who, apparently, already had a boyfriend.

“A... boyfriend? As in, a boy who is more than a friend?”

“Yes, thank you Thesaurus”, grunted Thess and rolled his eyes. “I'm dating, I guess. I mean, we've done plenty of kissing and kind of some groping and we're texting more than usual...”

“Who?”, was Donny's next question as he absentmindedly grabbed his camp shirt from the shelf.

“Uh... Luke...?”, mumbled Thess with a bright blush.

“Luke? Luke _Chase_?”, grunted Donny surprised.

“No. Luke Skywalker. Of course Luke Chase”, snorted Thess, slowly getting irritated by his big brother. “What's wrong with you today, Donny? Haven't you slept enough or something?”

“It's not... Oh, forget it”, huffed the older teen. “Okay. So you and Luke, huh? How long?”

“Two weeks or something like that? I don't know. We never properly talked about it or anything, but yeah... The way he started to kiss me as a greeting, I'd say two weeks”, replied Theseus Paul.

“Okay...”, nodded Donny slowly, pulling both his shirts down.

The cuts on the front of his black shirt were placed so the logo of Camp Half-Blood could be seen through them. It was his style of wearing it. Because most of the time he didn't quite feel as if he'd belong to camp. Grabbing his little brother's hand, he pulled the younger boy along and into the kitchen. Everybody else was already seated and waiting for them.

“Finally! I'm sooo short of starving!”, grunted Sally Persephone with a glare.

“What took you two so long?”, asked Nico curiously as his sons sat down.

“Well, Thess told me something very, very interesting”, replied Donny.

“And what may that be?”, wanted the son of Poseidon to know.

“Uh... Well... You see... I...”, stuttered Thess, looking nervously between his parents.

“You know you can tell us anything, right, Thess?”, smiled Percy encouragingly.

“What he wants to say”, started Donny, taking over for the flustered teen. “Is that he's dating Luke.”

“Luke Chase?”, grunted both their parents with wide eyes.

“No, Luke Smith”, chuckled Donny amused. “Yes, Luke Chase.”

“That charmspeaking, little brat, I'll show him-”, started Nico with a glare and stood.

“You'll show him nothing, or his mothers are going to tear you a new one. Sit”, interrupted his husband in a calm voice and pulled Nico back onto his chair. “And you, Thess. How... long?”

“Ugh, something like two weeks, I guess”, replied Theseus awkwardly and shrugged.

“Thessy is being all lovey-dovey!”, giggled Jack delighted and dug into his pancakes.

“Am not!”, objected the older boy and stuck his tongue out. “Only a little bit!”

“And... how come you haven't said anything earlier?”, wanted Percy to know. “I mean... You certainly started to develop feelings for him earlier than two weeks ago, I suppose.”

“Just look at him!”, exclaimed Thess wide-eyed and pointed at his father.

Percy blinked and turned to his husband, who was giving his most convincing Hades-impression. All dark and gloomy and short of bringing doom. He sighed and hit the Italian upside the head.

“You will let our children date whoever they want, as long as we know that those are good choices. And you can't tell me that Lucas Thomas Chase is not trustworthy”, grunted the Sea Prince.

Nico huffed and rubbed the back of his head. “I know that Luke's alright. But I don't know if he's alright enough to actually date any of my children!”

“Dad”, interrupted Donny with a soothing smile. “Luke's a good guy. When that Eris brat had been teasing Thess about how his long hair made him look like a f... well, you know, Luke had defended Thess' honor the best way possible. _Without_ violence.”

“How so?”, interrogated Nico suspiciously and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“He had charmspoken the idiot into wearing a tutu and doing pirouettes in the middle of camp, saying 'I'm a pretty princess' over and over again!”, giggled Thess' twin sister Percy.

The frown on Nico's face melted away slowly and his children and husband could practically see the wheels turning until the Ghost King nodded in approval. “Very well. But! No funny business while you're at camp. I'll tell Chiron to watch out for you boys.”

“Dad!”, whined Thess embarrassed.

“No”, grunted the son of Hades. “I don't plan on becoming a grandfather any time soon.”

His son whined some more and blushed furiously, burying his head in his older brother's chest. Donny chuckled amused at that and ruffled Thess' hair. The younger son of Nico and Percy should be grateful that Nico hadn't shadow-traveled to tear Luke apart or anything.

“Thanks, Donny”, whispered Thess softly. “Love you.”

“Love you too, little nuisance”, smiled Donny and stood. “Anyway, I'll go and finish packing.”

“But... breakfast?”, blinked Jack wide-eyed, unable to understand how someone could skip that.

“I'm not hungry anyway”, shrugged Donny and left the kitchen.

The curious eyes of his family followed him until he was out of sight. Percy turned to his husband with worried eyes, but all Nico could do was sigh and shrug.

“Don't look so worried! He's eating enough!”, huffed Silena, taking her third serving. “He ate _my_ salmon sandwich last night! Without my permission!”

“Silly's right”, agreed James and stole some of her raspberries. “Don't get all protective parents mode just because he doesn't want breakfast once. Not everyone can eat as much as Silly.”

“Hey!”, yelped his twin with a glare. “Don't be mean or I'll make you regret at camp!”

Percy chuckled amused as he watched them bicker. It was always like this. Either they agreed completely, on the verge of creepiness, or they teased each other mercilessly. But they were right. He shouldn't worry so much. It was just Donny's overall situation that made him so worried...

 

/break\

 

Donny heaved as sigh as he put the last important items into his backpack. Though just as he was about to close it, his diary caught his eyes. Frowning slightly, he took a pen and sat down.

 

/diary|entry\

 

_So yeah, it's me again..._

_Thess, my two years younger brother, has a boyfriend. We just told mom and dad. And I know I should be really happy for him. Because it's Luke and Luke is pretty awesome. But somehow it... bothers me. And that makes me feel guilty. I mean, I am happy that he has someone who really likes him, but... Why don't I have someone like that?_

_Okay, so I already told you how I basically have only two friends. Now guess how many guys want to be with me considering the amount of people who want to befriend me._

_Yep. It's zero._

_I'm just too much of a freak for that, I guess. I mean, who would want a boyfriend with who you can never be sure if he's talking to you or to the pegasi when you're taking him on a ride?_

_I mean, I don't know if I want a boyfriend. I mean... I'm not sure if I'm... uh... well, gay. Like I said, there's no one who's interested in me anyway, neither boy nor girl. So I never really paid it much mind. But if I really think about it... Sure, girls are pretty with their curves and stuff. But that's also kind of weird. I mean, what do you need two air-bags for, seriously? And girls wear way too much make-up most of the time. Or that's just the Aphrodite-daughters, I don't know. But guys are... Well, strong arms and broad shoulders and a sixpack are... practical. Yeah. Guys look hot with practical stuff, muscles that make them better fighters. Wait, guys look hot? Better stop right here._

_Anyway, yeah, being gay or... 'open minded for new things to try' is kind of common around here, what with our parents or grandparents, depending on in which generation you're born. The godly genes. We're glad it's not that common that anyone starts dating a pegasus or something like that._

_Sorry, losing track of my thoughts here. So, my two years younger brother already has a boyfriend who he had apparently done much kissing and some groping with. I have never been kissed in my life before. And kisses from mom and dad don't count there. I mean real, proper kisses from a lover. And that is really pulling me down..._

_Huh, maybe **I** should join the hunt? With that eternal virgin thing, it would keep my dignity at least._

_ But on the other hand... No. I  **want** someone. Strong arms to hold me and someone to cuddle with while watching TV, like mom and dad. And someone to talk to, about like everything. Who actually understands me and doesn't look at me with that look that says I'm a freak when I talk about a swim with the fishes or a fly with a flock of pegasi. _

_ But I doubt that there is someone like that anywhere out there. Especially not at camp. There are heroes. Real, proper heroes, who fought against monsters. Heroes who  **can** fight. What should a hero like that want with someone like me who can't even hold a sword without nearly chopping someone's hand off (aunt Clarisse is still mad at me for that one...)? _

 

/entry|end\

 

“Donny? Are you finished with packing? We want to leave?”

Donny blinked up from his diary to look at his mother. Nodding hastily, he stood and stuffed the diary and the pen into his backpack, shouldering it to walk up to his mom. The son of Poseidon stopped him before leaving the room though, looking at him softly.

“Can you do me a favor and keep an eye on Thess and Luke this summer...?”, whispered Percy. “Not that I don't trust them, I'm just... They're teenagers with hormones.”

“Sure, mom”, chuckled Donny amused. “Will do.”


	3. Arrival at Camp

3\. Arrival at Camp

 

“This is ours? All ours? Only us? Really really?”

“Yes, Jacky”, smiled Percy and got down onto his knees to look at his youngest son. “This is the Poseidon cabin and since both your grandparents stay true to their oath, this cabin stays empty most of the time. This is your cabin. And the Hades cabin belongs to your cousins Nico, Sammy, Milly and Claire for when they're visiting us here. But now listen, Jackson. You will behave your best, you will listen to your big siblings and to Chiron. I don't want any complains. Understood?”

“Yes, mom, I swear”, nodded the youngest di Angelo obediently and with a toothy grin.

Percy sighed and hugged the boy tightly. “Why do you children have to grow so fast?”

“Is not fast!”, disagreed Jackson confused.

“Percy. Come now. I have _plans_ for today”, chuckled Nico from the doorway. “And you lot better behave. And keep at least one other person in the same room when Thess and Luke are together.”

“Da—ad!”, protested Thess embarrassed and blushed.

The Ghost Prince only chuckled and wrapped his arms around his husband to shadow-travel them home into their well-deserved freedom, as he put it. Donny watched how his parents left through the shadows from the comfortable spot on his bed. Jimmy and Silly had already left to do the gods knew what. Donny sighed, his arms crossed behind his head.

“Donny? I'll be going over to... uh... say hi to Luke, kay?”, asked Thess and blushed.

“Percy. Go with him. You heard what dad said. No funny business.”

“Do—onny!”, pouted his younger brother embarrassed. “That's not what I meant! I thought you'd like to go and tell Thea we have arrived or something! You're stupid! Stupid, big brother!”

Ranting on about what a stupid, stupid brother Donny was, the other boy left the cabin too, closely followed by his giggling twin. The oldest di Angelo boy raised one eyebrow curiously.

“Off you go. I can practically see how you're that short of exploding with excitement. But don't go into the forest alone or mom will grill me”, warned Donny amused.

“Yey!”, exclaimed Jacky excitedly and ran out of the cabin.

“Freedom”, muttered Donny with a sigh and turned onto his side. “Oh. Hey.”

“Why do you come to camp if you're so annoyed by all those horrible, horrible living creatures around you?”, chuckled the figure standing in the door.

The light from behind made it impossible to see more than shady outlines. Donny squinted and sat up some. He grinned broadly and relieved as he recognized the broad, tall figure.

“Sander! What are you doing here?”, smiled Donny and hurried to stand.

“Saying hello to you since you seem to enjoy the solitude of your cabin so much, Disney Princess”, chuckled the other boy and ruffled the unruly black hair. “So, hello.”

“Just to say hello?”, asked Donny suspiciously, pushing the hand away.

He looked the other boy up and down critically. Light, brown hair, styled to point skyward, dark, brown eyes and a sun-kissed and well-trained body. Donny blushed slightly. Sure, they were friends, somehow. A bit. Well, their sisters had always been inseparable and since Sander and Cally were twins and Donny was only ten months younger than Bia, the four of them had often done things together, especially as kids. But since Clarisse – Sander's mom – was the daughter of Ares and part-time trainer at Camp Half-Blood, Sander was really well trained and very good with weapons. He had already accomplished quite some quests, more than anyone else at camp. Which had earned him much recognition and many admirers. As well as a big number of friends. Oh, who was Donny kidding? Sander was practically friends with everyone at camp. Though looking at his own mom, that seemed to easily happen if you're the biggest hero and so friendly and all... So yeah, there wasn't really _reason_ for Sander to be friends with the awkward loner. Donny bit his lips. And earned himself a hit upside the head.

“Ouch”, whined the younger boy and rubbed the back of his head. “What was that for?”

“You had that stupid look on your face and I always have the urge to hit you when you get that.”

“Sorry that my face looks stupid”, mumbled Donny sadly and sat back down on his bed. “Ouch! And what was _that_ for now?!”

“That was for _being_ stupid”, snorted Sander and rolled his eyes before sitting down next to the younger boy. “I said stupid look and not that your face is stupid. You always get that stupid look on your face when you're having stupid thoughts again. Like that you're not good enough to make your parents proud or crap like that. Ah, see. Now you're blushing. That's like admitting it.”

“Sh—Shut up”, mumbled the son of Nico and Percy embarrassed.

“And your face”, grinned the brunette and poked Donny's nose. “Is anything but stupid.”

“We're never going to agree on that, Chrysander”, huffed Donny annoyed. “So why not leaving it?”

“Right”, snorted Sander and leaned back on the bed. “I won't stop until you believe me. You got amazing powers, Don. Without you, Thea and I would have failed most quests.”

“That's stupid”, disagreed Hades Poseidon stubbornly. “I talk to _animals_. I can't even fight.”

“Because _you don't try_ ”, grunted Sander desperately, gesturing wildly. “You talk to animals, yeah. To small, sneaky animals that can warn you if any monster is near. You can even order them around, you can't tell me that an army of mosquitoes is not super cool. Oh, or rather an army of zombies and ghosts? Or how about just calling out for your pegasus with your thoughts. You always only see how much of a Disney princess you are but you always fail to see how handy that is. The Disney princesses are not the great heroes for nothing. And if you'd truly try, you could control both shadows and water just as well as your parents do. But because you have both, you would need to double the effort. But you don't even try.”

“Because I'm scaring people off enough by having those powers!”, screamed Donny angry and glared at the taller boy, who looked at him stunned. “I _know_ how powerful I could be! But look around, most only merely tolerate me as it is. They wouldn't even do that if I'd be good at that kind of stuff. They would all be too scared to be around me.”

“That's bull”, grunted Sander and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You and Thea are the only friends I have, Sander”, snorted Donny and rolled his eyes. “No one wants to even come close to me because I'm a freak. Everybody got their parent's powers. Powers of one god and oh, that's cool. Powers of one of the Big Three? Well, let's be a bit more cautious with them. But the powers of _two_ of the Big Three? No, rather stay far away from that one, wouldn't want him to send us to Tartarus or drown us, would we?”

Donny gritted his teeth, his arms crossed over his chest, his head hung low so his bangs were hiding his eyes. The brunette frowned at him for a moment before laying one arm around his shoulders.

“All the reason more to train, dumbass”, hummed Sander. “So you can kick their asses for being idiots and show them that they're missing out being friends with the most awesome Disney princess ever. _You_ could be the strongest hero of this camp if you'd even half try.”

“It still wouldn't bring me any friends or...”

Donny interrupted himself and blushed. Sander raised one suspicious eyebrow and edged closer.

“Yes, please? Or what? I get it, you're depressed because most campers are wimps and rather piss their pants than gathering the courage to talk to you and befriend you. What else?”

“Well... I just... It's stupid, okay?”, mumbled Donny and blushed, trying to hide from Sander.

“What's stupid? And why are you boys hanging out without me? And why is our cute Disney Princess blushing again? What did you do to him, Chrysander?”

The two boys looked up at the girl entering the cabin. She had her hands stemmed against her hips and was glaring accusingly at Sander. Her waist-long brown curls were decorated with different shades of blue, both as streaks and as feathers braided into them. Her intense, storm-gray eyes stared at the boys, waiting for an explanation.

“I didn't do anything!”, defended Sander himself. “ _ He _ is being all mopey again so I tried to coax it out of him and I was so short of getting him to talk before you interrupted! Stupid!”

“Calling the most clever girl at camp stupid?”, giggled Donny amused.

“Flattery won't get you out of this either, Hades Poseidon di Angelo”, warned the girl.

“Thea! Don't!”, whined her best friend desperately. “You know I hate when you call me by my full name... It's stupid and annoying!”

“Would you rather have for your parents to scramble the letters like mine did?”, huffed Thea and sat down on Donny's other side so both friends could edge closer to the boy in the middle. “Spill it.”

“I—I don't...”, mumbled the flustered son of Nico and Percy.

“Does it have anything to do with... our brothers dating?”, grinned Thea knowingly.

“Huh? Which ones? Fred and Jimmy? No, stupid. Your brother is already dating _my_ sister. And Matt and Jack are too young...”, grunted Sander with a frown. “Oh. You mean Luke and Thess.”

“Yes, you genius”, snorted the girl and rolled her eyes before turning to Donny again. “Well?”

“I don't... it has _nothing_ to do with that”, huffed Donny stubbornly.

“Okay, be an idiot if you want to”, muttered Thea and shook her head disappointed before leaning back against the wall next to her best friend. “I mean, it's not like I'm your best friend or like we are your only friends and you can talk to us about everything. Naw.”

“You work guilt better than grandma Sally!”, groaned the young Sea Prince annoyed. “Fine, yes, you're right! I... I scare people enough for them to not even want to be friends with me! Why should anyone want to... to kiss me or to date me!”

He hung his head low so his friends wouldn't see the tears prickling in his eyes. Thea leaned forward to lock eyes with Sander. The two exchanged a worried glance.

“Donny...”, whispered the clever girl softly. “Is that why you're always so down? Do you have... love trouble? Is it that? Why haven't you told me before-”

“I'm not having love trouble”, mumbled Donny and sighed. “I mean, I'm not in love or anything. I just mean that... You and Herc had been dating for three years now and you guys look so happy and when I look at my mom and dad... I want that too! I want someone to cuddle with and to kiss and stuff too, but... Why should anyone want a freak like me who rather talks to pegasi than to other humans? I'm sixteen now and I've never even been kissed or just held hands with someone! And now even my two years younger brother is in a relationship!”

He had stood up during his rant and was currently pacing in front of his two friends, gesturing widely to make a point. The other two second generation demigods observed him slightly amused.

“Oh, Donny”, laughed Thea with a slight smile and shook her head. “You shouldn't wish for a relationship just because you want to date. Just wait for the right... person to come, mh?”

“But my point is that I'll _never_ find a right person! Who would want me?!”

“Who wouldn't?”

Donny blinked with his large, sea-green eyes and stared at the brunette boy surprised. Thea next to Sander giggled slightly as she watched how the son of Clarisse glared at their friend.

“W... What?”, blinked the young Sea Prince confused.

“You are so stupid, Disney Princess”, sighed Sander and stood up to walk over to the smaller boy, glaring down at the younger teen. “I mean, come on. You're super powerful. You could be, if you'd only train. Demigods always look up to strong heroes. You would have the whole Aphrodite cabin fawning over you.” Sander chuckled and put his fingers under Donny's chin to lift his head. “And you're pretty. Have you looked into a mirror recently? You got those really hypnotic eyes and this adorable look on your face when you're confused or frustrated. Then there are those pink lips of yours that look marshmallow soft. And seriously, I don't know many guys who can pull such tight leather pants off like that. That ass of yours is already making most of the tougher boys drool and I am pretty sure some would have already hit on you if not for your overly protective father and grandfathers. No one wants to mess with Lord Hades and Lord Poseidon. Not even your ass is worth being thrown into the depth of Tartarus. Though it would be worth a consideration.” The brunette smirked mischievously and leaned around Donny, staring thoughtful at the smaller teen's ass before nodding. “Yeah, certainly worth the try.”

The mischievous smirk widened some more as Sander smacked Donny's butt once before leisurely leaving the cabin, his arms crossed behind his head. Donny was beet red and if he would be like his cousin Nico, he would already have been burst into flames.

“Wh... What was _that_ about?”, huffed Donny wide-eyed and flustered.

“He has a point”, laughed Thea softly.

She was laying on her back, her head hanging over the bed so she could look at her friend upside-down. Donny was staring questioningly at her, holding his butt as if he was afraid someone else would smack it. His lower lip was quivering nervously.

“Theadora!”, whined Donny desperately.

“Don't worry”, smiled the brunette girl. “You know how he is. He's always being stupid. But he's right. You're extremely pretty. I'm sure you could totally seduce many guys around here. But since all guys around here had grown up with you and know how incredibly insecure you are – which is not an attractive thing, mind you – and know who your grandfathers are, no one tries.”

“You... really think so...?”, whispered the young Sea Prince skeptically and turned to his sister's full-length mirror to stare at himself. “I'm not special. I look just like my siblings.”

“And that's what's special”, chuckled Thea and shook her head. “Your sister Percy has a girlfriend, your brother Thess has a boyfriend... uh, somehow your family is kind of gay...”

“Why do you assume that I'm gay too?”, huffed Donny and stared at his own ass questioningly. “And what made Sander say that could be worth being thrown into Tartarus...?”

“Just a... feeling”, shrugged Thea amused. “I mean, you have that whole flustered adorableness going on. You're the perfect uke, Donny.”

“Stop reading those stupid Japanese comics”, grunted Donny and blushed some more. “Besides, why should a strong guy want a weakling like me?”

“You're not weak, you're just untrained”, corrected Thea and rolled her eyes. “Train and you would get the attention of the whole Ares and Enyo cabin. Every strong fighter would want to duel you. On the battle field and in bed, if you get my drift.”

“You're a horrible person”, mumbled the flustered boy annoyed.

“Oh, come on! You have to see what a cute ass you have. If I were a boy and gay, I would never let you out of bed again”, grinned the brunette and wiggled her eyebrows.

“I should tell Herc about this. Wonder what he would say to that”, muttered Donny.

“He knows of my little yaoi obsession”, shrugged Thea unfazed. “And he said as long as I don't force him to fuck a boy for my entertainment, he doesn't quite care. So... I'll have to get my entertainment elsewhere. You're my best friend, entertain me!”

“What am I?”, huffed Donny and crossed his arms in front of her chest.

“Aw, come”, pouted Thea and stared at him with begging eyes. “You're the one claiming to want a boyfriend. Yeah, yeah, sorry. 'Someone' to hold you. Well, newsflash: Prince charming won't be riding on his pegasus to crash-land in your bed and confess his undying love to you. You'll have to do something to get your happiness. I had to practically spell it out for Herc before he understood his feelings for me. Now he's mine. Do something and you could make Sander yours.”

“Sander?”, grunted the son of Percy and Nico with wide, surprised eyes. “What?”

“Oh come on”, snorted the brunette and rolled her eyes. “I've seen that blush you had going on when Sander smacked your ass. That was _way_ more than a simple being embarrassed.”

“Get lost, Chase!”, groaned Donny annoyed and flustered. “You're really horrible!”

Thea laughed and stood. Though before she left, she stuck her tongue out at her best friend. Donny heaved another sigh and turned around once more in front of the mirror. Though then he shook his head and turned back to his bed. Groaning in annoyance, he pulled his backpack close to reach his diary. Once it was out of the backpack, he also grabbed a pen to write.

 

/diary|entry\

 

_Okay, it's me again._

_And now I could really use some advice, because I'm totally confused. I mean... I just told my friends about that embarrassing problem. You know, that I want someone all to myself. And they... well, they weren't exactly making fun of me, but Sander was still teasing me – he even hit my butt! And then Thea started to say stupid things like how I wasn't blushing because I was embarrassed by it but because of something else. But she wouldn't tell me what exactly she meant._

_I just know that it was feeling weird. Like, really weird. I mean, Cally had playfully hit my butt before too, to get me going when I was too slow for her liking. But that only got me annoyed. Somehow it made me all... antsy on the inside when Sander did that. That's weird._

_And the things he said! Like that I'm pretty and all of that..._

_And now Thea thinks that I like Sander. I mean, like-like him. And that confuses me._

_I mean... Sander totally is the hottest boy at camp. I'm not saying that because I'm gay, I'm just saying that as a guy who is not blind. He's strong and tall and got that mischievous smirk and those confident eyes and the way he handles his sword is amazing. So... Sure, if I was gay, I would probably find him attractive..._

_And he's nice. He's the nicest boy at camp too. I mean, the kids from Ares cabin had always made fun of me for my insecurities. Though Thea now said that if they wouldn't have known me for so long, they would now all be hitting on me. I don't know why she's saying such stupid things._

_Anyway, San is cool. He always defended me when I was a small kid and everyone was either angry or scared because of me. Because of that nearly war my mere existence had caused. He had always stood strong for me and beaten those who gave me a hard time._

_Then there's that thing with the animals. Most find it weird that I can talk to them or they just act as if I'm crazy and only lying about it. But Sander is different. He always listens to me when I tell him about my swims with dolphins and what they told me. And he even sometimes asks me to help him talking to his own pegasus. Because he really likes his pegasus. It's a white stallion called Trickster. Unlike most at camp, who only view the pegasi as means of transportation like cars or bikes, or as annoying tasks when they have to take care of the stables, Sander sees his pegasus as his friend. I could never ever be with someone who would disrespect such a friendly and helpful creature like a pegasus. That's totally unacceptable. Some are really mean to the pegasi, but Sander and some of his friends pranked them as punishment. I like when he's defending those he cares about._

_Which must mean that he really cares about me too since he's always defending me. I know he's still doing it. I know many – especially the kids from Enyo cabin and Ares cabin – are always making fun of me and call me a weakling. And I know San always tells them off and says that if I ever learn to control my powers, they should watch out because I would kick their asses._

_That's something else he had said today. That I would probably have many campers after me if I would be trained. He's probably right. Who would want a weakling? Certainly not San. He's the biggest hero around here. I haven't seen him being serious with anyone. I mean, I've seen him fooling around with some Aphrodite girls and some guys from Apollo cabin, but he has never been in a serious relationship. Probably because no one is strong enough to hold his attention for long...? But he had said that if I would train, I could become strong... Maybe... strong enough so he would like me like that...? Just maybe...? Oh gods. I think Thea is right. I think I'm in love with San._


	4. Home Alone (Parental Life Part I)

4\. Home Alone (Parental Life Part I)

 

“You – are – the – most – beautiful – creature – on – this – planet.”

Every word was punctuated by a well-placed kiss. Well-placed because they got those wonderful sounds from the man laying beneath him. A wicked smirk adored his lips while he was kissing his way along the jawline and over the chest of his lover.

“Stop being stupid”, huffed the other with a blush. “I may have once been beautiful, but now I'm... old... Gods, I'm older than I ever thought I would be!”

“Way to kill the mood, Percy”, sighed Nico annoyed and sat up between his lover's spread legs.

“What? It's true”, grunted Percy with a pout and turned his head. “I'm turning thirty-nine this year... Thirty-nine... That's nearly forty... I... I'm old...”

“The only things you are is stupid and beautiful”, smiled the Italian and leaned down to kiss his husband softly. “You should be proud. You saved the world two times, you're married to a pretty decent guy, you gave birth to the seven most amazing children ever... You lead a good life, you should be proud of every single year of it, my love...”

“I am!”, protested Percy wide-eyed. “Of course I am! I mean, I married the most amazing man ever, I have the most wonderful children on this planet... I am grateful, I just... Look at me, after having seven children... You're still so handsome and you've really made a living for yourself...”

“For ourselves”, corrected Nico and rolled his eyes, resting his arms left and right of his husband's head. “It's our life, so all my money belongs to us, my stupid beauty. And you are still as beautiful as you were when we first kissed in London. Of course you're older now. But you're like wine, you only got better with the years. Besides, even though you're thirty-eight now, you still look no day older than twenty-five. And the seven kids? Yeah, not noticeable when looking at that flat stomach of yours. You keep yourself in shape, my love. And I appreciate it. Very much so. And if you'd stop throwing a fuss now, I would love to keep appreciating it some more.”

“Gods, I know exactly why I married you”, smiled Percy and leaned up to kiss his husband. “I love you more than should be humanly possible. You're just... perfect.”

He wrapped his arms around Nico's neck, staring dreamily up into those dark eyes. A happy smile spread over his lips as he sealed his Ghost King's with his own. This was his life, his perfect life, so much more wonderful than he would have ever pictured it.

“Uh... Mom? Dad? You should... turn the fountain off if you're snogging...”

Wide sea-green eyes stared helplessly up at Nico, demanding for the son of Hades to do something. Though the Ghost King didn't really know what to do either. He just pulled their blankets closer around themselves and turned to stare at the table fountain on their nightstand.

“Donny”, grunted the son of Hades annoyed. “Shouldn't you be canoeing or something like that?”

“Uh... I... wanted to talk to mom?”, mumbled the boy on the other side of the rainbow.

Nico huffed, knowing exactly that he wouldn't get any today anyway. “Fine. I'll go and take a shower. A very cold shower. Children! Why did I want them?!”

While he left, still mumbling some things beneath his breath, Percy turned his attention to their oldest son, who was just the tiniest bit flustered. Tilting his head, Percy waited.

“I... wanted to go to New Rome to visit aunt Hazel?”, asked Donny softly.

“Well”, shrugged the son of Poseidon a bit confused. “It's your summer. If you want, you can as well to got Camp Jupiter instead of Camp Half-Blood.”

“No!”, protested Donny hastily and wide-eyed. “I want to spend the summer with San and Thea!”

Oh? New order of priority. Percy put that away for later interrogation.

“Then what do you want to do in New Rome?”, frowned the Sea Prince now very confused.

“I... uh... I wanted to... train with Nico”, mumbled Donny hastily and blushed a bit. “I mean, I know you and dad would train with me too, but I want to learn _that_ myself. And I only want Nico's help because she's like the only one aside from me who controls two elements. She could show me.”

“You... want to... train?”, repeated Percy skeptically. “You? You're the most pacifistic person I know. Why do you want to train, all of a sudden?”

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned at his son. The boy blushed some more and averted his eyes, scratching the back of his head. Percy frowned a bit more.

“I just... Why are you against it?”, huffed Donny confused and gestured widely.

“I'm not against it per se”, grunted the son of Poseidon and shook his head. “But if there is a _prophecy_ involving you – and really, that is the only possible explanation I could come up with – then I demand to know it! If any kind of danger forces you to suddenly train, I have a right to know. I'm your mother, Donny. I want to know if you're in trouble.”

“I'm not... not in trouble, mom”, whined Donny and blushed furiously. “It has nothing to do with any prophecy or quest or bullying or whatever reason else you're thinking of!”

“Really now?”, muttered Percy, not very convinced. “Then why? If you want me to sweet-talk Chiron into giving you the allowance to leave camp, you have to give me a convincing reason.”

There was a certain, unwanted silence between them, a silence in which Donny tried to use his best kicked-kitten eyes. But since he had learned those from his mom, they weren't properly working (they always only worked on his dad, grandparents, Thea and Sander anyway). After another couple of seconds of silence, Donny sighed in defeat and blushed a dark red.

“Okay”, mumbled the young Sea Prince awkwardly. “There is this... boy... And I think I like him... a lot... But... I mean, I can't even use my powers really, that's not impressing, that's embarrassing! So I wanted to... uh... train so I can maybe perhaps eventually impress him... at least a bit...”

Another stretch of silence followed. Though this time one where Percy was busy staring doe-eyed at his son and trying to work with the information handed to him. His son was in love. With a boy. Oh. The son of Poseidon grinned mischievously. His son was in love with Clarisse's boy.

“Okay.”

“What?”, blinked Donny completely confused.

“I said okay”, chuckled Percy amused. “I'll IM Chiron and tell him that you have my allowance to go and visit Camp Jupiter in your free time. No skipping the activities and you will be back in time for curfew. I'll tell Leo that you'll come over too, I think Hazel and Frank are in the restaurant...”

“Really?”, beamed Donny with sparkling eyes. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you, mommy! I promise I'll be back before curfew! I'll take Shadow, I'll be safe, okay?”

“Good boy”, nodded the son of Poseidon with a soft smile. “Tell your siblings I love you guys.”

“Will do – I love you really a lot!”, grinned Donny and the IM ended.

Clarisse would have a field-day with that. She had been saying that Sander was after Donny for five years now. But then again, they had been naive kids back then. Sander hadn't known it back then either. Though maybe... he knew it now. Or, worst case scenario, he had moved on because Donny had been too oblivious for too long. Sighing loudly, Percy fell back onto the bed face-first.

“What did he want, love? Aside from interrupting my Percy-time.”

“That you're _still_ calling it that is ridiculous, Nico”, chuckled Percy softly and turned to look at his husband. “I mean, seriously? Your Percy-time?”

“My Percy-time is sacred to me”, grunted the naked Italian, rubbing his hair dry, some single drops of water running down his well-defined chest and stomach as he slowly walked over to the bed. “Well? What _did_ he want from you, love?”

Percy blinked a few times. He had been a bit too distracted by his husband's body to proceed the question. Blushing slightly, he coughed and sat up some.

“He just... wanted to go and visit his cousin. He wants Nico to train with him how he can control both, shadows and water”, smirked Percy broadly.

“Suppose she's a good choice for that”, nodded Nico thoughtful and sat back down between his husband's legs. “She had managed to not conflict her control over fire with her control over her shifting. Well, I'm glad he finally realized that he needs to train his powers.”

“He realized it _for a boy_ ”, chimed Percy mischievously.

“Oh, no”, groaned Nico annoyed, his arms wrapped around his lover so the older demigod fell on top of him as Nico laid down onto his back. “Not him too. What is wrong with our children? First Percy last autumn, declaring all proudly that she's dating that witch daughter of Lou, then Thess now, having to take that charmspeaking brat. And now Donny?! I can't accept that.”

“Then I better not tell you that Silena is already charming all the boys to do as she says”, chuckled Percy amused and folded his arms under his chin to look at his husband. “She'll be more trouble than those three put together. And with Jimmy's bad-boy charm – which he completely and utterly got from you – he's already having his own fanclub at the Aphrodite cabin too. It's not helping that he and his friends are always up to mischief. Once those two discover what they could _do_ with the interest others have in them... Let's just hope they're as slow as I was when it came to sexuality.”

“Yeah”, nodded Nico with a dark frown, tightening his grip on his husband's waist. “Let's hope so. My hopes are not so high, seeing as even my dear niece Milly, sweet, eight-years-old Milly, is already dating that brat of Jason and Reyna's.”

“Oh, hush”, giggled Percy delighted. “She's just like her best friend Carry. Since Carry and Fred started 'dating' this spring, she wanted too, so she declared JP to be her boyfriend. I think it's incredibly cute. They're children. Dating means holding hands in public and pecking each other's cheeks. It's the cutest thing ever. You should see how embarrassed JP always gets!”

“I suppose you're right”, chuckled Nico a bit amused. “But I would still appreciate it if Jimmy and Silly could wait another... five to ten years with that... Just enough for me to settle with my other children's love-lives?”

“I don't think they're going to respect your wishes there, my love”, smiled Percy and leaned up to kiss Nico passionately. “So... How about we continue where we got interrupted?”

He sat up to straddle his husband's hips, rubbing the creek of his ass against the already half-hard member of his Ghost King. Biting his lower lip, he stared seductively down at Nico.

“You're a horribly cruel tease, my Sea Prince”, growled the son of Hades annoyed and turned them over so Percy was laying beneath him. “We don't have time for that now. Piper and Annabeth will come over in about... ten minutes, bringing lunch with them.”

“Oh”, hummed Percy with a disappointed look on his face. “I forgot... But... But I want you now! Now _I_ want my Nico-time! Don't deny me, my Ghost King. I need you within me. Please?”

Nico gritted his teeth as he stared down at the luscious body of his husband. He captured Percy's wrists and pinned them to the mattress hard before leaning down to bite his Sea Prince's neck.

“No”, whispered the son of Hades into Percy's ear. “We don't have time. Because if I'm going to take you, I'm not going to hastily screw you. I'll be tenderly caressing every last inch of your body, I'll worship it and then I will be preparing you properly until you'll be begging me to take you. Not that you'll be able to do much, seeing as I'll tie you to our bed so you can't escape me again. And then, once I'm pleased with the amount of begging you did, I will fuck you hard and brutal and make sure you won't be walking _anywhere_ tomorrow, because tomorrow, you will be mine again and do nothing aside from pleasing me. I will torture your prostate until you come, harder than you did in months. And then I will continue fucking you until you come again. And again. Until you're a completely pleasured mess. Once that's accomplished, I will come. And I will fill you to the brim. I will fill you with my hot seed and then I'll plug that greedy ass of yours so you'll _know_ who you belong to, who you will always belong to.”

“N—Nico”, moaned Percy hoarsely, his breath ragged and his face flushed. “Don't... Don't say things that make me horny and then don't take me... Don't be so cruel to me!”

“Oh? I'm being cruel? Who has been rubbing the hottest ass ever against my cock just moments ago even though I won't be able to take it?”, growled Nico possessively. “Believe me, before we get to the taking part of the evening, I am going to punish you for being such a tease. I'll spank that perfect ass of yours until it's ruby-red and so sensitive that you'll come from the jolt of pain from just being touched. And _then_ I will bend you over and fuck you hard, thrusting against your sensitive ass...”

“S—Stop it”, whimpered Percy and buckled his hips. “Please, please just take me!”

“Okay. So no lunch, yes?”

The couple dove apart and turned to stare wide-eyed at the two females in the door. Piper looked a bit too smug as she held the bag with Chinese take-away into the air. And Annabeth next to her looked both, flustered and annoyed, her hands stemmed against her hips.

“Really now?”, grunted the daughter of Athena annoyed. “ _Still_? You're still coming too late for food because you need to come first?! You're still the same horny teenagers that missed Thanksgiving because you had to celebrate 'Thankstaking' – which is the most ridiculous thing Nico ever created, by the way. You are horrible! Both of you! We will be downstairs and set the table while you two will get decent. No fucking. We're downstairs, we can hear you.”

Annabeth huffed and turned to leave. Piper chuckled amused and looked at them with pity.

“I know how you guys feel. After we've brought the kids to camp yesterday, the first thing _I_ did was screwing Annabeth's brains out too”, grinned the daughter of Aphrodite. “Now come on.”

She too left the bedroom to bring the lunch down to the kitchen, leaving Percy and Nico alone again. The son of Poseidon whimpered depressed. Just as it was about to get good...

“Let's get dressed”, whispered Nico into his ear, biting his earlobe. “And once the girls are gone again, I'll take proper care of you, my Sea Prince.”

Percy hummed in agreement and stood up to get ready for lunch.

 

/break\

 

“So, there, we're dressed”, huffed Nico with a glare. “Why did you want to come over anyway? Normally you spend the first week of camp locked into your bedroom too!”

“We've been wondering if your son had any interesting news for you yesterday too”, hummed Annabeth as she set the plates with the food in front of the other couple.

“Interesting... Oh. Yeah. Our sons are dating”, grinned Percy broadly.

“Yes, they are”, muttered Piper with a glare similar to the one on Nico's face.

The son of Poseidon blinked and turned to his best friend. “Those two are such dads.”

“I know”, laughed the blonde amused. “You should have heard her speech about 'that useless sea-brat, running around, seducing her baby-boy'. It was adorable.”

“Oh yes, I had to listen to something similar about 'that charmspeaking brat, corrupting my son!'.”

The two giggled delighted and stared at their lovers in amusement. While Piper and Nico glared at each other as if they were silently accusing the other for taking their baby boys away.

“It's not funny! It's serious business”, protested the daughter of Aphrodite.

“Yes”, agreed the Ghost King. “If that boy of yours charmspeaks our baby into _sex_ and I end up being grandpa before I turn forty, I will hold the two of you responsible!”

“Yeah, right”, snorted Piper, pointing an accusing chopstick at Nico. “If anything, it's your son who is shamelessly seducing our Luke! He got this whole wide-eyed innocence act going on, just like his mother! And I _know_ what you guys are up to in the bedroom! Acting all pure and good and being like _that_ in the bedroom! If your son is anything like your husband, it would be entirely his fault if he ends up pregnant in the next month!”

“What are you saying there?!”, growled Nico and stood angrily. “How dare you talk like that about my husband and my son!”

“Well, it's true”, growled Piper back and stood too. “If it wouldn't have been for Lady Persephone, the two of you would have made a baby right away with how horny you were! You had forgotten about anything back then too! And your son is just the same!”

While the two of them were busy screaming at each other, their partners calmly sat at the table and ate lunch. The two watched in interest how Nico and Piper were short of ripping each other's heads off while sneakily stealing from their unguarded plates.

“So, how is it being reelected as mayor?”, asked Percy curiously, ignoring their lovers.

“Oh, it's good. Good. Stressful though”, sighed Annabeth and shook her head. “I thought I'd be rid of that job for good now. I mean, working had always been fine, but now I'm in a certain age and I feel as if Matt demands more attention than his three siblings had... I'm just not sure I can handle being mother and being mayor.”

“Well, you've been the first mayor of New Athens, two times mayor even. The founder. And the three that followed had just not lived up to the standards set by you”, smiled Percy and nudged her. “Besides, you were the one that agreed to going up against the last mayor this year.”

“Well, he wanted to be reelected”, shuddered Annabeth. “And what with the other options, he probably would have won. Couldn't let that happen. Some of his decisions had nearly caused a war between New Athens and New Rome. He's just not diplomatic enough. Not fit for the job.”

“A lucky coincident Reyna won the election in New Rome then, mh?”, smirked Percy.

“Not really, no”, chuckled the blonde amused. “I kind of persuaded her into posing as mayor. I mean, she was two-times praetor of Camp Jupiter. The former campers are now living in the city with their own families, it doesn't need a genius to conclude they would vote for her. And since the diplomacy between New Rome and New Athens had been very delicate thanks to my predecessor, I needed to pull those strings to ensure the relationship between our cities will get better.”

“Wise girl, you really grew up to become a wise woman”, grinned Percy teasingly.

Annabeth chuckled slightly and rolled her eyes. Though as she noticed the silence around them, she turned to look at their partners. Both Nico and Piper were sitting on their chairs, pouting and looking into completely different directions.

“Are the two of you finished, yes?”, asked the daughter of Athena calmly.

The two nodded obediently, though still stuck their tongues out at each other. Percy rolled his eyes.

“Really? I mean, seriously? You guys saved the world together and stood up against Gaia, but now you're turning into immature brats?”, grunted the Sea Prince displeased and crossed his arms over his chest. “You two will now shake hands and say that you're sorry.”

“What?! After what she said about you-”, started Nico to protest.

“She didn't say anything that wasn't true”, snorted Percy annoyed. “Hush now, or no sex.”

Piper stared at the crestfallen look on the Ghost King's face and snickered. Served him right. Well, at least until she heard her own wife coughing slightly to gain her attention.

“Same goes for you. Say you're sorry or you're sleeping on the couch for the rest of the week.”

Nico and Piper stared at Percy and Annabeth with wide, disbelieving eyes. But the wise girl and the seaweed brain didn't flinch. Sighing in defeat, they turned to each other.

“I'm sorry”, muttered both of them at the same moment and shook hands awkwardly.

“There, that's my love”, smiled Percy in praising and kissed Nico's cheek.

“Good girl”, smirked Annabeth, also kissing her wife's cheek.

“Why are we so henpecked?”, sighed Piper and stared at Nico desperately. “I mean, they're our subs, shouldn't _we_ be the ones controlling them and not the other way around?”

“Well”, shrugged the Ghost King with a pout. “We should have chosen more obedient subs then.”

“But”, smirked the daughter of Aphrodite. “We can still _punish_ them for ordering us around.”

Nico too smirk, making their partners pale. “I liked them better when they were fighting...”

“Yeah”, agreed Annabeth with a whine. “We won't be walking for _days_!”


	5. Visiting New Rome

5\. Visiting New Rome

 

/diary|entry\

 

_I'm bored so I'll just do another entry._

_I asked my mom to ask Chiron if I could leave camp to visit the Romans and he agreed. So I packed up right after my activities and left again. The day right after arriving. Thea and San were giving me odd looks, but I just told them I had to run an arrant for dad. No one ever questions anything involved with the underworld, it creeps them out too much._

_Then I took Shadow and traveled to New Rome. Oh! I haven't told you about Shadow yet. He's awesome. San and Thea are my only **human** friends, but I got a lot of animal friends. And Shadowchaser – but I call him Shadow because it's shorter – is my best. He's one of a kind. No, seriously, he is the only one of his breed. He has been created by my grandpas. He's a pegasus made of shadows. He can dissolve into shadows and travel through shadows and hide in the shadows. Grandpa Poseidon and grandpa Hades made him when they first learned that I shared both their powers. A being to help me through both. Since I can talk to horses and control shadows. He's great and really cute and easily embarrassed._

_Anyway, Shadow can travel through shadows, which is good since I can't. Well, I can, but I've never done it before so I'd most likely end up in New Orleans or something like that. Thanks to him, it's easy to go back and forth between the two camps. So now here I am, sitting in New Rome, in the back of uncle Leo's shop, waiting for him and my cousin Nico to finish their work. And since I hate waiting, I thought I could write a bit. I haven't really told you about Nico either, right?_

_Her full name is Esperanza Nicole Zhang. Named after her mamá's mother and her mom's brother – my dad. But uncle Travis and uncle Connor soon established the nickname Nico for her. Just like they made everyone call Persephone Percy. They love annoying my parents, they call it 'payback', but I'm not quite sure why. It certainly has something to do with uncle Frank always glaring at them though. Nico is not really my cousin by blood because she's the daughter of uncle Frank and uncle Leo. Uncle Frank and uncle Leo are both my aunt Hazel's husbands and they're also married to each other. That's the good thing about being parts of the godly world. While the mortals have their wrong morals about marriage, whether it be gay marriage or bigamy, it doesn't matter to us. So yeah, they're a family with to moms, even though one of them is a guy. Nico is their oldest kid. She's that really pretty Latina with the long black curls. And she's only a few months older than me. Oh, and she can control fire like her mamá and shift – that means changing her body – like her dad. And since she's the firstborn, she even got her mom's horse Arion, at least most of the time. She's not very good with horses and since she can't control the riches, her younger sister Sammy takes care of Arion most of the time. Which is good, because I don't really like him. I mean, he's really rude all the time. But mom said he had always been that way. And that mom had never been able to translate to others what Arion said because it would have made them blush too much._

 

/entry|end\

 

“Ah, océano de muerte, you're earlier than I expected you.”

Donny blinked wide-eyed up, just to see a smirking Latino with nearly elvish features. He was still looking pretty good for being mid-thirty, though he had quite a few laughter lines. But he always claimed he liked them because they were prove that his life was good. He had grease practically everywhere – his cheek, his hair, his neck and of course his shirt. Donny grinned broadly and jumped down the bench to hop into his arms. The adult huffed slightly and returned the hug.

“Uncle Leo, I'm so glad to see you! Thanks for having me”, grinned Donny.

“Always, kiddo”, chuckled Leo amused and ruffled his nephew's hair. “So, how is it? Your mom said that you need help... But he wasn't being very specific. Your dad distracted him.”

“Yeah... Mom is always easily distracted when dad's around”, nodded Donny. “Well, I actually... I wanted to talk to Nico? Is she around? She normally often helps you out...”

“Not today. She's in the restaurant. Since a certain someone became mayor, the Graces are throwing a party. The restaurant is short of bursting. She's helping out. Come on.”

Donny nodded enthusiastically and followed his uncle out of the car shop. Outside, the Latino hung a 'On Break' sign onto the door knob and then led the way through New Rome. Even from farther away, Donny could hear the loud and cheerful voices from within the restaurant 'The Golden Dragon'. Leo motioned for his nephew to follow him to the backdoor. Donny's eyes sparkled as they entered the kitchen. He loved cooking. And his uncle Frank was the best cook ever. The tall Canadian stood at the stove, busy with some kind of pasta, while his wife was running around behind him, preparing some plates of salad. Until her husband suddenly froze, that got her attention.

“I can smell oil and something burned”, grunted Frank with a frown. “And it's not my food.”

“Oh. Yeah. I should have taken a shower first, I'm going to get your precious kitchen dirty, sorry...”, mumbled Leo awkwardly and wanted to take a step back, knowing how holy this place was to his husband and wife. “I'll just... wait outside?”

“Dare move another inch away from us and you'll... _regret_ it, firebug”, smirked Hazel and whirled around to pull him into a hug. “It's so good to see you on such a stressful day like today, love...”

Frank grunted in agreement and leaned over to peck his husband's lips, making Leo blush. “Not in front of the kid, you guys! Really now!”

Both his partners frowned and turned, only now noticing their nephew who stood very awkwardly behind their husband. Hazel's faze brightened even more as she hugged the teen.

“Donny, I haven't seen you in months, I think. My, you've grown again, haven't you?”

“Aunt Hazel, I'm still only 5''4, I'm _small_ ”, huffed the sixteen-years old.

“Yes, you are. But that only makes you more adorable”, smiled the golden-eyed woman before she reluctantly let go of him. “How are your parents? And what brings you here?”

“Mom and dad are enjoying their free time since we're at camp and they have the house all to themselves”, replied Donny. “And I'm actually looking for your daughter. Is she here?”

“She's with the guests. But she could return and continue working now instead of fooling around with Hercules”, grunted Frank displeased. “They're always up to no good.”

“So... She's busy at the moment?”, mumbled Donny and made a face.

“How about you go and bring Shadowchaser to the stables and see that he gets food? And then we'll send Nico after you?”, suggested Hazel with a soft smile.

She knew he was feeling more at ease around animals instead of that load of humans that were currently emptying everything they had in the restaurant. Donny's face brightened and he turned to leave again, though as Leo was about to follow him, his wife held him by the neck.

“No one was talking about you”, chided Hazel. “Since the entree is served, we'll have a little free time at our hands for now. Time for a little _punishment_ for making everything greasy around here.”

Leo blushed wide-eyed. “Well... uh, you find the way alone, right Donny?”

Donny grinned and nodded before leaving. He felt bad for his uncle. Now he would get a scolding just because of Donny. The teen grinned sheepishly, he didn't want anyone to get into trouble because of him, but he knew his uncle Leo was good at finding excuses.

“ _Prince? You're back again. Why? Why?_ ”, whined a curious voice as soon as he reached the hill.

A beautiful black pegasus was laying in the tall grass and enjoying the sun. At first, Donny had always thought it weird that a creature of the dark would cherish the light like that, but his grandpa Hades had explained to him that without light, there wouldn't be any shadows.

“Nico's busy at the moment. Aunt Hazel said I should accompany you to the stables. It'll be better for you to get some rest and food, eh, Shay?”, grinned Donny and hugged the pegasus.

“ _Pears?_ ”, whined the horse delighted.

“You're weird”, muttered the 'prince' and hopped onto his friend's back.

“ _I know! Because I spend much, much time with you, weird prince_ ”, whined Shadow cheekily.

“Oi”, protested Donny with a pout. “No pears if you're being mean to me.”

The black stallion laughed and flew them as fast as possible over to the stables. The first to greet them there was a certain, fast horse. Donny blinked surprised as Arion suddenly stood in front of them. The freedom-loving racer scarcely spend time in New Rome if he wasn't needed.

“ _I smelled right, my favorite mare returned_ ”, whined the brown horse delighted and pushed his head against Shadow's. “ _The hottest piece of ass. You should come over more often. I'd show you a good time and ride you properly._ ”

“Arion!”, exclaimed Donny flustered and covered Shadow's ears. “Don't talk to him like that! Don't talk to anyone like that! You're a horrible, horrible perv!”

“ _If you're jealous, I would ride you too, mare boy_ ”, snickered Arion. “ _Your ma never let me, even though I offered it. Guess he just couldn't stand a real cock, being pleased with those short little sticks you humans call dicks. Come on, I'd take both of you, fuck you all night long._ ”

“ _I am not_ _ **your**_ _mare, Arion!_ ”, exclaimed Shadowchaser angered and stamped his hooves.

“I am really embarrassed at the moment”, mumbled Donny and shook his head, his ears nearly burning. “You're horrible. How can you be so horrible? Don't be so horrible!”

The boy climbed down his pegasus and looked at Shadow apologetically. The black horse only whined and shook his head as if to say that it wasn't Donny's fault. Then he darted off through the shadows, leaving black mist behind. Arion whined in excitement.

“ _Well, mare boy, see you later. Gotta chase my pretty mare and breed him good_ ”, declared Arion and left, his nostrils flaring as he tried to catch Shadow's scent. “ _You're next._ ”

Donny shook his head desperately. He was really feeling bad for Shadow.

“Don't get that kicked-kitten look. You know, you should breed him, he's one of a kind. More shadow-pegasi would be quite awesome”, declared an amused female voice.

“I'm not going to breed him! He's an intelligent being and not some brainless thing you can use for your purposes!”, huffed Donny with a dark glare.

“Oh, shesh. But it would be awesome if there were more of his kind. And for that, he needs to breed. Or to be bred. He's one weird horse, just like you”, chuckled his cousin. “Hey, by the way.”

“Hello to you too, Nico”, muttered Donny and stared at the Latina.

The girl grinned broadly, her long curls somehow put up to not bother her during work. Different kinds of oil – both, from machines and cooking – adored her shirt.

“So, you did obviously not come because you finally agreed that I get a shadow-pegasus too by breeding Shadow with Arion's help”, huffed Nico with a pout. “It would be super fast and awesome. I'll convince you, one of these days. Anyway what did you come for?”

“I want you to help me with something. I... want to learn how I can manage to control both, shadows and water”, said Donny in a soft and pleading voice. “I... How do you do it? How do you know if you're going to shift or burst into flames?”

Nico blinked at him confused. “Why do you want to learn? You never wanted before.”

“I... can't tell you, I haven't even told Thea. You know how she gets when anything happens in my life and she doesn't get to know it first”, mumbled the boy and sat down on the soft grass, his legs crossed, a thoughtful expression on his face. “But then again, she does kind of know already...”

“For the love of it, spill it or I'll call uncle Nico”, huffed Nico with a pout and fell down beside him.

“Okay, okay!”, grunted Donny in defeat and blushed furiously. “I think I'm in love with Sander. But... But he's a real hero and I will never get him with being a pacifistic Disney Princess. So I have to learn how to control it. And I think I can learn, but for that I need to learn how to separate them. Whenever I try to control water, I make the earth shake... But you're the only one I could think of who has the same problem. I mean, how do you do it? How do you know when you're shifting and when you're bursting into flames? How can I separate it?”

“Okay, okay, okay”, huffed Nico with a contemplating look in her dark eyes. “Okay. It's... Urgh, that's hard to explain. I... it feels different. Fire and shifting are two different feelings. But I can't explain that. You have to feel it for yourself. Okay... Calm down. Close your eyes and breath deep, try blending everything else out. Every other noise, every color, everything. Breath.”

Donny nodded slowly and tried, breathing deeply with closed eyes. But only for a very short time before he whined and grabbed his head in pain. Nico frowned at him concerned.

“I... I can't, Nico. All the voices”, whimpered Donny and shook his head. “The bees and the pegasi and the butterflies... I can feel the earth beneath me and the water running through your body and the pegasi and beneath the earth and the river close by... It's too much...”

“Okay. Focus”, nodded Nico seriously. “Keep breathing deeply and focus on one thing... uh... the earth. Focus on the ground, not the other things. Blend them out like when you're at the camp fire and only focus on your conversation with Thea instead of all the other loud things around. Only the ground, only that is important. Feel the earth beneath your feet. Good.” The Latina nodded approvingly as her cousin calmed down some and seemed in less pain. “How does it feel?”

“It's... there, close. Warm, but not too warm, there, always there... It feels like dad”, mumbled Don.

“Okay. Keep that in mind. Remember this feeling, always remember it”, smiled Nico before she pulled a bottle of water out of her backpack and opened it. “Now shift your concentration to this. Blend the earth out and focus on the water bottle in my hand. Only on that. Tell me how that feels.”

“It's... warm, swirling. There's movement, constant movement and it has a... a song to it. All water has. It sings, a lullaby. Like mom, it makes me feel homey”, replied Donny.

“Well, figures. Earth feels like your dad and water feels like your mom. Now that you separated them, their feelings, try to control one of them. Let's go for the water. Focus on the feeling you had when you concentrated on the water. Recall it and try to control it. You have to imagine in your mind how you control it and what you want to do it. Imagine it to the last detail. That won't always be necessary but at the beginning it's very important to focus. Just try it.”

Donny nodded, his eyes still closed. He recalled the feeling of his mom, the song of the bottled water. His little sister Silly liked to form animals out of water and make them jump around. Maybe he could do that too. He imagined how the liquid, livid substance formed an animal. A horse. He loved horses more than anything. A pegasus. Up to the last detail.

“Okay. That's... Make it move. You formed it, now try to control it. Lift it into the air and make it move left and right. But keep focused on the water. I can see the shadows closing in on us. You need to keep your focus on the water, you don't want to shadow-travel us away.”

Donny nodded and tried to blend the shadows out. They were feeling like the earth somehow, the connection to the underworld. The lulling, always present comfort of his watchful dad. But now he needed to focus on the water. On mom. Water. It moved, it had to move. He tried to picture the pegasus flying up into the air, then moving first left and then right.

“Great”, he could he the pride in her voice. “You're a natural. But I guess that comes with your age. You've trained it subconsciously. By blending it out alone. I mean, you had all the voices and feelings out of your head before I made you concentrate. Now open your eyes.”

Donny opened his eyes giddily, expecting a mighty pegasus. His face fell as he saw the formless blob of water hovering above them, disappointment evident in his sea-green eyes.

“Don't look like that, di Angelo”, grunted his cousin and hit him upside the head. “You made it _move_. You lifted it out of the bottle and made it move as one thing and not as many different drops. That's a great achievement. When I first tried to summon my fire, nothing happened at all. The second time and I set mamá on fire. I totally panicked. But he's fire-resistant so I was lucky. It took me months to control my fire enough to form a phoenix. You have to train. Very, very much. It won't come over night, Don. And it would be better if you'd train with either your parents, grandfathers or siblings. It'll help since they already know what to do.”

“Training. Concentrating. Blending other things out when I want to focus on one thing. But... can you do both? Can you shift _and_ control fire?”, asked Donny reluctantly and tried to do both, talking to Nico and keeping the water in the air, though that proved to be hard. “I mean, I want to like control the shadows and the water at the same time. Or raise zombies while bending a river.”

“ _That_ will need way more training”, chuckled Nico amused. “A huge ass-load of training to be more exact. But sure. I can turn into a fox and burst into flames. Pretty cool. And once you can control one thing at a time, it's not hard to do two things. It's just like multitasking. Like watching a movie and writing at the same time. You'll get used to it, don't worry.”

“You are the best”, declared Donny and hugged her tightly. “Thanks.”

“If you need me again, you know where to find me”, smiled the Latina and ruffled his hair. “And I want to be kept up to date on your progress with Chrysander, clear?”

“Understood”, nodded Donny with a faint blush.

“You should probably return now though or you'll miss dinner, eh?”, grinned Nico.

The Italian-looking boy blinked and frowned. Only with a look around, he noticed the setting sun. His eyes widened stunned. It had only felt like half an hour, at max. But it must have been at least two hours. He frowned surprised and tilted his head.

“You spend ages calming down”, noted Nico amused. “You really need to train _that_. You're so... stressed and tense. You need to learn how to relax. It would be best if you'd get fucked. That would certainly help you relaxing. Or at least start masturbating.”

“Nico!”, yelped Donny embarrassed and blushed wide-eyed.

“Hah”, grinned the Latina with a teasing grin. “I knew you never masturbated before. Seriously. You're like that innocent, little kid. You're not twelve anymore, Donny. Go and watch some porn, it may help you. And seriously, start masturbating. It really will help you settling your mind.”

Donny blushed some more but didn't give her any kind of reply. Instead he turned his head and whistled loudly, closing his eyes again. That was something he had been able to do since his earliest childhood. Connecting with his animal friends, calling out to them with his thoughts. Maybe the fact that he was able to do that, to differ between the different races and animals at all, would make it easier for him to learn the other stuff too?

“ _Prince? Can we go? Please? The horny one is still chasing me!_ ”, whined a voice close to his ear, warm breath ghosting over his neck as his pegasus pushed against his shoulder. “ _I want to get back to Trickster, please. He doesn't like it when I'm close to Arion and now he'll smell that horny idiot all over me! I want to go home now, please?_ ”

Donny laughed amused and ruffled Shadow's mane. “You and Trickster are really good friends.”

Shadow gave him a confused look and whined. “ _Trickster is my mate. His Rider is your mate too, after all. So I got closer to him too. And now we're mates._ ”

“M... Mates?”, blinked Donny surprised and blushed at the other implication. “What makes you think Sander and I are mates?! Shadow!”

“ _He is not?_ ” The pegasus blinked very confused. “ _But I can smell your hormones when you're close to him. You're getting ready for mating whenever you meet with him! Are you not preparing for breeding with him? He is a fine human stallion though!_ ”

Donny whimpered embarrassed and hid his face in the black mane while Nico laughed.

“Sometimes I really wonder what they say”, grinned the Latina and shook her head.

“It's good you don't”, huffed Donny flustered. “Bye. Tell your parents and siblings hello from me!”

“Will do”, nodded Nico and waved him. “Same goes for you though!”


	6. The Thing With the Spanking

6\. The Thing With the Spanking

 

/diary|entry\

 

_Okay, now I'm using you to get some more self-esteem. I'm totally nervous. When I visited my cousin Nico yesterday, she told me to learn how to relax. She said I should... uh... masturbate. Like... touching myself! How can she suggest such dirty things?!_

_The first thing I did was asking two very good friends for advice. Google and Wikipedia. And it seems Nico was right. Masturbating seems to really help relaxing. Not sure about that. And – that is really embarrassing – I'm sixteen and an unkissed virgin. I've never even touched myself. I know how it works, I guess, but... I'm unsure about how this is going to be..._

_I don't know what I'm going to like or what would... uh... turn me on? I mean, all I know about sex, I learned in a very embarrassing Sex Ed class given to us by aunt Piper. But I do know that there are more things to sex than just... well, what we learned there. I'm just not sure what._

_But those porn look weird. I don't know if I really want to watch that..._

 

/entry|end\

 

Donny sat on the black-sheets, chewing his pen nervously while staring from his diary over to the laptop. He was hiding in the Hades cabin since it was practically his too and his cousins weren't due for another week or two with their visit. He could not watch such films in the Poseidon cabin! If his siblings would see... Good gods, that would be his death! So here he was, with the stolen laptop of Daedalus. He just hoped his best friend wouldn't mind.

“Donny? Have you seen my laptop?”, called a voice from behind.

Okay, it seemed that she did mind that. Blushing slightly, he hastily closed the laptop and stared at her like a deer in the headlights. His blush darkened even more as he saw who stood right next to her. Sander. Well, of course. If you're looking for something that got stolen, ask the grandson of the god of thieves for help. Sander and Thea exchanged a weird look and closed the door. Donny gulped hard as the two walked up to him, just to sit on either side of him.

“Okay, what is up with you?”, asked the son of Clarisse in a sharp tone of voice. “First you disappear to the Romans without much warning, then you're getting weirdly flustered when you saw Trick and Shadow together and now you're borrowing Thea's laptop without asking.”

Not stealing, he would never call anything Donny did something bad. The young Sea Prince blushed and tried to avert his eyes, looking all the innocent kitten that had eaten the goldfish.

“Why didn't you ask? You know I'd give it to you anyway”, hummed Thea a bit hurt.

“Because you would have asked why I needed it”, muttered Donny and blushed darkly.

“Why...? Why do you need it?”, asked Thea now very curious.

“Oh. I see”, snickered Sander wickedly.

Donny's eyes widened. When had the trickster stolen the laptop from his grasp?! Sander was staring at the open tabs highly amused, clicking through the different websites with interest.

“Well? What is it?”, huffed Thea confused.

“He found that folder of your favorites that is labeled as 'yaoi goodness' and he has been... reading, watching and researching it obviously. Wikipedia is helpful, eh?”, snickered Sander and winked.

“Why have you been going through my favorites?”, grunted Thea with one raised eyebrow.

“Because Nico said I'm too tense and that I should try masturbating and I don't really... So I thought I'd try watching porn. But then you had those links to this site with the stories and I started reading and now I'm hugely confused and the films didn't help any! Neither did Wikipedia!”

He gave a pitiful whine and collapsed on the bed, trying to hide his face in the pillows. This exact situation was what he had tried to avoid. But now he was sitting between his laughing friends.

“No need to be embarrassed, Don”, smiled Sander softly and ruffled his hair. “What's so confusing? Maybe we can help you through that. We do have a little more experience with sex than you.”

“The... The things Thea is reading are so... I don't understand them”, sighed Donny and sat up.

“What about them?”, wanted Thea to know and tilted her head.

“Why is one always so... so... I don't know! That he enjoys being insulted and hurt, I don't get that! And why is he agreeing to calling his boyfriend 'master', that's stupid! Shouldn't they like be in a relationship and love each other? But one is always the possession of the other! Why should anyone want that?! And why do the... uh... passive ones always enjoy being... being... hit on their bare behinds in those stories?! Is _that_ how sex works?! Why should anyone want that?!”, exclaimed Donny frustrated and and hid his face between his hands. “That's horrible!”  
“You are the cutest thing on this planet”, laughed Sander and wrapped one arm around Donny's shoulders to pull him close and ruffle his hair. “Sometimes I just want to lock you up in a room and never let you out so the world outside can't corrupt you.”

“Yes, yes, Donny is adorable, nothing new there”, huffed Thea and rolled her eyes, pushing herself into Donny's view. “So you're confused by BDSM, yes?”

The younger teenager blushed brightly and nodded hastily. Sander was still laughing slightly, until the half-Italian glared up at him. The seriousness in those sea-green eyes shut him up.

“Okay”, coughed Chrysander and tried to regain a straight face. “Let me try to explain that to you, mh? The thing is that... It's not that the sub – the passive one – is the _possession_ of the other, like he doesn't mean anything to his dom. The relationship between them is based on trust. It's not about cruelty or brutality, the pain delivered is a pleasurable one. If it's too much, the sub can use a safeword to end that game at any moment. That's what brings the trust into this. The sub needs to know that he can trust his dom completely with his wants and desires, with his body. And it only works if that trust is established. Because then the sub can let go completely. That's the fun of the game, it's what the subs like about this. That they can relax completely, give up control. They have someone who takes care of them completely and like nothing else. Bondage and punishments are just parts of this game to ensure it, so to say. Bondage means for the sub to give up even more control and, well, punishments serve for when the sub doesn't obey. But that's also only a game. Like I said, if the sub really doesn't like it, he can always use the safeword.”

“A... game of trust?”, muttered Donny confused, but a tiny bit intrigued. “But... the insults...?”

“Are not really meant as insults”, chuckled Sander and gestured a bit. “You see, when the dom calls his sub a slut or something like that, it's not meant as an insult, but a bit more of a... compliment... Wait up, let me finish! They don't really mean a slut that goes around, sleeping with anyone, but just that they're completely willing for their dom... Because it shows just how ready the sub is to submit to his partner. Like, I don't call you a slut because you grind against every guy who looks your way, but because you're eager and amazing in bed. Well, uh, I mean... not _you_ , but, you get it, right?”

Thea rolled her eyes again and laughed slightly as both boys blushed furiously. “How about we watch something to prove those theses?”

“You mean you guys want to sit together and watch porn?”, huffed Donny wide-eyed.

“Well, they're my favorites”, shrugged Thea and clicked through her folder. “I mean, I always enjoy watching a cute uke getting spanked by his seme. Flustered uke are the cutest things ever.”

“Uh...? What?”, blinked the son of Perseus confused and stared questioningly up at Sander.

“Uke, sub, passive partner, it all refers to the one spreading their legs. Or bending over, whatever you prefer”, grinned the brunette amused. “And the seme, the dom or master or active part is the other, the one with their cock up the other's ass.”

“San! Language!”, yelped Donny, his ears turning red.

“You're so innocent, Disney Princess”, grinned Sander and pulled the other boy closer.

“Ah! That one is perfect!”, exclaimed Thea and laid back too, wrapping her arms around Donny's waist to cuddle up to the boy. “It's about two couples, the seme are twins. And then the uke notice that their partners switch from time to time and they get wasted in frustration, which leads to hot sex because one of the uke is a total slut and the other is always stubborn to submit. In the end-”

“Yeah, right. Ruin the end, Chase”, grunted Sander and hit her upside the head.

“Why... Why do _you_ know so much about this? And why are you okay with us watching such things together now?”, asked Donny and turned wide, curious eyes onto Sander.

“I'm bisexual”, shrugged Sander, a cheeky and broad grin forming on his lips. “I don't care if I have a girl or a guy laying under me. As long as they're cute and have a nice ass. I do have a thing for nice asses. It's why I know about 'this' so much. I've never denied a cutey that wanted a spanking.”

“R... Really?”, blinked Donny wide-eyed and surprised. “But... Why?”

“Because it's really hot when you have your lover squirming on your lap and a sweet ass turning dark red with every slap”, smirked Sander and licked his lips.

“So... That's really good?”, frowned Donny skeptically.

“Very good”, purred Sander very convincingly and shifted slightly, though then he grew serious again and stared into Donny's eyes. “You're getting curious. No need to blush. But you have to promise me one thing, Donny. You really have to promise, okay?”

“What?”, asked the young Sea Prince slowly.

“Don't try it out with the first guy that comes around. Only if you're really sure that you trust the guy, you hear me? I don't want you to get hurt, Donny. You need someone you trust completely, someone good, yeah?”, asked Sander softly and intensely, waiting until Donny nodded hastily. “Good. Can we watch the movie now? I'm getting horny even before the porn started!”

Donny gulped nervously and nodded slowly. His blush darkened a bit as Sander pulled him some closer until he had his head resting on the brunette boy's stomach, his arms folded beneath him so he could feel the hard muscles beneath the orange shirt. Thea was laying half on Sander and half on Donny, her chin on the young Sea Prince's shoulder as she pressed the play-botton.

The son of Percy and Nico didn't get all too much from the movie. Because he could still feel the six-pack of his crush and the way he was laying, his eyes always got dragged to the slowly building tent in Sander's jeans. All the while, he got to listen to the thing he liked most. Sander's water. Every body with moving water had a certain song to it, like the song captured in sea-shells. And every song was different. The one Donny liked most was Sander's though. It was wild and had a faster going rhythm than most others, like a battle about to happen. But the harsh tones were interrupted by cheerful patterns every once in a while. The cheekiness of the trickster within him interrupting his strict fighter genes. Two so different songs, and yet they fit perfectly. Sea-green eyes stared in amazement at the huge tent in the dark jeans. That tent was really... interesting.

“That is fucking hot”, groaned Sander, his hand still nestled into Donny's hair.

Sea-green eyes blinked and turned to pay some attention to the movie. There were four people, two brunette identical twins, an exotic boy who laid beside them and watched how the twins pulled out of the fourth one, laying in their arms with both their cocks within the pretty boy. The twins slowly pulled out of their lover and collapsed on the bed.

“ _You didn't let him come”, commented the one laying next to them and wrapped his arms around the submissive's waist._

“ _We know”, smirked both brothers, each laying down behind one of their lovers._

“ _Why not?”, whimpered the submissive with teary eyes, tugging at his still cuffed hands._

“ _Because Valentine's is not over yet and we're not finished with your for today, slut”, growled one of the twins and bit the back of the sub's neck to leave a mark of his own. “You're only allowed to come once you've pleased us thoroughly. You know the rules.”_

“ _I—I know”, sighed the sub and averted his eyes, cuddling closer to the exotic young man next to him. “Sorry, masters.”_

“ _I really like this”, grinned the other twin stupidly, kissing the exotic one's shoulders. “We three are so going to fuck our poor slut completely dumb.”_

Donny blushed furiously. So that was how it ended. The more dominant sub had fucked the other sub and then watched how the more submissive one got _doubled_? And if he looked at the actor that had just been taken by three guys, he looked quite pleased... Must have been a really good actor, or getting spanked, fucked, doubled and yet being denied to come was truly pleasant. Yeah, he certainly was a good actor. Just seeing how red-spanked his cheeks were and how the cum dripped out of the young actor... Donny blushed furiously. That couldn't be good or pleasant.

“Okay, either we're going to have a threesome now or I'll bide my good bye and take care of the aftermaths of that movie”, joked Sander and pushed Donny off slowly. “I have classes to teach later on so that hard-on needs to be taken care of.”

“Yeah, right”, laughed Thea amused and stared after him. “Have fun, Sander!”

She giggled slightly and her giggling grew into a full-blown laugh as she saw her best friend's erection. Donny huffed and blushed brightly, trying to cover it with the blankets. Though then she suddenly jumped off the bed and grinned wickedly.

“What are you up to?”, huffed Donny and blinked suspiciously.

“I have a present for you! It was supposed to be your birthday present, but seeing as your birthday is still a couple of months off and you look like you could use it now, I'm going to get it!”

Wide, sea-green eyes stared after her. The young prince sighed and shifted some, a bit uncomfortable due to the hard state of his member. His blush brightened. He hadn't even watched much of that stupid porn! All he had done was... Oh, right, staring at Sander. The blush deepened even more. He heaved a sigh, wondering what his best friend wanted. It only took Thea a couple of minutes before she came back, giggling like a maniac. She pushed a package into his hands and he frowned. Curiosity got the best out of him and he ripped the package open. The content made him blush the darkest red ever. A long, hard object and a bottle.

“A dildo and lube. Have fun, Donny. I'll just go and close the door behind me”, hummed Thea.

She grinned mischievously and left, doing as she had said. Donny stared at the dildo in utter disbelief. But he still needed to test Nico's theory, right? He glanced at the door. When their cousins weren't here, his siblings never came to the Hades cabin. And everyone else avoided it anyway. Sander was busy with his own erection and Thea wouldn't bother him again either since she was planning for him to masturbate. And now he actually needed to somehow get rid of his problem. So... why not trying it? Blushing furiously, he pulled his shirts up over his head and opened his pants to push them down. He sighed relieved as his erection was freed. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the soft pillows and took the dildo and lube out of the package.

Relaxing. He needed to relax. Opening the bottle, he poured a good amount of the cold lubrication onto his hands, yelping at the temperature. He rubbed his hands together to warm it a bit before he touched his member and started to stroke the length, gasping at the interesting feeling. He gripped tighter, moving his hand up and down, caressing the head. That was nice. Good. Really good. Biting his lips in embarrassment, he spread his legs and let his free hand wander down to his puckered hole. Biting down on his lower lip even harder, he started to circle the sensitive area and moaned in surprise at how intense it felt. His cock twitched at the touch and he immediately wanted more. Tightening his grip on his member, he slid one finger very slowly inside, then adding another one and a third, craving more and more. As three fingers still weren't enough, he huffed annoyed and pulled them out again to grab his new dildo (a cool swirling mix of blue and black) and inserted it in one swift go. Donny threw his head back and moaned. Now that was good. Jerking harshly, he thrust and pulled out just to thrust harder again. It was good, but something was missing.

Motivation. He had no real motivation behind the rhythmic movement. His eyes were tightly closed as he let his mind wander to more pleasurable places.

“ _ I don't care if I have a girl or a guy laying under me. As long as they're cute and have a nice ass. I do have a thing for nice asses. It's why I know about 'this' so much. I've never denied a cutey that wanted a spanking. Because it's really hot when you have your lover squirming on your lap and a sweet ass turning dark red with every slap. _ ”

A wanton moan escaped Donny's lips. So Sander didn't care if boy or girl, he only cared about butts. That suddenly remembered him of something San had said the other day though... Had... Had Sander meant that? That Donny had a nice ass? Did San really like it or had he only said it to make Donny feel better? And if he really, really meant it... would he want Donny squirming on his lap too? Donny felt something in his stomach knotting and his member twitching again at that. Was it that? The odd feeling when Sander had slapped his behind so playfully? Because his body had  _ liked _ that? Donny tried to test that theory, concentrating hard on the feeling of Sander's hand slapping his ass. It had been a bit of a hard slap though. He tried his best to recall it.

“Sa—an”, moaned Donny as his body seemed to tighten just for the knot to break.

An overwhelming sensation broke all barriers, it was as if all his thoughts and feelings were swamped out of his body, leaving him panting and his body pulsing. He needed a couple of minutes before he could move again. The first thing he did was lifting his hand curiously. It was covered in a sticky, milky substance. Looking left and right – as if he expected anyone to suddenly pop up next to him – he opened his mouth and slowly licked on his hand. He shuddered at the salty taste. Because he was Poseidon's grandson? Or did it always taste like that? It wasn't really pleasant so why should anyone willingly swallow it? Sander's certainly tasted better.

Oh gods, what was he thinking about?! His cheeks flushed again.

Blinking again, he looked down at his hand. Oh, okay, maybe it wasn't that bad after all. Without noticing, he had licked it all clean. For a second he contemplated if he should remove the dildo. But he really liked the feeling of something within him, so he decided to keep it in for the moment. Stretching over the bed, he grabbed his diary and pen again, grateful his friends hadn't noticed that. It would have been even more embarrassing to explain to them that he was writing diary.

 

/diary|entry\

 

_I just masturbated. Aaand... I really liked it. Thea bought me a dildo and lube. Which in itself disturbs me very much. But now that I used them, I'm grateful to her._

_I wouldn't have thought that it could feel good to have something within my ass, but it somehow did._

_The most embarrassing thing about this however is that I... uh... I was thinking about, well, Sander had said that he enjoys spanking his lovers and I remembered how he had said that I have a nice butt and how he had slapped it and I know he only said it to make me feel better after I had been all down and I know the slap was playful, but it made me wonder if he would like to spank me too. And the moment I had an orgasm – must have been that because it was really intense and overly awesome – I had been thinking of how his hand had come down on my butt._

_Now I'm really freaked out. But also kind of relieved, which sort of freaks me out even more. I mean, I'm relieved because I guess that I would probably maybe enjoy what he enjoys most too. Not that I really know, I mean I have never been spanked and I still can't really picture that it is much fun. But I kind of had liked how he had slapped me, but mostly because it was praising and a bit like a compliment. But then again, hadn't San said something like that? That this whole pain-thing was part of the game and a good thing? What if it really was? Even though it was so... ridiculous?_

_I think I would try it. But only with Sander. Well, he had said that this needs trust. And I trust him completely, after mom and dad he is the one I trust most, he has saved me often enough._


	7. Training on the Lake

7\. Training on the Lake

 

Donny yawned widely as he woke up, stretching in relief. He hadn't slept that well in ages. After he had finished his diary entry, he had masturbated again, though this time he allowed himself to fall asleep right after it. Blinking a few times, he looked around the Hades cabin. He was still alone, that was good. Looking out of the window, he saw that it was already dark. He must have missed dinner and bonfire. But judging by the missing laptop, he guessed that Thea had sometime between checked on him and most likely also reassured his siblings that he was fine.

He tried to stand, but collapsed on the bed again with a pained hiss. Maybe he had overdone it earlier, but the feeling had been too intense and awesome to not go harder. Frowning slightly, he turned to grab the dildo still seated within him. He had seriously fallen asleep with that stupid toy still inside of him! Blushing furiously, he grabbed it together with the bottle of lube and put both into his drawer. It was good each child of Nico had an own bed in this cabin too. Staring at the crust of cum on his hands and belly, he slowly stood again and walked over to the back part of the cabin where the bathrooms were located. His parents had told him that back in the old days, there had only been one bathroom with showers for all cabins. But ever since his very awesome mom had made them build cabins for the minor gods too, that had been completely out of question. Instead, they had added two doors at the back of the cabins, leading to bathrooms for girls and boys. He went into the boy's bath and took a long, hot shower.

 

/break\

 

Percy grinned lazily as he laid on their beautiful, big bed, the ropes still loosely hanging off the bed-frame, his wrists only slightly red. He watched through the open bathroom-door how his husband showered. Right next to their seven children, _that_ was the main reason why they had their very own bathroom. Because the glass-wall-shower was right in his line of view when he laid on their bed. And if there was one thing Percy enjoyed watching, then it was the naked body of his handsome husband, the muscles while water ran down that perfect body. The son of Poseidon gulped in want. One would think that after eighteen years of marriage their sex-life would be dull or have a certain routine to it. But Nico always made sure to keep it steamy and different, even though Percy still tried to fight Nico off whenever the Italian brought new 'outfits' for him. Like the stupid maiden dress or the nurse dress his wonderful husband had bought for him. He blushed slightly and glared. It was hard to deny Nico whenever the son of Hades turned those dark, begging eyes on him, pleading him to try it on. Oh, their sex-life had not once been dull.

“Mom, dad! Mom, are you home? Mom? Dad!”, called a loud voice from downstairs.

Percy groaned slightly. But it had only been a few days yet, why did... Wait. How? How did Donny return to them? Frowning slightly, he stood up and hastily put his jeans and shirt on before running downstairs. His son laid on the couch, his head upside-down looking at him.

“In my father's name, what are you doing here?!”, gasped Percy wide-eyed. “Are you hurt? Why did you shadow-travel? You could have ended up _anywhere_!”

“Grandpa Hades would have caught me in the shadows if something would have gone wrong”, grinned Donny and sat up, turning his big, pleading eyes on his mom. “Are you busy?”

“It's ten in the evening, Hades Poseidon”, grunted his mother with a glare. “I was about to go to bed. And so were you, young man. Why aren't you at camp?”

“I... I trained with Nico yesterday”, replied Donny.

“Oh?”, asked Percy, suddenly very curious, and sat down next to him. “And?”

He tried to stay calm, but he was way too giddy. Ever since Donny had made his first steps, both Nico and Percy had been giddy to train him. He had been their firstborn son after all. Even though Bianca was their little girl, they had always assumed for their son to become a great hero. Especially after they had learned that Donny united both their powers. But the boy had shown more interest in sitting in the back-yard and talking to butterflies. At first they had been disappointed, of course. Two of the biggest heroes of their time and their son was an adorable little tree-hugger? But with the time they had learned to live with it and accept it. Now however, knowing that Donny was interested in learning how to fight, a certain hope bloomed in Percy's heart. He was proud of his son. Just for being the cute boy he was, that alone was enough to make Percy proud, but... He would be even prouder if his little boy would know how to defend himself. And he would feel better about this too, because he wanted to know that his baby boy was safe, always.

“It... was good”, nodded Donny slowly, reluctantly. “I mean, I... I managed to control water. She taught me how to differ between my powers. She said I'm already pretty good. But she guessed that was because I always had to control them somehow, what with ignoring the _other_ things...”

“But you were good?”, smiled Percy proudly.

He tried to gulp the bad feeling down. He knew his son was carrying a big burden. To himself it had been hard enough to control the sea, to his husband it had been hard enough to control the dead. But both? And with irritating noises of things like butterflies, bumblebees and other little critters.

“I was good”, nodded Donny, a bit proud of himself.

“That's good, my angel”, grinned Percy and hugged the boy tightly. “I'm proud.”

“Perce? Why aren't you in bed anymore? Perce?”, grunted a very irritated voice from upstairs, slowly coming nearer. “Are you getting the whipped cream?”

“I'm hugging _our son_ ”, called Percy loudly before his husband could say anything kinky.

“Oh”, the Italian's mood deflated. “Why isn't he at camp? And which one is it?”

“It's me, the annoying oldest son”, grinned Donny amused.

“Ah! My favorite”, chuckled Nico as he emerged in the living room.

“You tell that every one of us”, huffed his son and rolled his eyes.

“Because you're all my favorites, bambino”, smiled Nico and kissed his forehead. “What are you doing here, little bugger? Aren't you supposed to go to bed and be at camp?”

“He trained with Nico!”, exclaimed Percy very proudly. “And he was good! Our boy was good!”

Nico chuckled and shook his head a bit as two pair of proud and happy sea-green eyes turned to look at him. He leaned in and ruffled Donny's hair before kissing the top of his head.

“That's good. But not a reason to be here. You should sleep, bambino”, grunted the Ghost King.

“I... wanted to ask if you would... train with me...”, murmured Donny unsure and averted his eyes a bit. “I mean... Nico said that I should... train with someone who knows how to control it... She suggested grandpa Hades and grandpa Poseidon, or you, or my siblings... And well, I figured my grandpas are too busy for that and I don't want to be taught anything by my siblings!”

“You wish to train?”, asked the son of Hades a bit surprised. “With us?”

“Of course. You're my parents”, shrugged Donny a bit insecure. “And you're the greatest heroes ever! Who else could teach me properly? But... I... don't want my siblings or the other campers to know... I mean... What if I'm no good? If not even training will work...? I don't want to disappoint anyone and I didn't want to disappoint you either, but I thought that if anyone can help me...”

“Ah, stupid Seaweed Brain junior”, sighed Nico and took his son's face into his hands, staring intensely into his eyes. “Nothing you will ever do will disappoint us. We are your parents, we love you and we will always love you because you're our son. Understood?”

“Yes, dad”, smiled Donny softly. “I... Would you... train with me...? At night. Because I don't want anyone to notice. I—I already slept this afternoon so I promise no lack of sleep, okay? I just really don't want anyone to know until I'm sure I'm not rubbish at it...”

Nico heaved a sigh and turned to lock eyes with his husband. They had a silent conversation with each other, something they had perfected over the years of their marriage. Percy pleaded him to give in, while Nico questioned if that would be a healthy schedule for their son. The Sea Prince gave that a huff in reply, as if to say “Of course, he is our son after all. He can handle it if he deems it fit”. And the son of Hades had to agree with that. He knew himself and his husband and no one had ever been able to hold them off from what they wanted to do. Donny would do it regardless of if they were going to help him or not. It would be better if at least one of them was with Donny and would regulate his schedule and guide him.

“Alright”, nodded the son of Hades slowly. “We will train with you. But no more than two hours each evening after curfew. Eleven o'clock and you're in bed. Am I understood?”

“Yes, dad”, grinned Donny, obviously relieved. “Thank you! And... Who will start?”

“Well, first you need a weapon”, smirked Percy and stood, motioning for his son to follow.

The three walked downstairs into the basement, Nico unlocking it to show Donny their private room for training. Weapons of different kind – swords, daggers, bows, spears and even tridents – and of different material – Stygian iron, celestial bronze, imperial gold – hung from the walls or rested on satin cushions. Sand-bags and different exercisers also stood around the room. Donny gaped in awe at all the different things until his mother walked over to a special looking display with crystal glass and light. A black Stygian-iron sword was resting on the display, together with a pen. Donny bit his lips. His parents' old weapons. Nightmare and Riptide.

“Go on, take your pick”, chuckled Percy and waved around the room. “Just... take the one you're feeling comfortable with. If we're going to teach you how to control your powers, we're also going to teach you how to use a weapon.”

He opened the crystal glass display and took his pall-point pen out, uncapping it to look at the celestial bronze sword with fondness, remembering all their shared adventures. Donny frowned, unsure what to do. His eyes wandered over the different weapons. Some were broad, some were sharp on both sides, some were Japanese, some short... It was hard to chose. But one sword seemed to practically call out to him. It was made of Stygian iron, slim and long, with a wickedly awesome sharpening in patterns like waves. Its hilt was adored with sapphires and a skull with a trident behind it, reaching down all the way along the hilt, the skull's sapphire eyes held a certain spark. It looked like the perfect mixture between both his realms, shadows and the sea.

“I... I want this one”, murmured Donny uncertain.

“That's Skotelnos Thalassa – the Dark Sea”, smiled Percy with a short nod while Nico opened the show-case and lifted the sword out. “Its blade is Stygian Iron, but its hilt is made of Royal Silver, a very rare metal that can only be found in the deepest parts of my father's sea. It's actually not even powerful, but Lady Aphrodite likes to have her jewelry crafted out of this. The only thing Royal Silver does is catalyzing my father's powers, thus only affecting children of Poseidon. Your grandpa Hades forged this as a wedding gift for me, because its Royal Silver hilt is what allows me to wield a sword with a Stygian Iron blade even thought that can normally only be controlled by children of the underworld. Though since I'm very fond of Riptide, I never truly got to use it. It would be my honor if you'd use it, Donny.”

“Skotelnos Thalassa? Skotha”, grinned Donny with sparkling eyes as he took the sword.

It seemed as if the sapphires glittered for a moment as if they agreed with the nickname. For the first time, Donny felt connected to a weapon, even though he had never desired to fight.

“Very well. Between your mom and me, he's the better sword-fighter. I'm more into practical combo”, smirked Nico and, much to Donny's confusion, made Percy blush.

“Love, are you going to bring us there?”, smiled Percy charmingly and wrapped his arms around his husband. “Our son traveled here all on his own and I wouldn't want to take any risks.”

“Without Shadowchaser?”, noted the son of Hades a bit surprised.

Donny blushed slightly and nodded, not sure if his father would be angry. Though instead the Ghost King only laughed and ruffled his hair, pride shining in his dark eyes.

“That's my boy”, smirked the Italian, his chest swelling with pride. “All the shadow-traveling with Shadowchaser certainly already helped you getting the directions right. And the rest did your good genes! Just like me! I've always been a good shadow-traveler!”

“Did I ever tell you of all the times he accidentally ended up in New Orleans? Often enough for us to get a second home there”, chuckled Percy as he pulled Donny close. “Now come.”

Nico huffed in embarrassment and transported his two boys through the shadows. They exited the darkness at the beach of camp. Both Donny and Percy leaned up to kiss Nico's cheeks. He chuckled and ruffled their hair. The teenager lifted his sword to look at it excitedly.

“So... And now?”, asked Donny, turning wide, pleading eyes onto his parents.

“Now I'll get back home and you two will train. And in two hours, I'll be collecting my husband again”, huffed Nico with one raised eyebrow. “You'll do exactly as your mom says, if you're not going by the rules, no training. Clear? And tomorrow, it'll be my turn to teach you. Okay?”

“Sounds good, dad. Thanks”, grinned Donny broadly.

The son of Hades disappeared into the darkness, leaving Donny and Percy alone on the beach. The teenager was still in awe over his amazing sword, not even noticing how his mother was deep in thoughts. Until Percy made a determined sounds and grabbed his hand. Donny blinked confused, though his eyes widened as he was pulled to the lake.

“Mom! Where are you going?”, yelped the teenager.

“A place where no one can watch us train. You're the one wanting to keep it a secret”, smiled the son of Poseidon mischievously. “And since I assume that Thess, Silly and Jack are already asleep, you and me will be the only ones able to get there. Onto the lake.”

“B—But mom! I'm not you! I can't-”, started his son to protest in panic.

“You are not me, but you have enough of me at the right place”, smiled Percy softly, touching the place above Donny's heart. “Just trust me. Walking on water is not hard. At least not very. And being on top of the water will make the training harder for you. It's good. Because in a real battle, you won't get to concentrate on only one thing either.”

Donny bit his lips, unsure what to do. Though the grin on his mother's lips encouraged him. Breathing deep, he tried to concentrate on the water beneath him. He took the first step, then the second and before he knew it, his mom and him were on the middle of the lake.

“Wow”, mumbled Donny in awe as he looked down through the water into the lake.

“It's awesome what we can do”, grinned Percy and nudged his son. “You're my boy. You can reach every goal you set yourself, as long as you _try_. I know you always fear to disappoint your dad and me. But there is no reason. The only way you would ever disappoint us would be by giving up. Because a Jackson never gives up. And even though you're a di Angelo, you're just as much of a Jackson. So just... fight. For whatever you want. If you want Sander, then fight for him.”

“I ain't a quitter!”, huffed Donny with a glare. “I don't give up!”

“Good. Then fight”, smirked Percy and uncapped his pen.

“B... But I don't know _how_ ”, mumbled the teenager worried and lifted his sword.

“Don't worry about that. Your natural battlefield instincts will help you. And everything else I'll correct and teach you”, smiled the son of Poseidon encouragingly.

Donny heaved a sigh, though then he yelped as he sank. He hastily tried to concentrate on the water again. But before he stood properly again, his mother already threw the first hit at him. He blinked surprised as he found himself blocking the hit with ease.

“I'll go soft on you for now to teach you the basics. Just counter my strikes. It's a bit like dancing. I come two steps closer, you go one step back, I take one step back and then you close in on me with two steps. Hit, blocking, hit, blocking. Just follow my lead, I know you're good at dancing.”

“Because grandma 'Phone always makes me go to the Spring Dances all around the world!”, huffed the teenage boy embarrassed and blushed, doing as his mother instructed him. “Okay, so... I just do what you do? Wow. This is easier than I thought it would be.”

“Because it's in your guts. The fighting instinct is a great help. I've fought and won against Ares after only a couple of training hours. If you come after me, you'll catch up with it easily.”

Donny nodded, his expression growing unusually serious as he followed his mother's commands and lead, averting his position whenever Percy told him to. He felt sweat beads running down his face as he concentrated on his movement, the water beneath him and his mother's attacks. The time flew and he was downright disappointed as his father waved them back to the shore.

“But... Only half an hour longer, please?”, asked Donny with a quivering lip, staring up at Nico.

“Yes, only a little longer, pretty please, love?”, whined Percy with the same quivering lip.

The son of Hades sighed a bit irritated as his two Sea Princes walked up to him from the lake, both turning those big, pleading, sea-green eyes on him. It was hard enough to decline his husband and it was hard enough to deny his first-born son – not that he loved Percy, Thess, Jimmy, Silly or Jack any less, but Bia and Don had been their first, within one year the love of his life had given him those two. But telling both of them off at the same time? Nearly impossible.

“Don't do this, both of you. Bad. Very bad”, huffed the Ghost King with a glare. “You, young man, are going to bed now. You're young, you need sleep. You don't want to raise any suspicions by being sleep-deprived tomorrow, mh? You know how easy Thea and Sander worry about you.”

“N—No, wouldn't want that”, mumbled Donny and blushed slightly.

“You _are_ going to tell me who you want to impress at one point, you're aware of that, right?”, grunted Nico and wrapped his arms around his husband while glaring at his son, who stared at him wide-eyed and a little panicked. “You don't have to tell me _now_ , but one day I expect to learn it from you and not from camp gossip that my son is dating.”

“Okay, dad”, smiled Donny relieved and leaned up to kiss both their cheeks. “Thanks, both of you.”

“I'll be seeing you tomorrow, nine o'clock sharp, in the woods”, ordered the son of Hades.

With that, his parents disappeared through the shadows and Donny made his way back to the Poseidon cabin. Though not without pressing the skull on Skotha's hilt. The sword shrank into a ring, similar to his parents' wedding rings, but instead of their ruby eyes it had sapphire eyes. Grinning broadly, he put it onto his right middle-finger and stared at it proudly. It was as if he had finally earned himself his place in his family. Noiselessly sneaking into his cabin, he fell breathlessly onto his bed and pulled a candle with green fire as well as his diary close, yawning.

 

/diary|entry\

 

_I've never been that exhausted before in my whole life! I just trained with my mom on the lake. Yes, **on** the lake, not in. It was so freakishly awesome! The way mom guided me through everything and explained it patiently. Oh, and I got a sword now, it's called Skotha. It's wicked. Like mom and dad combined. Mom said that grandpa Hades made it for him as a wedding gift._

_They agreed to train me from now on and I would have loved to train some longer with mom, but dad said I have to go to bed, even though I dont—_

 

/entry|end\

 

Donny laid curled together on his diary, the pen still in his hand, but the boy himself deep asleep. The boy watching him chuckled slightly and put the diary and pen aside, kissing the top of Donny's head and pulling the blankets over him before extinguishing the flame.

“Good night, big brother”, whispered Thess softly before returning to his own bed, yawning widely.

He really hoped that Donny would finally get happy too. Hopefully mom and dad could help...


	8. The Other Side of the Coin

8\. The Other Side of the Coin

 

Wide, sea-green eyes stared around the vacant cabin. No, not vacant. There was one person inside, sitting on his bed with a book in his hands. Curious and mischievous brown eyes looked up, one brunette eyebrow raised in question as the book was put aside.

“Don? What's up?”, grunted Sander confused.

The young Sea Prince blushed a delicious pink as he slowly walked up to him. “I just... I got so curious after we watched that movie yesterday and... and... you said I should only try it with someone I really trust and I do trust you, more than most others. A... And you have experience...”

“What are you trying to say...?”, asked the brunette, even more confused now.

He sat up some as Donny came closer and closer and closer, until he was sitting on Sander's bed, nose to nose with the trickster. The young Sea Prince worried his lips embarrassed and averted his eyes, fidgeting with his hands. Then he turned with the widest, most begging eyes possible to San.

“Can... Can you spank me, please?”, asked Donny in a soft voice. “Please, you made it sound so interesting and... and good... I... I want to try... Can... Can you do it, please? Will you spank me?”

His cheeks were the most delicious cherry red. A red that would certainly look even more delicious on his other cheeks. Sander gulped hard, finding something else quite hard too at the moment.

“D... Donny, you don't know what you're saying there”, huffed the brunette.

“I think I do”, hummed the son of Perseus and tilted his head curiously. “I may be a bit naive, but I'm not stupid and I'm not a kid anymore. I know what I want. And I'll get it.”

Before Sander could protest any more, he had soft, salty lips pressed against his own. The action was surprising but also kind of hot. It was so unlike Donny to initiate _anything_. While the soft lips distracted him, the brunette could hear a zipper. As they parted, he saw Donny's cheeks flushed. Sander gaped at him surprised, though the next thing he knew, he had a light weight laying on his lap. Looking down was a _mistake_. Because how was he supposed to deny the request when faced with a heart-shaped and very blank behind. So perfect and smooth. Licking his lips, he placed a shaking hand on top of it. Really smooth, soft and firm. His mouth was dry and his breathing heavy. As if on autopilot, he lifted his hand and brought it down hard on the round firmness. The boy on his lap yelped in surprise and squirmed. Sander waited for a moment, giving Donny the chance to back out. But the boy only pushed his ass higher into the air. So the brunette obeyed and slapped it again. And again. Until the surprised yelps turned into delicious moans. Sander continued until his own cock was so hard that it hurt, but seeing that sweet behind so dark red on his lap and hearing those sounds was making it really hard to keep himself contained.

“That's enough”, grunted Sander reluctantly after a while.

“But I want more! Please?”, whined Donny, giving him that wide kicked-kitten look.

“No”, declared the brunette firmly and shifted the younger boy until Donny was straddling his hips, resting his head against Sander's shoulder. “You've had enough. That's still new to you so you don't know your own limits. So it's my duty to keep you in line, as your... friend.”

“As my... friend?”, repeated Donny with a frown and pushed Sander back onto the bed, shifting to straddle his waist and rub his ass against the tent in Sander's pants. “Or... maybe... more...?”

Sander leaned up to wrap his arms around the younger boy's neck, moving to turn them around so he would be laying between Donny's gorgeous long legs. But instead he fell out of the bed with a loud, not very manly yelp. Grunting slightly, he blinked his eyes open. The soft light of the rising sun shone through the window and a male voice huffed next to him.

“Dude, the fuck is wrong with you?”, grunted the boy in the bed next to him.

Sander blinked again and looked at the sixteen-years old with the mohawk, ruffling said batch of hair sleepily. The son of Clarisse groaned as his mother's brother kept glaring. Ares cabin. In the early morning hours. Without Donny. His eyes wandered between his own legs. Massive boner.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck”, growled Sander angered and stood, making the son of Ares in the bed next to him snicker amused. “Suck it, Raser, you dick.”

“Not sucking _that_ ”, snorted the son of Ares and turned around. “If you're going to masturbate now, I'm going to kick your ass. I want to _sleep_ now, it's too fucking early in the morning, sucker.”

The brunette sighed and glared at the boy with the mohawk. Sam Raser was a dick. Sander chuckled slightly. He sometimes really wondered why he was friends with that jerk.

“Shut. Up”, growled Sam and threw a pillow at him. “Go and take a cold shower, wanker. Or go over to Demeter cabin and fuck Rhys. Sure he'd be eager to spread his legs for you again.”

Sander huffed and stood to go to the bathroom. Why did such dreams have to happen to him? As if that would ever happen. Sure, Donny wasn't a kid anymore, but there was still no way that the cutest and most naive boy on this planet would ever want him. Once inside the bathroom, he stripped down and stepped under the shower, turning the water as cold as possible. He shuddered and closed his eyes. Cold water was not helping him any. Because it only reminded him of Donny. The boy smelled like the sea, his movement fluent as a river and he was most of the times cold like the children of the underworld (which had the somewhat pleasant effect that Donny loved to cuddle to others who were warmer than him, and somewhat only because Donny also cuddled with others aside from Sander). Sander groaned annoyed and popped his neck. He hated waking up with a boner because of Donny. For being so innocent and naive, the boy could be a bloody tease. Why did he have to wear skin-tight leather pants like all the time, seriously? As if that ass wasn't tempting enough in baggy jeans, no, Donny had to show it off like that! Sander glared at the wall and grabbed his shampoo. And the boy's ass wasn't the only thing appealing! It was just...  _everything_ ! The light olive skin and his black, ruffled hair, both in a stark contrast to his bright, beautiful sea-green eyes, that seemed to shine even brighter in contrast. Those legs and the pretty lips and that smile and the cute way Donny always talked and how naive he could be and how adorably he tilted his head when he didn't understand something. Just... about everything combined.

What he had said to Donny had been true. Who wouldn't want Donny? The boy was so beautiful and charming, there was not an ounce of evil in the boy. He was the purest, most amazing being Sander had ever encountered. And he was powerful. So incredibly powerful that that alone was making him hard. The boy controlled death, the sea, even animals. The most powerful and yet the most humble being Sander had ever met. Just imagining Donny getting into full-blown angry hero mode made Sander come, it was probably the hottest thing he could imagine... Well, together with Donny, red-cheeked and sprawled over his lap...

“Okay, at least that problem is taken care of now”, panted Sander and grabbed his soap.

Getting rid of the cum on his hand, he waited another couple of moments to let the water clean his body before he left the shower again and grabbed a towel. Hastily drying himself off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and got back into the cabin.

“Jerked off?”, grunted Sam with one raised eyebrow, half laying beneath his pillow, smirking up at the brunette. “Imagined your little princess with spread legs, begging for it like a slut?”

“Don't talk about him like that”, growled Sander with gritted teeth.

“Jeez, calm down, bro”, snorted the son of Ares and sat up, stretching with a wide yawn. “Just kidding, you dork. You're really cranky today. How about breakfast? Maybe then you'll stop being such a bitch about this. I'm fucking starving.”

Sander shrugged and put a pair of boxershorts and jeans on. With his shirt in hand, he followed his... uncle. Okay, trying not to think about that aspect of being a camper around here, he just followed to the dining hall. Sam was only wearing shorts and a muscle shirt. He never really bothered with such things as appearance. Besides, the girls liked that look. The rugged hero look.

“Morning, brother. Finally finished with that 'shower' of yours?”, snickered a voice from the table.

Sander blinked and looked down at his little sister. Charisma smirked in a way no ten-years-old should. The kid was the devil's spawn. Well, at least he would think she was if there would a) be a proper devil and b) she wouldn't be his sister.

“Shut up, ankle-biter”, hissed Sander and sat down next to her with a glare.

She smirked and stuck her tongue out at him. In the back of his mind, he could hear his uncle Percy laughing. He always said that Carry was just exactly like Clarisse – not only with her looks but also with her behavior – and was making Sander's life just as complicated as Clarisse had made Percy's. Which was incredibly irritating seeing as Carry was seven years younger than him. Shouldn't he be the one troubling her then?! Sam laughed amused as he sat down on Sander's other side.

“Leave it, halfling. He's being all pissy today”, snickered the son of Ares.

Sander gritted his teeth and Carry turned to glare at the older boy. “Dude, call me that one more time and I'll make you cry and run for your mommy because you'll get your ass handed by a kid.”

The son of Clarisse intensified his glare to make clear that his sister was not alone with that. 'Halfling' was what the demigods called the children of demigods. Since a demigod was per definition already a half-blood. But  _they_ were even only the half of a half. And thus had not even a proper terminus. Because quarter-god wasn't right either since they were the children of two half-bloods, which made them via mathematics half too. Just with two different quarters. So they were widely called half-bloods or demigods too even though they weren't  _ proper _ half-bloods or demigods. Other proper ones called them halflings in a disregarding way like mud-blood was an insult coming from a pure-blood. He seriously needed to lay off the old books from aunt Annabeth.

“Are you alright, San? You look kind of... angry...?”, asked a soft voice.

The three turned to the source of the voice, facing a rather ruffled grandson of Hades and Poseidon. Donny yawned widely, one hand trying to untangle the knots in his hair, his shirt slipping off his shoulder. His shirt which was obviously not his since Donny didn't own a single shirt with sleeves, but this one was for once intact and not ripped apart in some way. He was even cuter than normally.

“Yeah, sure. Just... didn't sleep well”, muttered Sander and tried very hard to not think of his dream.

“Oh?”, asked Donny worried and sat down on the edge of the table next to Carry. “Bad dream?”

Not helping him any with trying to not think of the dream. “No, it was actually... a really good one. But I fell out of bed in the middle of it. Kind of a rough awakening, you know?”

Donny nodded thoughtful and stole a fry from Carry's plate (Sander shuddered at what they could eat for breakfast, but his sister was really hardcore when it came to food). The brunette girl glared at Donny for stealing her food and pulled her plate closer.

“Cheap thief”, muttered Carry a bit irritated. “Go and get your own food, Horse Whisperer.”

“Always so cranky in the morning”, grinned Donny and patted her head.

Carry grinned up at him and stuck her tongue out. Rolling his eyes, Sander caught a climbs of something he would have rather not seen. A ring. On Donny's finger. A silver skull with sapphire eyes. But Donny had never worn any jewelry aside from his camp necklace, claiming that enough people were calling him a princess even without such things. Where did he get that? And the too big camp shirt? And why was he looking so extremely tired today? Then his sudden interest in porn and sex and BDSM. And how he had just disappeared, mumbling something about running an arrant for his dad. Sander's stomach knotted as the pieces came together in his mind.

Donny hadn't been curious just like that. There was a boy. His Disney Princess... already had a guy, who was into BDSM and who had obviously pressured Donny into doing some researches. And by the state of clothes, new ring and the lack of sleep that was evident in his appearance, the guy already got what he had wanted last night. Sander felt like throwing up. He had encouraged Donny to try it. But he hadn't meant with someone else! He stood abruptly.

“Sam, you up for a sparring?”, grunted Sander with dark eyes.

“Huh?”, mumbled the mohawked boy doe-eyed, half a burrito in his mouth.

“Sparring. You, me, now”, grunted the brunette irritated. “Yes?”

“Sure”, shrugged the son of Ares a bit confused and stood. “But... breakfast?”

“Not hungry anymore. And you can just take your stupid burrito with you. How can you even eat that so early in the morning, damn it?”, snorted Sander with one raised eyebrow.

He could feel those big, confused sea-green eyes on him. “San? Wait, what's wrong...?”

“Nothing”, huffed Sander without turning around. “I just want some training now, because _unlike others_ I enjoy steeling myself a bit.”

He knew he was being unfair and he knew that what he loved most about Donny was that the boy couldn't harm a fly (well, mostly because he understood their pleadings). But right now he was furious and if there was one thing that was dangerous then it was someone with Ares' genes being furious. He just didn't want to accidentally hurt Donny because he had the urge to rip that stupid too big shirt off the boy and burn it in the fire. And that stupid ring with it. No one was supposed to get his precious. Okay, he  _really_ needed to lay off the old books. Shaking his head, he stormed out of the dining hall and over to the arena, Sam close behind.

“Dude, for someone who wants to tap that ass, you were just being a real ass yourself”, noted Sam with one raised eyebrow, swallowing the last remains of his burrito. “I mean, seriously. The kid looked like you just stole his puppy. Considering that his puppy is a giant-ass hell-hound I would actually love to see that happen...”

“You talk too much, Raser. Just fight”, snorted Sander as they reached the arena.

Drawing his own Imperial Gold sword – a present from his godmother Reyna for his sixteenth birthday – he turned to glare at Sam demandingly. But the son of Ares only gave him a smug grin in return, drawing his own weapon. Though even before one of them could swing their swords, they could hear the sound of metal meeting metal. Both boys blinked surprised and turned to look at the other two guys in the arena, their swords clashing, sparks flying at the intensity of their hits.

Sander blinked before rolling his eyes. Figured. Their two other friends. Or rather, the two other training-obsessed children of war. Marshall Mikaelson, that bulky, tall black son of Enyo, was sparring with the – compared to Marshall at least, compared to Sam he was packed – light weighted blonde son of Athena, Trend Austin. Marshall, Sam and Trend were probably the half-bloods Sander was closest with. The three children of war were a good combination. While Sam was always cheeky and up to something incredibly stupid – most of the times insulting the wrong people – always ending up in some kind of fight without a warning, Trend was that calculating strategist, who didn't win his fights by muscles but more so with his brains. And that was why the two of them were most of the time fighting with each other. Because Trend said that storming into a fight headless was stupid while Sam said that planning beforehand was a waste of time because if you're strong enough you don't need that. So, one was calling the other dumb and was being called weak in return. That was why they needed Marshall. The son of Enyo was level-headed, extremely strong but also never without a plan. It was why Sander got along with Marshall so well. He reminded Sander of his godmother, but that was most likely because Reyna was Marshall's Roman half-sister. Argh, he needed to stop thinking about such things, they always made his brain hurt.

“You guys are early”, noted Sam with one raised eyebrow as he placed his first hit.

Sander blocked it with ease and turned to look at his other two friends curiously. There was an amused glint in Marshall's surprisingly bright green eyes as the dark-skinned boy ducked away under Trend's sword. The blonde son of Athena on the other hand looked downright angry.

“You're an asshole, Rodriguez. A fucking asshole”, hissed the normally calm son of Athena.

“What did I do this time, Trend?”, snorted Sander and rolled his eyes.

He normally hated being accused of doing something he certainly had not done. But perhaps today the distraction would be welcomed. He managed to cut Sam's upper arm, making the son of Ares hiss. Sander smirked. That served the brat right for calling his baby sister a halfling. Even though he knew that Sam hadn't meant it in a bad way. The stupid mohawk-head always insulted everyone.

“My boyfriend called me 'Sander' last night while I was fucking him”, growled Trend with gritted teeth. “I had him tied to the bed and pounded his ass like there was no tomorrow and that little slut calls me Sander. Why did you and your dick have to go there first, Rodriguez?”

“Not my fault”, snorted Sander, leaning just out of reach as Sam aimed for his throat. “Derek Rhys is the biggest slut of Demeter cabin, he had been _begging_ for it. In more ways than one.”

“And we all know he loves a flower child”, snickered Sam and wiggled his eyebrows, managing to grace Sander's side with his sword at that distraction. “Oh, or was is just the ones with the spring blessing and not the ones with _actual_ powers?”

“Fuck you, Raser”, growled Sander and lunged at him, his sword falling to the ground.

“What? Did I hit a nerve?”, chuckled the son of Ares as they rolled around on the ground.

“Hey!”, screamed Trend annoyed and threw his own sword down to join the tangling of limbs and hit Sander's yaw hard. “This was about how you had fucked my boyfriend first, if I may redirect your attention back to the problem. This is not about the Disney Princess or how much Sander wants his dick within that ass. It's only about how much your dick was up Derek's ass.”

“Don't be such a bitch about that, Austin”, snorted Sam and strangled Trend from behind. “Rodriguez had been all pissy since he woke up. Cranky asshole he is. I demand my payback now. You can cry about the fact that you _obviously_ don't satisfy _your_ slut enough later on.”

“I satisfy him very much”, growled Trend and elbowed Sam in the ribs. “And don't call him that!”

“Really? Then why is he calling out Sander's name and not yours when you fuck him?”, smirked Sam wickedly and kicked Trend's side hard. “Besides, I get to call my best friend whatever the fuck I like. Because if anyone knows how much of a slut he is, it's me.”

“Shut up, you two! You wanted to fight with me and now you're ignoring me, jerks!”, exclaimed Sander annoyed, placing one of his fists in one face. “ _I'm_ the one that needs to blow of some steam here since my crush is having a lover now, after I encouraged him to learn more about BDSM yesterday! I taught him so he could practice with someone else!”

Both stopped mid-hit, Trend's knee about half-way up to Sander's groin while Sam was pulling Trend's hair with one hand and Trend had both his hands around Sam's neck, Sam's free hand trying to loosen them a bit. Both of them froze within this exact position to blink up at Sander surprised. And then they burst into laughter.

“Fuck, that's the most hilarious thing I've ever heard!”, snorted Sam, his body shaking in laughter, clinging to Trend. “Sorry, dude, but... damn. You're an unlucky bastard.”

“You try to make him yours for what now? Five years? And now that you got him into the kinky stuff, someone else lays a collar around his neck first?”, laughed Trend, his forehead resting against the son of Mars' shoulder. “Damn, how can you be such a loser while being such a hero...?”

“You two can just go and fuck yourselves”, muttered Sander with a glare and turned. “Or just fuck each other. Would finally dissolve that annoying sexual tension.”

The laughter died down instantly and Trend and Sam stared at each other with wide, slightly disgusted eyes. Sander muttered something under his breath and left. After a couple of moments, he noticed the steps following him and he stopped to glare at the son of Enyo.

“What is it, Marshall? You want to give a clever remark too?”, growled Sander aggressively.

But the taller boy only smirked knowingly. “I'm going to visit my girlfriend later on.”

“Thanks for rubbing some salt into the injury”, huffed Sander and turned. “Just what I needed. Hearing about your happy lovey-dovey relationship with that Mars-brat.”

“ _Sara_ is staying at Camp Jupiter this year”, sighed Marshall. “I'll take Mrs. O'Leary with me, I already asked Percy if she'd let me have her hell-hound today. How about you accompany me, getting a bit distance between yourself and the problem? And maybe the advice of someone?”

Sander froze for a moment. His best friend certainly knew what to do. Time to visit Hercules Grace.


	9. The Dead Gorilla

9\. The Dead Gorilla

 

/diary|entry\

 

_I am sooo bored. Seriously, I could fill this whole stupid book with 'o's at the moment to emphasize my point. It's like... everybody is busy doing stuff and I'm just sitting here, waiting for night to come._

_Jack ran off with Thea's youngest brother Matt, the two doing some kind of mischief. All of camp is still one big playground for Jack and he's very, very busy discovering it all. Silly is in the woods, talking with the nymphs. She loves hanging out with the nymphs, more than with the demigods that is. And Jimmy is planning a prank or two with his two best friends. I think Thess is snogging with Luke and Percy is being all lovey-dovey with Kitty. Which leaves me all alone in the Poseidon cabin at the moment. I wanted to hang with Thea, but she has a flying class, which means I can't even talk to Nightowl, her pegasus. And Shadow and Trick wanted some... er, privacy. And I seem unable to find Sander anywhere... He... has been really odd all day long.  
I mean, at first I thought he was just being cranky because of his lack of sleep, but then he practically ran away from me, not without a remark on how he liked to train unlike 'others'. I knew it. I knew he was bothered that I'm an untrained weakling... But hearing that makes me really, really sad. Even more sad than I already was just because he looked at me so... angrily. I don't like it when anyone is angry at me, but with him it's especially bad. I went looking for him to apologize for whatever I had done to make him so angry at me – because I'm not stupid, I know when someone is looking at me angry and not just in general. But I couldn't find him anywhere. Not even the arena. I only found Trend and Sam there, but the two were so busy fighting, I doubt they even noticed my presence... Well, maybe I can apologize at the bonfire tonight._

_Anyway! There's something else I wanted to tell you! When I was in the Hades cabin yesterday and trying to hide the lube and the dildo, I had found a secret part in my drawer. And inside had been a camp shirt and a letter. A letter from my dad. It was really cool, because it was all about how he had always refused to wear a camp shirt because he had never felt like he belonged here because the children of Hades weren't very welcomed and that only Percy Jackson had been responsible that there was a Hades cabin now and how he was sure that whoever found the letter certainly heard from the greatest hero of the modern time. He wrote that he only accepted the shirt after he had gotten together with 'the greatest hero ever', because he made him feel like he did belong there too. And then the letter ended, with something like if he as a child of Hades could date the most well-respected hero without earning odd looks from other campers then they finally belonged there too and that every child of Hades should be proud to be part of this camp too._

_You see, I've always only been wearing my camp shirt beneath my regular clothes because I never really felt like Camp Half-Blood is a place for me. I'm a halfling with the blessing of spring. But reading how my dad had finally learned that he belonged here makes me think that I belong here too. I've been wearing his shirt ever since I found it yesterday evening. Even though it's a bit too big for me. But that was to be expected..._

_Great, now I'm still bored and it's still hours until bonfire. Why can't Apollo pull the sun chariot out of the way earlier today? I just want to get to the training part of the day! I can't wait what dad will be up to. I'm really giddy to get to spend some alone time with him again. And with mom. There had always been a younger sibling nagging, demanding attention, for as long as I can remember. It's especially hard since Jack's birth because he's really hyperactive and needs much attention. And I don't want to take that away from my siblings either, but I just miss having my mommy all to myself sometimes. Now with the training, I'll get the chance to!_

 

/entry|end\

 

Donny sighed with a pout, his feet dangling off the bed as he sat there. The diary laid beside him, unused for now since he was finished for today. There was nothing left to say. Sadness clouded his eyes as he stared out into empty space, thinking of Sander and how angry the brunette had been.

“Lu—uke, take your hands away”, giggled a voice.

“Why? It's mine now”, growled another voice slightly possessive.

Donny blinked and shook his head to clear his mind. Turning to look at the entrance, he saw his younger brother Thess, heavily blushing, with a tall blonde groping his butt.

“Lucas, remove your hands from my brother's behind or I'll tell our father”, warned Donny.

The blonde turned wide, multiple-colored eyes on him, begging for this to be a joke. The son of Nico chuckled amused and shook his head no. If his mom and dad said something then that was law. And Thess was only fourteen, he was too young for such inappropriate behavior!

“Aw, come on, Donny”, pouted Luke with begging eyes. “It's just a sign of affection. We're not doing anything! He wouldn't even let me go below his shirt! ...Uh, not that I tried, of course!”

Raising one eyebrow in question, Donny shifted some and glared at his little brother. Thess blushed the most furious red and sneaked over to sit next to his big brother, hiding his face in the crook of his brother's neck. Ruffling the younger boy's hair, Donny smiled slightly.

“I won't be telling dad. For now”, chuckled Donny before glaring and Luke. “But if I hear you going too far, I will hand your ass over to grandpa personally and see you in the fields of punishment. So consider yourself warned, Chase.”

“Y—Yes, Donny”, nodded Luke and saluted slightly before grinning mischievously. “Damn, you are going to be an awesome protective mom one day.”

“W—Why mom?!”, yelped Donny and blushed furiously, glaring after the blonde.

Luke laughed and ran out of the cabin after blowing his boyfriend a kiss. The two brothers were left alone, Thess shifting a bit to get more comfortable and lay against his brother's side. Donny sighed and leaned his back against the wall, wrapping one arm around his baby brother.

“He's right”, grinned Thess and winked. “You'll be an awesome mom. And _Sander_ would be a great dad. Oh, I'm sure my nieces and nephews would turn out to be totally adorable.”

“What in the world are you talking about?”, hissed Donny red-faced.

Thess' grin grew and his eyes wandered indicatively over to Donny's diary. “Though I still wonder where you hide that toy of yours since I haven't found anything here.”

“You little kelp-face!”, yelled Donny wide-eyed. “Why are you reading my diary?!”

Thess giggled and jumped off the bed to get away from his angry big brother. “Oh come on, you have five younger siblings. Did you really expect none of us would read it if you let it lay around like that? But don't worry, I hid it away before Percy found it. Besides, I only read it because I was concerned for you. You've been behaving odd these last few weeks. Though now I at least now why. Because you want Sander to spank you.”

Wide, Tartarus-dark eyes stared at Donny, Thess suddenly very silent. It took the older di Angelo a moment to realize that the whole Poseidon cabin had darkened into nothingness, pure pitch-black darkness. The playful look on his little brother's face had melted into one of fear.

“S... Sorry”, mumbled Donny and tried to breath deep, his stomach knotting in guilt.

He was still no good at controlling his emotions. When he got angry – really angry – then he would pull the shadows closer until everything around him was dark. When he was sad it rained outside. And when he was happy, there were some sort of critters closing in on him.

“N... No problem, brother”, replied Thess, trying to calm down, though he was still shaking nervously. “But... can... can you come and get me, please?”

Donny nodded and walked over to his little brother, his steps easy and hitting solid even though everything around them was like an ocean of ink. He could see how uncomfortable his water-bending little brother was in the shadows. Wrapping his arms around his baby brother, Donny tried to focus very hard on the Poseidon cabin, until they landed on the soft surface of a bed again.

“You... really brought us back”, blinked Thess surprised. “I didn't know you could already control your shadow-traveling. That's cool. Oh! How is your control over water? Can we train together?”

“No. I don't... I don't want others to know that I train”, muttered Donny and blushed. “What if...”

“What if you're as awesome at it as mom?”, ended Thess, not accepting any other option. “Come!”

The younger di Angelo glared at his brother in determination and pulled Donny along out of the cabin. Though Donny slowed his sibling down some as he saw his best friend.

“Thea!”, called Donny loudly, catching the brunette's attention.

“Oh. Hey, boys”, grinned the native American and jogged over to them. “I'm pretty busy actually...”

“I just wanted to ask you if you had seen San...?”, drawled Donny and blushed a bit.

Thea frowned for a moment confused. “He's not here. He had told me so like three hours ago. He said he'd be staying with uncle Jason for a couple of days. Hadn't he said good bye to you?”

Sea-green eyes blinked surprised at that information. “Oh... Well... Maybe he didn't find me...”

“I guess”, shrugged Thea, not very convinced.

But before she could ask what was going on between her two boys, another girl ran over to them from where Thea had come from. She had practically every color of the rainbow on her head, her eyes seemed to swirl in different colors too and her camp shirt was tie-dyed.

“Thea. No time for girls talk. There's a class of newbies waiting for us!”

“Right. Sorry, Rainbow”, mumbled Thea and nodded. “Bye, boys.”

The two girls dashed away and Donny glared after them a bit. He didn't like Rainbow Jordan very much, but mainly so because she was Thea's female best friend so he felt like he was competing with her. Besides, how stoned had her dad been, calling a daughter of Iris Rainbow, really?

“Donny?”, asked Thess softly, worry evident in his voice. “Is everything alright between you and San...? Did something happen? He never leaves for the Romans without you and Thea.”

“I don't... know”, shrugged Donny uncertain. “I mean, he was kind of angry at me this morning... But... I don't know why. Maybe... I did something wrong...?”

“You?”, blinked Thess ridiculed. “You've never done anything to hurt anyone, I couldn't picture what you could have done wrong to make him angry at you! It's _certainly_ not you.”

“If... you say so...”, nodded Donny with a small smile. “Now come, you wanted to go to the lake.”

“Yes!”, exclaimed Thess and nodded hastily, continuing to pull his brother along.

 

/break\

 

Donny yawned completely exhausted as he stood in the middle of the woods, shortly past nine in the evening. He had spend three hours swimming with Thess, training so far beneath the surface that no one could watch them. He hated to admit it, but his younger brother had actually taught him a thing or two. But now he was dead on his feet and he was supposed to train with his dad.

“Someone is looking not very enthusiastic to spend time with me. Maybe I should go and get Jacky? He's always excited to see me”, chuckled his dad from in front of him.

Donny blinked wide-eyed. He hadn't even noticed that his dad had arrived. The son of Hades leaned leisurely against a tree, his arms crossed in front of his chest, one eyebrow raised in question and a teasing smirk on his lips. He was practically radiating bad boy vibes (that's what his mother called it and also what his mom claimed to be the reason he had fallen so hard for the Ghost King back then). Blushing a bit in shame, Donny averted his eyes.

“Sorry, dad”, mumbled Donny and bit his lips. “I am excited, I'm just tired a bit...”

“So you want us to skip training and you'll go to bed?”, grunted Nico with a slight frown.

“No!”, exclaimed Donny and shook his head violently. “I want to train!”

“Good”, nodded Nico and pushed himself off the tree. “Then let's begin.”

Donny nodded eagerly and made a move to activate his magical ring sword, but his father stopped him and shook his head. Frowning in confusion, Donny tilted his head.

“But you just said...”, started the son of Perseus.

“That we'll train, yes”, nodded the Ghost King. “I didn't say a word about swords. You mom is the sword-manic. I'm good with my sword too, but he's better so he'll teach you that. I'm more into combat. So I will teach you that. You don't need both of us teaching you the same. Oh, and don't give me that look, bambino. I'm not going to beat you up. We'll do that differently.”

Under the observation of his very confused son, Nico raised a skeleton. Smirking at the teen, Nico crossed his arms. And the skeleton did the same. Donny gulped, still confused.

“Now it's your turn, bambino”, ordered the son of Hades. “Raise the dead. Control them. It's not hard. You have to concentrate on that part of your powers. I know it's the only aspect of your variety of powers that you haven't elaborated yet. So I thought we should bind it into this training. Concentrate on the darkness and the earth, feel what lays beneath it.”

Donny nodded obediently and closed his eyes, trying to breath deep. He tried to do as his cousin had explained to him. Separate his powers by how they feel. By now he knew exactly what the control of water felt like and how shadow-traveling felt. But death...? It was an irksome feeling, cold and creepy, making him shudder slightly. But he found it. Concentrating on it, he tried to call to them. Imagining a skeleton crawling out of the earth, ordering it to do so.

“Well, I suppose that will do. We'll work on the species later on”, grunted his father.

Blinked curiously, Donny looked at what he had raised from the dead. A gorilla. Not quite what he had aimed for, but at least he had managed to raise _something_. Grinning proudly, he looked up at his dad for further instructions. Upon seeing that grin, Nico had to laugh and ruffle his son's hair.

“You're just as adorable as your mother, bambino”, chuckled the son of Hades and shook his head. “It's a miracle I don't have to fend suitors off left and right wherever you go!”

“Da—ad!”, yelped Donny embarrassed and blushed.

“Okay. Next we're going to _control_ the skeletons”, redirected Nico their conversation, slipping his serious face on once more. “We'll fight, hand-to-hand. But through the skeletons. You will picture what you'd do with your thoughts and project them as orders onto the skeleton. I'll counter. And so forth. That way, none of us will get hurt and you'll improve your control over the dead and memorize the movements in a completely different way.”

Smirking at his son, Nico took a fighting stance. So did his skeleton. Donny gulped nervously and looked over at his gorilla. Curiously lifting one foot, he imagined for the skeleton to do the same. It lifted an arm. Well, at least it was a limb, right? Gritting his teeth, he concentrated on the right foot. Up into the air and one step forward, damn it. He couldn't let his dad hang here. He didn't want to disappoint him. That stupid dead thing had to move!

“Woah, bambino, calm down”, grunted Nico and eyed the gorilla warily. “If Chiron sees a dead gorilla flying over camp, he'll hand my ass over to my father.”

Sea-green eyes opened again just to stare up at the floating skeleton. It had obviously lifted more than just a foot. Blushing embarrassed, Donny tried to bring it back down again.

“Sorry, I just... really wanted it to lift a foot, but...”, shrugged Donny awkwardly.

“Don't be sorry for an accomplished goal”, chided the Ghost King. “You made it lift a foot. It lifted more than that, but it still did as you wanted. You need to channel that emotion. That want. You need it to move, you want it to move, you have a motivation behind that. Channel that energy and use it concentrated. It'll empower you.”

“It will?”, asked Donny with a doubtful frown. “What are you... channeling?”

“When I first taught myself how to use my powers, I...” Nico gulped, guilt flashing through his dark eyes. “I channeled my anger and wrath toward your mother. By now, I channel my love for him.”

Donny nodded in understanding. He knew the story of how his aunt Bianca had died and how complicated the relationship between his mom and dad had been at the beginning. Breathing deep once more, Donny tried to reach that motivation. He wanted to make his father proud. He needed for this to work, the exact was as he ordered. Fascinated he watched how the gorilla slowly lowered itself onto the ground again until it stood face-to-face with the other skeleton. Now the foot. Donny glared at it demandingly. And it moved. His heart jumped nervously.

“Good. Now we'll go through the basics of combat. I want you to do them yourself too though. Let the skeleton to as you do”, ordered Nico and started to explain.

 

/break\

 

Two hours later had a sweaty, panting Donny laying spread-eagle on the ground, sniffling the grass. His father sat on a stone next to him, watching him amused.

“You were good”, smiled Nico proudly. “Better than I expected for the first try. Tomorrow your mother will come again and the night after it, we are going to try and raise a human, mh?”

“Y... Yeah, dad”, nodded Donny, still a bit embarrassed about the gorilla.

The two skeletons had already been ordered to return to the underworld. The son of Hades turned his gaze sky-ward and hummed in acknowledgment. Then he stood and laid down onto the grass too, pulling his son into a hug. Donny turned onto his back, resting his head on his dad's chest. They stared up into the starry night at the Huntress. The constellation always made Nico mournful.

“You were lacking concentration”, noted the son of Hades, trying to clear his head. “What's up?”

“I... Sander had been acting odd today”, replied Donny and chewed his lower lip. “He had been really grumpy this morning and then he left for Camp Jupiter without saying good bye to me.”

“Well, Clarisse's boy is just like her. Stubborn as a donkey and just as cranky sometime”, chuckled Nico lightly, ruffling Donny's hair a bit. “Don't think too much of it. He probably only had a rough night or something. I've heard from Chris that he just recently broke up with the Aphrodite girl?”

“Stella Ribeiro”, nodded Donny with gritted teeth. “Yeah.”

“Well, maybe it's tha-”, started Nico, though then he interrupted himself and looked at the glare in those sea-green eyes, a glare he knew all too well. “You're _jealous_ , bambino! Because of Sander?”

“I—I—No!”, declined Donny and shook his head hastily. “What makes you think that?!”

“Because you got that same kicked-puppy look as your mother whenever he gets jealous because I'm being nice to someone he doesn't know”, chuckled the son of Hades amused. “You're both not getting angry, but rather like an attention starved little pup... Very adorable.”

“Okay, yes, so maybe I am jealous”, huffed Donny flustered and crossed his arms.

“Clarisse's boy, eh?”, grunted Nico thoughtful and turned back to look at the stars. “I suppose it could be worse. He's a great hero, had rescued your life quite a couple of times already. I'm guessing that is why you wanted to train, eh? You don't want to always be the damsel in distress. That's very Jackson of you, bambino. Your mother had always been a fighter too.”

“So... you're not going to rip his head off...?”, asked Donny with a skeptical and hopeful look.

“Of course I will rip his head off”, huffed Nico and rolled his eyes. “That lad dares to sleep around, making my baby boy sad! He's going to suffer for that, padre mio!”

“Da—ad!”, whined Donny with a quivering lower lip. “Please, please don't! That's my thing! I want to tell him that I like him myself, I don't want him to learn because you kicked his butt!”

“Well, I suppose”, drawled Nico. “Your mother and his mother would not be very pleased with me if I did... He will get a period of grace. For now. But if he does anything else to hurt you...!”

“Thanks, dad”, grinned Donny and kissed his father's cheek. “I should go to bed now though...”

“Yes, I should be going too. Your mom is waiting for me”, chuckled Nico. “Good night, bambino.”


	10. To Be Cherished and Loved (Parental Life Part II)

10\. To Be Cherished and Loved (Parental Life Part II)

 

Nico groaned and stretched some as he exited the shadows in their living room. He would have loved to directly travel into their bed and sleep. But seeing as it was already well past half twelve in the night and his beloved husband had a rough day at work in the dojo, he had practically been sleep-walking when he had come home this evening. So Nico guessed the Sea Prince was already asleep. A slight pout slid onto his lips at that thought. He had scarcely been able to exchange a word with his husband today, they had missed each other in the morning and shortly after Percy had returned home, Nico had to leave for an emergency meeting in his office regarding a pretty big case. It was only up to luck and big, begging eyes turned onto Piper that Nico had been able to leave on time. He made a mental note to bring Piper a treat tomorrow.

Stretching again, he started to climb the stairs. He loved working with Piper and Lou. The three of them had founded their company. With the foundation of New Athens many things had changed in the Greek society. There were no year rounders anymore, they had small apartments where orphaned demigods or those who didn't want to endanger their mortal family could live without paying rent. They lived in rooming arrangements, most of the time three together. And their firm took care of this. Employees of the Demigod Protective Service had certain apartments as their responsibility, visiting at least once a week to see if the preteens or teens were doing their homework, had other things than junk-food in their fridges and kept everything clean. The DPS also took care of the collecting of demigods; many satyrs worked at their firm too. Because sending campers on quests was one thing, but sending them on quests to collect children was too dangerous for both parties. Now professional 'retired' heroes did that job. The concept had at first edged on with many, but since Lou, Piper and Nico had put everything in their powers – and a shadow-traveler, a witch and a charmspeaker had much power – into this, they had succeeded. By now the three were next to Chiron and Mayor Chase the most important people in New Athens. And even though the DPS was huge, with many departments and chiefs by now, Lou, Piper and Nico still wanted to keep a certain control over it. Which did result in overtime once in a while, but by now they were pretty good at dividing work and handing it over to others.

“Someone is looking very tired.”

Nico blinked as he heard the soft, slightly teasing voice. Popping his neck, he stared at... Gulping, he licked his lips. Percy di Angelo was laying on their bed, naked as the day he had been born. One leg was drawn up against his chest, giving Nico a quite inspiring view between those soft thighs. The beautiful Sea Prince had a teasing smile on his rosy lips.

“Percy”, grunted Nico skeptically and stepped closer. “If you're going to yawn and state that you're dead tired and want to go to sleep now, I will punish you like never before.”

“I'm not that much of a tease”, laughed the son of Poseidon softly and sat up. “Though with what you just said... I think I have to reconsider my plans for the evening and 'go to sleep'.”

“I'm too exhausted to punish you properly so I'd appreciate for you to not be a tease”, huffed the Ghost King and collapsed on the bed next to this husband. “What brought that on? I thought your day with Clarisse had been hard, what with the new summer classes starting and all... Training newbies and being so completely dead, I thought you'd already be asleep.”

“I tried falling asleep”, hummed Percy and scooted closer to rest his head on Nico's chest, his hands wandering beneath the sweaty shirt that clung to his lover's muscular frame. “But I couldn't get the picture of you training out of my head. Knowing you're out there, training... with sweat running down your hot body, that serious expression in your amazing eyes whenever you concentrate on fighting, the pure power radiating off you when you're in your element...”

The son of Poseidon licked his lips, lust clouding his sea-green eyes as his fingers trailed the six-pack beneath the black shirt. Nico chuckled amused and raised one eyebrow, pulling him close.

“So you were making yourself hot and bothered by thinking of me?”, snickered Nico amused, running his fingers up and down Percy's side. “And now you want me to take care of it?”

“I actually already took care of it myself”, murmured the Sea Prince and blushed. “What? You're hot and I was bored! Don't give me that look, Nico!”

“You... jerked off thinking of me?”, snorted the Ghost King intrigued and rolled them over to rest between eagerly spread legs. “Like a horny little teenager, eh?”

“What can I say, you still get me horny like a teenager”, mumbled the flustered son of Poseidon embarrassed, yet he still spread his legs a bit wider in a provoking manner. “I just... you still make me drool, even after all these years, you're the hottest man ever. But jerking off with a dildo up my ass is just not the same as getting fucked by you... So... I may have jerked off, but I'm not satisfied.”

“Mh, we can't have that”, murmured Nico, kissing down Percy's torso until he nibbled on the Sea Prince's hipbones. “You know, I'm glad I still affect you like that. Because you, my delicious little tease, make me hard every time you dust off the lower shelves in the living room...”

“Why do you think I do that?”, smirked Percy and pulled Nico up to kiss him passionately. “I need to know if I'm still good enough at getting to you.”

“You're more than good enough for me”, growled the son of Hades possessively as Percy pulled the black shirt over his head and threw it onto the floor. “You're perfection, you're the most beautiful being that has ever been brought forth from the sea. Including Aphrodite.”

“Don't anger the goddess of love”, chided Percy, though he still looked very pleased by this.

“I guess you're right”, chuckled Nico, fidgeting with his pants. “How about I take care of you now? Would you like that? My cock within you, mercilessly overstimulating your prostate?”

“Oh yes! Yes, yes, yes, please”, whimpered the Sea Prince and nodded hastily.

Nico snickered, dragging his lips lazily along the collar-bone, chest and well-defined stomach of his husband and down to the already half-erect member of the Sea Prince. Percy moaned hoarsely as his husband's cunning tongue went to tease him into a full erection. Equally cunning fingers went to work the already loosened hole of his lover. It was still slick with lube from Percy' previous session.

“It's good you're so naughty, love. That saves time”, smirked Nico and sat up to position himself at his husband's entrance. “I don't think I could wait for long today.”

“Me neither, my Ghost King”, moaned Percy, his fingers tangled into Nico's hair. “Take me!”

The son of Hades smirked amused by his husband's eagerness and slowly eased his way into the beloved tightness of his Sea Prince. Percy moaned hoarsely and threw his head back, his nails digging into his lover's shoulders. Nico growled slightly, already used to this kind of pain. He loved how possessive Percy could get, it showed him that he wasn't the only one madly in love in their relationship. Crashing their lips together, Nico started to move, thrusting harshly into the man beneath him. Percy's nails scratched Nico's back over and over again, every time the Ghost King hit his prostate, as if the Sea Prince tried to hold onto reality in his blissful state.

“Ha—arder, Nico, please”, gasped the son of Poseidon, baring his neck.

Nico took the invitation and sank his teeth into the tender flesh, nibbling, biting and sucking to leave a big mark. He loved how adorably embarrassed Percy got when others saw such marks. Especially Clarisse enjoyed teasing the Sea Prince about them. Smirking against Percy's neck, the son of Hades wrapped his fingers around the attention-starved member of his lover. A strangled gasp was his reward, sea-green eyes clouded with lust and love.

“Love you, so much, so, so much”, mewed the son of Poseidon, reaching up in a silent demand.

A serene smile laid on Nico's lips as he lowered them onto his lover's, this time in a gentle kiss. His movement slowed down a bit, hitting Percy's prostate in a torturing pace. Whimpers and whines were Percy's way of begging for more. It seemed the Sea Prince's day had been exhausting enough for him to reduce him to quite the mess. Normally the son of Poseidon was more vocal.

“Come for me, amore”, growled Nico darkly. “Be a good _boy_ and come for me.”

A mixture between a moan and a laughter escaped the rosy lips, making Nico smirk. He enjoyed making his husband feel young again, because he hated whenever his gorgeous, beautiful, mesmerizing Sea Prince was in one of his “I'm too old and not good enough for you anymore, especially not after all these years and pregnancies!”-moods. This was completely ridiculous though, because Percy is, was and would always be the most enchanting being on this planet to him.

“Now, don't make me wait, my little tease”, chided the smirking Ghost King. “Come, amore.”

His cunning fingers knew exactly which spots to tease, to caress and to scratch to get the reactions he wanted. Within a couple of seconds, the Sea Prince came with his husband's name on his lips, panting hard as his mind went fuzzy, a pleased grin aimed at his lover. Just seeing that thoroughly shagged look on that beautiful face and the contorting feeling of Percy's clenching muscles were enough for Nico to come too, filling his husband's tight ass with his cum.

“You're gorgeous, mio bello”, murmured Nico, placing a sloppy kiss on Percy's lips.

The son of Poseidon huffed slightly and snuggled up to his husband after the Ghost King pulled out of him. The Italian wrapped his arms around the slender waist, pulling Percy closer.

“So...”, drawled the Sea Prince, drawing dolphins onto Nico's torso with their mingled sweat, animating them to move around on the well-trained body. “How was training with our boy?”

“He's in love with Chrysander Rodriguez”, was Nico's only reply.

“Oh”, blinked Percy amused. “Did you figure it out yourself or did he tell you?”

“A mixture of both”, shrugged the son of Hades with a dark glare. “The boy dared to hurt our precious angelo! Padre mio, if that lad shows himself, I'll hand his ass to him!”

Percy's eyes glazed over once more at that, not really hearing the words. He loved how Nico's Italian accent, that was normally only barely noticeable, always got thick when he was irritated and angry. That always made him horny as hell. Blinking a couple of times, he tried to regain focus.

“I doubt Donny would appreciate it if you'd do that, love”, smiled Percy amused, folding his arms beneath his chin. “It's his love-life. Let him get that in his own pace, mh? I mean... I'm glad we had our own pace too. I know we could have gotten together earlier, but... it was good the way it was. I... had needed that time to figure stuff out on my own. Maybe Donny needs that too. It would be bad if you'd push their relationship instead of giving them time, mh?”

“Are you comparing them to us?”, grunted Nico with a frown. “I don't like that.”

“Why?”, asked Percy, a confused frown of his own on his face.

“Because you've carried seven children for me, amore”, replied the Ghost King slowly.

“Still not seeing the problem”, grunted Percy, with a warning glare in his green eyes. “This better has a good reasoning behind it, because otherwise you'll sleep on the couch for the rest of summer.”

“What? No”, huffed the son of Hades and kissed his husband soothingly. “I didn't mean it like that. I love you and the fact that you're the mother of my children. I just don't want to see _our son_ being the mother of Chrysander's children. The implication, Percy, the implication! Our baby boy getting... getting... No! He's my bambino, no one is going to touch him in those inappropriate ways. Especially not that up-to-no-good trickster! No.”

“You... do know that most likely all our children, sans Bianca, will have sex at one point in their lives, right?”, chuckled Percy highly amused and pecked Nico's lips. “You're adorable.”

“No”, huffed the glaring Ghost King. “None of my children are going to have sex as long as I am there to stop that from happening. Not my little angels.”

“You also do know that that's the reason Thess was so reluctant to tell us, eh?”, chuckled Percy and shook his head. “It's part of growing up. They'll fall in love, they will endure heartbreak but also joy, they will discover sexuality and they will eventually have children of their own. I will not have you standing between me and my grandchildren, Nico di Angelo!”

“Grandchildren...”, repeated Nico thoughtful, his eyes softening. “I like the thought of that... You and me, all old and wrinkled, sitting on our swing hammock, watching the bambini playing at our pond, watching them on the weekends and yet still having all week to ourselves...”

“See?”, smiled Percy and nodded, enjoying the sound of it. “But for that to happen, our children have to inevitably have sex at one point. And I for my part would prefer for my children to have their children with someone they love and not with some hidden one-night-stand because they're too afraid to have a proper relationship thanks to their father. Let them enjoy love. Let them have what I have. A perfect life. I want for Donny to find his very own Nico, who's able to take all his insecurities away and make him feel like the most special person on this planet, who can always give him the feeling of being protected, loved and cherished. I want him to have that too.”

“That's what I make you feel?”, grinned Nico, kissing Percy tenderly. “That's good.”

“That and a thousand wonderful things more”, smiled the son of Poseidon and yawned widely.

“Then I suppose you're right”, nodded the Ghost King thoughtful. “I want for him to have that too. Donny is so insecure about himself, he needs someone to assure him of how wonderful he is, because it seems he doesn't believe us whenever we tell him. Though... Chrysander...?”

There was a slight glare flaming up in those dark eyes. A look Percy easily recognized. He knew exactly what was going through the Italian's head. All the pranks and mischief the trickster had done in the past. Was he truly the best Donny could get?

“He's a hero”, hummed Percy, tilting his head. “He has always done everything to protect Donny. Don't you remember all the times they had gotten in trouble? Sander always did everything in his power to keep our baby safe. I think he has been crushing on Donny for some time now.”

“Then why is he being a jerk now?”, glared Nico accusingly. “If he doesn't have a good reason for hurting Donny – and there is no good reason for that – I will personally tear him a new one and then leave him with my father for a little while.”

“Hurting him?”, grunted Percy, now also glaring. “No one hurts my children.”

“Donny had been quite out of it today and he had said that Chrysander had been grumpy and hadn't even said good bye to him when he had left for New Rome, not even saying why he went to visit the Romans. Something is up with the brat”, replied the son of Hades.

The sea-green eyes darkened some, causing Nico to raise an eyebrow. The son of Hades loved that feral mother-lioness-side of his husband. These days it was rare to get the hero, the fighter, the  _wolf_ out of Percy. They weren't at war anymore, their last quest had been nineteen years ago. The biggest fight Percy Jackson got to have these days was when he was groceries shopping and a sale was nearly sold out. Not that Nico was complaining, he relished the times of peace and their little family life. But he would also always relish the memories of the savior of Olympus, all fighting stance, ready to kick some ungodly asses (or in some cases, godly asses).

“I think it's time I go and visit your sister again. Maybe I'll meet Sander there”, hummed Percy with a slightly wicked gleam in his eyes. “It would be nice to talk to Leo again too...”

“Ah, I am not allowed to kick Chrysander's ass but you are? Why?”, whined Nico with a pout, his arms crossed over his chest. “That's not fair, Percy.”

“I'm not going to kick his ass, moron”, muttered the Sea Prince and waved his hand dismissively. “I just want to have a nice conversation with him, from... godmother to godson.”

The way Percy flexed his fists suggested a bit more than tea and cookies though. Then again, Nico would be the last to interfere. Because Percy was still Percy and coming into his way when he was agitated was a very, very bad idea, even for his husband.

“But make it short. Donny is expecting you tonight”, warned Nico with one raised eyebrow. “Don't let the kid wait. You know how whiny he can get. Oh, what am I saying? Of course you know, he got that from you, after all.”

“I am not whiny”, grunted Percy and blushed slightly.

“Really? Could have fooled me there earlier”, smirked the Ghost King.

The Sea Prince's blush deepened some. “That is something completely different, you perv.”

“I think I'll come with you tomorrow”, hummed Nico, dismissing the adorably flustered look on his husband's face. “I miss my sister and I haven't seen Claire in months. The kid must have grown. They always grow so fast in that age. And my other nieces too.”

“Visiting the Romans then”, grinned Percy with a nod. “It'll be nice to get to tease Jason again too. I haven't seen him in a really long time... Wow. It's kind of sad, isn't it?”

“Not really. A couple of months is not that long. We live on different sides of the US, after all. If we were mortals, we would probably only see them every couple of years”, shrugged Nico, running his fingers through Percy's hair. “We're all busy. We have jobs, children, lives of our own. It's not like we get to go on some ridiculous quest, only us on a ship for some days. There are more important things now. And we still see them often enough. I know how often you and Leo IM each other.”

“Well... we got to trade stories”, giggled Percy, his blush returning.

“Sometimes I wonder if you'll ever grow up”, muttered Nico affectionately and shook his head.

“But that's what you love about me”, noted the son of Poseidon, arching one eyebrow.

“No”, disagreed Nico with a smirk and leaned in to kiss Percy's nose. “I love _everything_ about you.”

“And _that_ is what I love most about you”, smiled Percy, tilting his head to properly kiss Nico.

“You know”, hummed the Ghost King after a little while of their lips moving against each other. “I've been thinking, since we're going to spend quite much time with Donny for now... Maybe we should do a little extra thing with our other children too.”

“I've been thinking the same”, nodded Percy and bit his lower lip in guilt. “I feel as if I'm not giving them enough love when I'm not spending equal time with them all. I know that's ridiculous and that it's also quite impossible to take to every single issue of every child when you have seven of them running around, but... I don't want them to feel neglected...”

“That was absolutely not what I was getting at since none of our children will ever feel neglected with such a dotting mother”, grinned Nico in a slightly teasing voice. “But well, Jimmy and Silly had been bugging me for a while now that they wanted to show their friends the underworld...”

“How about you take them with you to visit your father this weekend and I take Thess, Percy and their friends with me down to visit my father?”, smirked Percy. “Dad had been dying to meet Percy's girlfriend. And now with Thess dating Luke, he would even get to meet them both.”

“Underwater?”, frowned Nico slightly. “You know I don't like that. Cyclopes – not counting Ty – and sharks and other dangerous creatures are lurking in the sea...”

“Because the underworld, with it's skeletons, zombies and ghosts is a fun fare for children?”, snorted Percy ridiculed and glared at his husband. “Oh no. If you take Jimmy and Silly to the underworld, I will take Percy and Thess underwater. No discussions, mister.”

“What are we going to do with the little bugger though?”, frowned Nico thoughtful. “He's too sneaky and ADHD to go with either of us, at least while we're both alone with a bunch of children or teenagers. He'd be lost at sea within a minute and causing ruckus in the underworld in ten.”

“Well, how about we do him a favor too then?”, grinned Percy broadly. “He had been whining about visiting my parents for weeks now, but with school and all...”

“We could bring him to Paul and Sally for the weekend, yes...”, drawled Nico slowly. “That's actually a pretty good idea. And with all of us busy, Donny will have to relax some too.”

“And maybe he'll get to spend some alone-time with Sander”, smirked the son of Poseidon, pleased by their plans. “Maybe they'll finally get to talk about certain things, without having to fear their younger siblings butting in on them. Oh, you're brilliant, love.”

“I know”, chuckled Nico. “It's why you married me. That, and my cock.”

“And some other things, yes. But mainly those two”, snorted Percy and rolled his eyes before yawning widely. “And now, be a good husband and be my pillow, I'm sleepy after you fucked me.”

“As you wish”, grunted the son of Hades amused, kissing him lightly. “Sleep tight, amore.”


	11. A Greek Among Romans

11\. A Greek Among Romans

 

Sander groaned and popped his neck. He hated shadow-traveling, it always made his stomach flip in a very unpleasant way. Besides, he did not enjoy clinging to Marshall. The broad dark-skinned boy jumped off Mrs. O'Leary and offered Sander a hand. The brunette threw him a dirty look.

“Am I a girl?”, huffed the grandson of Hermes ridiculed and jumped down himself.

“Shally!”, called a high-pitched voice.

The red-haired daughter of Mars ran past Sander as if he wasn't even there. And then she jumped Marshall. The son of Enyo laughed lightly, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend as she kissed him fiercely. The innocent kiss turned more passionately and Sander turned slightly green.

“Come on, MO, let's leave them alone”, grunted Chrysander, patting Mrs. O'Leary's head.

The big hell-hound yelped in agreement and walked up to him. Leading her away from the two demigods, Sander started to wander around New Rome rather aimlessly. He loved the city. It was so completely different from New Athens. Breathing deep, he tried to feel the city's rushing and pulsing nature. So many strong demigods were making the whole city lively.

“Well, well, well... If it isn't the Greek Trickster”, hummed a female voice.

Sander stiffened and blinked a view times. Three different voices started to giggle slightly. Turning around, he faced the three females. The one that had spoken had brightly magenta colored hair, short and curly, sticking into every direction, her golden amber eyes glittering with something akin to wickedness. Takara Phenia Thompson, daughter of Trivia. The young witch was one of the few Roman demigods he actually liked. Most Romans weren't all that welcoming when it came to halflings, especially so with Greek halflings like him.

Right next to the quarter-Japanese-quarter-British-half-Roman (oh yes, Sander loved looking at Takara's family tree, it was always rather... adventurous) stood one of the Romans he didn't get along with quite that well. Even though she was probably the most beautiful girl he had ever seen (or maybe that was part of why they didn't get along?). With her pale, nearly white, skin and her snowy white, long hair and the ice-blue eyes, the perfect curves. Yes, the daughter of Chione was a beauty to be marveled. But Blance Lamour was a complete child of ice on the inside. No one was that good at giving others the cold shoulder.

The third girl facing him was someone he actually liked, but sometimes wasn't sure how to handle. Esperanza Nicole Zhang, a name that was more than well-known in New Rome and New Athens. She was, after all, together with her youngest sister Claryssa, not just a halfling, but a Roman-Greek halfling. Life was pretty rough for them, but they coped quite well with their other siblings. And if you have three protective, strong godly grandfathers that's kind of very helpful too.

“Nico, Kara... Lamour”, greeted Sander with a short nod. “What do I owe the pleasure of being greeted by New Rome's very own Furies?”

“I felt magic”, grinned Takara with a tilted head. “Dark magic. And since Nico's little sister is quite busy at a praetor-meeting, we went to investigate ourselves. So I figured another di Angelo decided to come around. Wouldn't have thought it'll be you with Mrs. O'Leary though.”

“I had hoped it'll be Donny”, pouted Nico, one arm wrapped around the leather-clad daughter of magic. “I would have loved to get some information about... uh... family. Yeah.”

“What are you doing here, Rodriguez?”, asked Blance in an icy voice, her arms crossed in front of her chest, a cold glare in her blue eyes. “Isn't it enough the di Angelos frequent us...?”

“Jeez, I feel the love”, huffed Sander, a glare of his own on his face. “I'm here to visit my best friend, if I get your allowance, Snow Princess.”

“Oh, for once I'd actually allow you to stay then”, hummed the white-haired girl. “Because your 'best' friend steals away my time with my boyfriend.”

“Why he's with you is beyond me anyway”, muttered Sander beneath his breath. “Anyway girls, care to lead the way? I have my very own duties to attend to too, after all.”

“Why you're leader of the Greeks is beyond me”, muttered Blance and rolled her eyes.

“Don't be so bitchy. Both of you”, laughed Nico, wrapping one arm around the daughter of Chione.

The two took the lead, the tinkerer wisely separating the two quarreling teenagers, leaving Takara and Sander to follow. A certain amount of mischief laid in the amber-golden eyes as the daughter of Trivia stared at Chrysander intensely. Sander raised one eyebrow suspiciously.

“What's up, Kara?”, grunted the brunette boy a bit annoyed.

“You seem angry”, hummed the young witch and shrugged leisurely. “I could change that.”

“Uh... Yeah... You're not quite my type, Kara, sorry”, muttered Sander awkwardly.

“And you're not quite the right gender, Sander”, chuckled Takara and rolled her eyes amused. “I didn't mean it in that way, you hopeless perv. I mean I could help you with a potion.”

“To make the angry go away?”, snorted Sander, now it was his turn to roll his eyes.

“To make the shadowy sea spread his legs”, smirked Kara with a wink.

“Wha-Wha-Wha... What?!”, yelped the brunette with wide eyes and red ears.

“I am not dumb, Rodriguez”, huffed Takara with a slight pout. “I spend enough time drooling over the Venus girls to know the signs when someone's in love. You have that wounded puppy-dog gleam in your eyes and you walk a little slouched, not as tall and proud as you normally do, your clothes and hair are quite the mess and you never drop by without the other two Greek halflings. All in all, you remind me of all those desperate little losers that linger around to dwell in self-pity because they can't have the pretty Venus-kids.”

“Why, but doesn't that include you too if you're busy drooling over them?”, teased Sander.

“There's a difference between appreciating a nice view and longing for what you can't have”, snorted the daughter of Trivia with another roll of her eyes. “I already have a pretty girlfriend who also happens to not be such an airhead. And actually I'd appreciate if you wouldn't tell her that I...”

“Like to enjoy the view?”, snickered the grandson of Hermes. “I won't tell Rainbow.”

“Now, how did _you_ figure that out?”, blinked Takara, blushing brightly.

“Well, I've watched Thea and Herc trying to hide their feelings and how they slowly turned into a relationship for years”, smirked the brunette boy. “And now that I know that you're playing for that team too it explains quite a lot. Like Rainbow's frequent questions when we'll visit New Rome again and if she may tag along. How long has that been going on?”

“A couple of weeks maybe”, shrugged Takara, averting her eyes.

“How did you get her?”, whispered Sander, his eyes trailed on the path in front of them.

“Huh? What kind of question is that?”, blinked the witch surprised.

“Well, did you use a portion on her or what? What did you do right to get her?”, huffed Sander, obviously embarrassed that he asked this. “I mean... I can't really ask Herc that. It's... different for straights. Easier. Besides, guys don't talk about stuff like that. And I don't want to talk to Thea about it because she'll throw a fuss. She's disturbingly obsessed with gays anyway. So... How did you know that you're both... uh... well, lesbians and that you're both in love with each other...? Is there something I'm missing, some kind of signs or code...?”

“No”, chuckled Takara and shook her head, her wicked and mysterious eyes quite serious for once. “Besides, it's not easier for straights either. The one they're falling for could be gay, or simply not in love with them either. But... yeah, it was rough. I've been... quite hopelessly in love with Dash for years, just... everything. Her attitude, her multicolored hair and style in general, her... bloody hell, her amazing body... But I didn't dare talk to her. She's... strong and independent and I wasn't sure if I should even approach her. In the end, she was the one that acted first. So... I can't help you either.”

“What are you two girls gossiping about back there?”, grunted Nico with a questioning look.

Sander and Takara lifted their gaze to stare at the two females in front of them. They had reached the arena and it looked as if Nico and Blance were quite impatiently waiting for them.

“Nothing”, huffed Sander with crossed arms. “Anyway, thanks for bringing me.”

“Make sure to drop by later on, cousin”, grinned Nico, hugging him briefly. “Dad is eager to hear how aunt Clarisse is doing and mamá and mom would certainly want to see you too!”

“Tell them I'll come over for lunch”, nodded the brunette boy, returning his cousin's hug.

“Great!”, beamed the pretty Latina, grabbing both her friends' hands to pull them along. “Bye!”

“Hey! Wait up, I want to see my boyfriend!”, exclaimed Blance displeased.

Sander sighed relieved. He was glad Nico had taken the annoying white-haired beauty with her, because what Sander really needed was some boys-time. Something that was hard to get in New Athens. Because his inner circle of friends consisted of Thea and Rainbow, who were both girls and thus disqualified for some boys-time, Donny, who was out of question too because he was the main source for Sander's troubles, Marshall, who spend most time moping that he couldn't be with his girlfriend or was too busy keeping Trend and Sam from ripping each other's throats out, and Sam and Trend, who were always busy ripping each other's throats out. He was glad to have some friends among the Romans too, because they tended to be more level-headed than the Greeks...

“Hey, guys. Got some room for me to join?”, smirked Sander as he reached the arena.

The two boys, both in full armor, their swords clashing, stopped mid-strike to look up as they heard the well-known voice of their friend. The smaller one lifted his helmet off to grin at the brunette with electric blue eyes, the splitting image of his father. The blonde jogged over to him, giving him a one-armed hug and clapping his shoulder hard.

“San, I didn't know you guys would come! Where's Thea?”, asked Hercules Grace eagerly.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Herc, but I came alone”, grunted Sander and rolled his eyes.

The blonde's mood seemed to deflate only a little bit at that, though he was still happy to see his best friend, even if his girlfriend wasn't present. The other boy joined them, his helm laying discarded on the ground as he ruffled his black hair to get some air on his head again. Mischievous blue eyes sparkled at Sander, the boy stretching some before patting Sander's shoulder.

“Sup, bro?”, grinned the black-haired boy. “How are the pranks going?”

Chrysander grinned slightly at that. Loki Murdock was one of the few demigods that flat-out ignored the whole 'second generation'-thing. He lived after the rule that Sander held his grandfather Hermes' powers and thus was a kid of Hermes. Making him Loki's Greek brother. The son of Mercury held quite some influence in Camp Jupiter, he had been praetor before Sammy Zhang. He would have been re-elected, but he had refused to, wanting to focus more on his relationship with Blance and his quests with Hercules and Takara.

“You want some sparring?”, asked Herc curiously.

“Can we go to the lake? I actually came to talk and not to fight. Had enough fighting at Camp Half-Blood already”, shrugged Sander and turned slightly, a bit embarrassed.

“Talking?”, blinked Loki with a frown. “Seriously, dude? _Talking_? Wouldn't you have been able to do that with your three girls at the Greek camp?”

“Three...?”, repeated Sander a bit confused before it dawned him. “Call Donny a girl one more time and I will make you a girl, Murdock!”

“Why?”, snickered the Roman trickster, wrapping one arm around each boy's shoulders. “You're calling him a Disney Princess all the time too. Why can't I call him a girl too...?”

“Because he's _Sander's_ girl”, smirked Herc knowingly.

Sander blushed a dark crimson as the trio headed out of the arena and over to the lake. The busy city changed to a calm setting of nature, the wind whistling through the trees. A patient silence laid between the three boys until they reached the rippling water. The two Romans slowly shed their armor, collapsing a bit exhausted on the ground, both only wearing sweaty muscle shirt and baggy jeans. Sander stared at the water longingly for a moment before joining them on the ground.

“Tell me again why I can't have him”, sighed Sander frustrated. “I mean, as long as I can think, I've done everything, absolutely everything in my powers to become good enough for him. I've trained harder than anyone else at camp to become strong enough to protect him. I took quest after quest to become a great hero, because I know how much his eyes always sparkle in awe when his parents talk about their heroic past. I made friends over friends to show him that I'm good with people. I became camp leader to show him that I'm also good with children. I took a hurt pegasus in and nursed him back to health to show that I understand his love for horses. I really did everything.”

“What brings that depressed puppy look on?”, blinked Loki with a confused frown.

The two Romans exchanged a worried glance, the son of Mercury straightening his clothes a bit while Herc ruffled his hair a bit desperately. Sander was staring a bit desperately at the lake.

“I think... Donny has a boyfriend...”, whispered Sander with the saddest look ever.

“Huh?”, blinked both Romans surprised.

“Donny? _Our_ Donny?”, asked Herc slowly. “Our Donny, sexually active? What makes you think that? That's like the most ridiculous thing ever!”

“He... started asking about stuff. Porn and BDSM”, mumbled Sander annoyed. “And he disappeared with some odd excuse for a day. And this morning, he was completely exhausted and wearing a shirt that was way too big for him. And he was wearing a ring.”

“He never wears jewelry”, noted Herc with a deep frown. “And where did he get a too big shirt from...? He's the oldest of the di Angelos. Any other of them and I would have said they had stolen it from Donny, but now... Okay, that is really suspicious. But a boyfriend...?”

“He asked about BDSM”, repeated the brunette darkly. “He, the purest and most innocent being I know, is suddenly interested in learning more about sex. That can't just come from nowhere!”

“If the cute innocent ones show interest in that stuff then there's nearly always someone else involved”, nodded Loki solemnly, earning a jab in the ribs from Herc. “Hey! Not my fault that that's true. It's how I learned about Kara's relationship with that Iris-brat, after all.”

The son of Mercury adapted a very irritated and dark aura as he muttered that. He was quite possessive over the young witch, considering her the sister he never had. Herc and Sander could both easily relate to that, what with being older brothers themselves.

“But how do I take him away from this guy?”, whined Sander (not that he'd admit it was a whine).

“By being better”, shrugged Loki unimpressed, earning himself another shove in the ribs. “Ouch. Would you mind stopping that, Grace? Your boney elbows hurt more than your freaking sword!”

“Only if you stop being a dick-head”, snorted Hercules annoyed. “What would you have done if some jerk would have swept Blance from her feet right in front of you?”

“As if the Snow Princess would be impressed by that. Or anything, for that matter. I'm still astonished that she's dating _you_ ”, huffed the Greek and shook his head.

“She's not as cold-hearted as you think”, growled Loki defensively, his eyes darkening. “She had a rough past, she doesn't let everybody close. But Herc is right, I would probably be devastated if someone else would... Okay, okay, okay. I get it. So, what do we do?”

“Huh?”, blinked the two second-generation heroes.

“Well, thinking how life would be without Blance for me, or without Thea for you, how can we let poor Sander hang like that?”, snickered the Roman trickster intrigued. “It's time to take action.”

“You mean... you want to help me?”, asked the son of Clarisse and Chris slowly.

“Of course! We're your friends, after all”, hummed Loki, his eyes sparkling with plans and pranks. “We'll make you look better than that guy and we'll show Donny just who he belongs to. We're going to prank the crap out of that jerk for taking your Disney Princess away.”

“And then Thea will _finally_ get that double-date with you guys that she's been dreaming off”, grunted Herc with a pleased nod, his arms crossed. “It's decided. We accept the quest.”

“Quest? What quest?”, snorted Sander a bit ridiculed.

“I'd rather want to know why Thea wants a double-date with you, but not with me and Blance!”, interjected Loki irritated, elbowing Hercules with a frown. “What's wrong with your girl?!”

“Oh please”, laughed Hercules a bit amused, wrapping one arm around each of his friends. “Thea and I have plenty of straight friends, you know how much she loves her yoyo, or whatever she calls that. Her gay guys. So don't take it personal, Trickster. And to answer your question, San, the quest to rescue your love-life, of course. Thea had been going on about that for ages now. She disapproves of you whoring yourself through camp. Very much so.”

Sander snorted slightly, though yet a small sincere smile slid onto his lips. He was glad to have such good friends. It would just be more amazing if there wouldn't be that damn distance between them. Though then again, he rather left to visit Herc and Loki instead of having Donny that far away from him. Besides, Sam, Trend and Marshall were his close friends too. They could just be very exhausting sometimes (well, Sam and Trend, that is).

“Okay. First, we need a plan”, interrupted Hercules his thoughts.

“Too bad none of us are all that good with the... planning part of this stuff...”, drawled Loki with a frown, tilting his head. “I mean, not that kind of plans. San and I are good with prank plans.”

“Yeah, no kidding”, sighed Sander and shook his head frustrated. “When Thea, Donny and I go on a quest, Thea does the planning. But I don't want Thea involved in this. She'll only go all fangirl on me and I really don't need that...”

“Okay, so your girlfriend is out of question”, nodded Loki, staring at Herc before turning back to look at Sander thoughtful. “My girlfriend is out of question too since we'll have Sander frozen to the ground then... And I kind of doubt Blance would agree to help him anyway... Nico would be too dangerous too since she's both, yours and Donny's cousin. I think she would be too conflicted to help. Joe? No, she would rip me a new one if I'd even bother her. She's so busy to work on the Roman version of Bunker Nine with Nico's help... Mh...What about the Greek guys? I mean, you got quite the threesome of war there. Enyo, Athena, Ares...”

“Marshall wouldn't really approve of such notions and he's quite busy with Sara. Trend is... uh... he's not really talking to me at the moment. There had been a little... problem... And Sam is... yeah.”

“Sam is drooling over Donny himself, yeah”, nodded Herc with a little glare. “He really should respect that you have dibs on Do... Wait. Do you think Sam is the secret boyfriend...?”

“What? No”, snorted Sander ridiculed and shook his head. “Sam wouldn't... No. But he's also not really the helpful kind of guy. Hey. What about the Wicked Witch of the West Coast?”

“Kara would... certainly enjoy helping...”, smirked the son of Mercury, his blue eyes starting to sparkle as a plan formed in his mind. “Oh yes! I love making a good plan with my best friends! Wonderful! She's the best witch of this generation, sure there is some useful potion she could brew up and bibbedi-bobbedi-boo, the Disney Princess will kiss his frog and you will both live happily ever after in Neverland, hosting tea parties for your friends.”

“You... need to get your Disney straight”, commented Sander with one raised eyebrow.

“Good idea. How about we watch some _Hercules_ to lighten the mood before we get to the planning part of the evening?”, grinned Loki mischievously.

“Go suck it, Murdock”, growled Hercules embarrassed. “You know how inaccurate that movie is! And how _old_! Dad always said that it's totally wrong, like in everything! And that he doesn't look any like the real Hercules! Dad and aunt Piper met him, after all.”

“And that exactly is why we're watching it together”, smirked the son of Mercury and stood. “Come on, I know for a fact that Missus Zhang has a pretty wicked collection of old-fashioned DVDs at home because they wanted to raise their kids with their 'movies with value'.”

“Missus Zhang?”, snorted Sander as they stood. “And what do you call uncle Leo?”

“Supreme Captain of the Argo II, most of the times”, shrugged Loki, earning two full-hearted laughter. “What? It earns me privileges with the coolest ship ever. That's good for dates.”


	12. Breakfast with the Zhang-Family

12\. Breakfast with the Zhang-Family

 

Sander groaned and stretched. He had slept so bad last night. Not just because he couldn't get his mind off those horrible nightmares (his Donny, submitting to someone else, begging to be taken by some jerk who didn't deserve that luscious body), no also because he had stayed at the Zhangs. And staying with the Zhang-family always meant one thing: A very, very huge dinner at Hazel's and Frank's restaurant. Sander was sure he had eaten at least half a pizza more than should have been physically possible. Groaning again, he sat up. Just to yelp in surprise. Right in front of him – only about half an inch from his face – sat a miniature Nico. The tiny Latina grinned broadly.

“Cousin Sandy!”, yelped the girl and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

“Sand _er_ ”, corrected Chrysander with one raised eyebrow. “And good morning to you too, Claire.”

The youngest Zhang-child giggled delighted, her short, black curls pointing into every possible direction as she stared at him expectantly. She was only six years old and very adorable, but sadly enough just as ADHD. She was wearing one of her mother's old camp shirts as nightshirt, waving her arms wildly around before jumping off the bed again.

“Come! Come! Come!”, ordered his cousin demandingly.

Sander groaned, but obeyed. The son of Clarisse followed his six-years-old cousin through the halls of the house, over to the bedroom the two youngest children were sharing. Not so much because they didn't have enough rooms, but rather because the two girls were very close, only one and a half year apart from each other. As they reached the very colorful bedroom, they found the young Asian girl still in bed. She looked very much like her father, though very rangy and beautiful. She was a lovely child, which was probably the reason she already had a boyfriend (much to Frank's dismay). But truth be told, it was kind of adorable. To them, in their tender age, being together meant holding hands, though even that already made the kids blush brightly and giggle as if they had done something forbidden. Claire yelled loudly and jumped onto her sister's bed.

“Milly! Wakey, wakey!”, declared the young Latina with a pout.

Sander chuckled slightly and watched how the second youngest Zhang woke up, blinking sleepily up at Sander and yawning widely. Once she saw what the reason for her sister's enthusiasm was, she simply turned around and hid beneath her pillow.

“It's just cousin Sander”, murmured Milly unimpressed. “Wake me for lunch.”

“Lunch?”, grunted Claire, not okay with that. “But... breakfast?!”

Rolling his eyes at the siblings, very much remembering such scenes from his own home and his own siblings, he left the bedroom. They were so busy with each other, they didn't even notice that he left. No, he was rather... hungry. Which was scary considering how much he had eaten last night.

“Morning, cousin”, grinned a voice from behind.

Turning slightly, he saw how Nico came out of her own bedroom, wearing boxershorts and a Camp Half-Blood shirt. She stretched some, ruffling her long curls. Her caramel skin glittered in the morning sun-rays coming from the ceiling lights. Shoving his hands deep into his jogging pants' pockets, he nodded in greeting. She was stunningly beautiful and he really didn't understand why she willingly chose to be single, paying her inventions more attention than relationships.

“Ya slept well, Sander?”, asked the Latina, falling into step with him.

“Ate too much last night”, groaned Sander and popped his neck. “What's for breakfast?”

“Mamá is cooking”, shrugged Nico and licked her lips. “I love his pancakes.”

“How come that uncle Leo always cooks, even thought your father is a professional cook?”

“Because dad is doing it often enough at work, why should he want to cook at home too? Besides, mamá is a really good cook too, mom and dad often tried to get him to join them in their restaurant. Mom told me that they especially tried doing that when mamá first moved in with them and had to start a new life with them. But mamá wanted to invent and tinker”, shrugged Nico.

Sander chuckled, following his older cousin through the halls. The Zhang Mansion was quite impressive, Sander had always loved to visit his uncle Frank, especially as a child, because Leo always had some kind of hidden treasure or new invention there. Everything in the house was, by now, hand-made by Leo, some things even from Nico, because the Latina loved helping her mamá.

“Good morning, sweethearts”, smiled Hazel as the two teenagers entered the spacious kitchen.

The chocolate-skinned woman was wearing a light summer dress, setting the table together with what could only be describe as her mini-me, the fourteen-years-old having her hair braided just like her mother, her golden eyes curious and wide with wonder.

“Hey, Sammy. Haven't seen you in months!”, grinned Sander delighted, hugging her.

Sammy grinned broadly, returning the hug. “Sorry I hadn't been there yesterday, but Thyl and me had to attend a very urgent meeting. Sometimes, being praetor sucks...”

“Liar”, snorted the Greek, rolling his eyes. “You love it.”

“Guilty as charged”, shrugged Sammy with a grin.

“Morning, kiddo”, grunted Frank with a nod.

The man of the house sat at the table with the newspaper in front of him. Leo waved shortly at him, hugging Nico close to kiss her forehead while making scrambled eggs and bacon.

“Good morning, Chrysander.”

The sharp, dark voice surprised Sander and send an unwelcomed shiver down his spine. A shiver of fear, one he knew all too well. Gulping slightly, he turned to look at the chair opposite his uncle's. The one person he was truly afraid of sat there. Nico di Angelo, his love's father. He always got sweaty hands and his heart sped up in nervousness when faced with the overprotective father. On Nico's lap sat his husband, the son of Poseidon smirking as he played with the Italian's curls.

“Uh... Good morning, uncle Nico”, replied Sander in a timid voice.

“We heard you suddenly decided to visit the Romans”, noted Percy with a glare that somehow looked quite disapproving. “Which seems kind of odd, you never leave without _my_ precious, little Donny. And Thea, of course. So... how come you decided to go all alone, Sander?”

“Uh... Just... wanted to drop by for a short family visit...?”, replied Sander cautiously.

Nico scared him generally, but Percy could be so much more frightening when he wanted. And the look in those sea-green eyes was... a warning. Gulping hard, he wanted to sit down next to his uncle Frank, put the son of Poseidon caught his arm and stopped him.

“I would _love_ to have a word with you before breakfast”, smiled Percy sweetly.

“Uh... Sure, uncle Percy”, nodded Sander slowly.

He knew better than disobeying the greatest hero of the millennium. Percy pulled him along, out of the kitchen and into the living room, with the freaky amazing lamps and television and other things Sander couldn't even fathom what they were for. The Sea Prince continued his way out into the garden through the glass doors behind the couches.

“You're aware that my son is a very sensible boy, right?”, asked the son of Poseidon softly.

They strode through the green, Percy's eyes focused on the small pond while Sander's mind automatically counted all the ways he could flee this situation.

“Donny? Yeah”, nodded the teenager confused. “Why?”

“Because he's feeling very insecure about his interpersonal relations”, replied Percy, cautious of what he said. “And he easily feels... dumped. Don't make my baby boy feel bad just because you had to go and be spontaneous. Am I clear, Chrysander?”

“Yes, sir”, nodded Sander and gulped at the sharp glare his godfather threw at him.

“Very good”, smiled the son of Poseidon, patting Sander's back just a little too hard. “Come.”

They had just barely rounded the pond once, but Percy was already pulling the teen back to the house. Sander was quite grateful for that, because somehow being alone with the powerful demigod was making him very nervous. He was _sure_ that if he ever hurt Donny, Percy would be the one taking care of him. Nico would only get to hide the body. Averting his eyes shamefully, he had to think of what his godfather had just said. It was true and he knew that it was true. Donny was very sensible and... Sander really hadn't been thinking about what his haste departure would do to the boy. He hadn't even said good bye to his Disney Princess because he had been so angry. Donny was certainly quite busy blaming himself, thinking he had done something wrong. Sander's stomach knotted. He hated when Donny was feeling guilty about ridiculous stuff.

Back in the kitchen, Sander noted that the two youngest Zhang-kids had finally managed to get downstairs too. Percy went over to sit next to his husband, opposite Hazel. On the side of the table between them sat Milly and Claire, both giddily playing with the food on their plates. Nicole motioned for Sander to sit down next to her while she was talking to her namesake and uncle. Leo sat between Hazel and Frank, brightly flushed as his husband had one hand rested on his thigh.

“Say, uncle Nico, you think you could... drop me off at camp after breakfast...?”, asked San softly.

“Of course”, nodded the Italian after a silent exchange with his husband.

“Aw, I want Sandy to stay longer!”, whined Claire with a pout.

“He has camp too”, chuckled Hazel amused. “He only came to visit.”

“Can I go with him, mamá?”, asked Nico while shoving some eggs and bacon into her mouth.

“Don't ask me!”, whined Leo. “You know I can't say no to you, Esperanza. Ask your father!”

“Daddy? Mommy? Please?”, tried the Latina after swallowing, staring first at Frank and then at Hazel with the biggest, most pleading eyes she could muster. “Just a short visit?”

“And how short is short?”, grunted the son of Mars a bit displeased.

“Only today. I'll be back by tonight, promise”, grinned Esperanza Nicole.

“And how do you plan to return?”, questioned Hazel skeptical, sipping her orange juice.

“I can bring her back”, offered the son of Hades casually. “I'll be around anyway.”

“See? See? Please!”, whined the fire-bending girl.

“Why do you want to go anyway?”, asked Frank further, still suspicious.

“I'm not a kid anymore, dad”, sighed the eighteen-years-old.

“Well, you're still living under my roof”, huffed the Canadian with a glare. “And you are my daughter. You will always be our kid, Nico. Now spill it.”

“Blance told me that Kara is dating that daughter of Iris now, so I wanted to go over there and... see that chick for myself”, shrugged his daughter a little awkwardly. “I haven't met her before, just want to make sure she won't be bad news or anything...”

“You haven't met her before because you're always too busy with your inventions”, snorted Sander.

Nicole turned to glare at him and stuck her tongue out at him. He only rolled his eyes in return.

“It's very sweet of you to look out for your friends”, smiled Hazel and nodded. “Fine. But only today. I want you back for dinner, you're not skipping work.”

“Kay! Thanks, mom!”, grinned the Latina broadly.

“No fair! I wanna go too!”, pouted Milly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I can't have you all running around in the world!”, grunted Frank and shook his head. “No.”

“How about I take you with me to visit your grandpa Hades this weekend?”, offered Nico instead.

“Really?”, gasped Milly with wide eyes, gaping at him.

Percy smirked slightly as he saw the jealous gleam in Sammy's golden eyes, not that the young praetor would ever say anything. Chewing on his bacon, he turned to her.

“You can come with me to the underwater palace. I promised Thess and Percy to take them, you know?”, hummed the son of Poseidon with a grin. “If your praetor-duties don't keep you too busy, that is. What do you say, Sammy?”

“The underwater palace?”, repeated Sammy with disbelieving eyes.

“Only if your parents allow it, of course”, chorused Nico and Percy at once.

Frank threw his two friends a nasty glare as he suddenly found himself faced with the begging eyes of his two middle children. Hearing his husband heave a sigh, he knew that Leo was already a lost cause. The Latino could never deny their children anything, most likely because he had been through so much as a child and wanted to just spoil his own kids and give them everything he had missed after his mother's death. Hazel chuckled amused.

“What brings that on, guys?”, wanted the daughter of Pluto amused to know.

“We just want to do our kids a favor, they had been nagging for months now”, shrugged her brother.

“And then we thought we could do our friends a favor too and take the kids in groups”, added Percy, stealing the bacon from his husband's plate. “We don't have to, of course. If you rather have the kids around for the whole weekend...”

Frank's eyes wandered over to his wife and husband again, a thoughtful look crossing his face. The first one to catch on on this was his oldest daughter though, the Latina smirking broadly.

“I could take Claire with me to Bunker 9.2, she could help me and Joe. We wanted to do a sleepover there anyway, with all kids of Vulcan”, offered Nico casually.

Claire opposite of her gave a high-pitched yelp and started to chant. “Yes, yes, yes! Please, please, please! Mamá, I wanna tinker? Please?”

Frank eyed his oldest daughter suspiciously. She _never_ took Claire with her, because the little tinkerer was way too hyperactive (she was just too much like their firebug).

“You could have the house all to yourself, for the whole weekend”, smirked Nico and wiggled her eyebrows. “But I don't want any more siblings!”

“Esperanza Nicole Zhang!”, hissed Leo wide-eyed, steam coming out of his ears.

“Mamá, why does Nico say that?”, asked Claire with wide, curious eyes, tilting her head confused. “What does you being alone with papa and mommy have to do with us getting siblings...?”

“No siblings in the next time”, assured Hazel her amused. “And we will explain that to you once you're older, my girl. And yes, we'd like to take you up on those offers.”

“The whole weekend, just you, Hazel and me”, whispered Frank into his husband's ear.

Leo's blush deepened in response and he concentrated even more on his breakfast, trying to ignore his two lovers. Their children all the while were busy screaming in joy because of the 'awesome adventures' that were awaiting them now.

“How is your mother doing, Sander?”, asked Frank once the atmosphere calmed down again.

“She's good, stressed as always”, grinned Sander and nodded. “Mostly ranting about uncle Percy.”

“Yes, your mother just loves to do that”, huffed Percy with a pout.

“I'm finished! Can I go and pack some stuff?”, grinned Nicole, already getting up.

“Sure, sure”, sighed Leo in defeat.

“Great! Come, San, you can help me!”, declared the Latina.

Whimpering at the loss of his breakfast, Sander stared at his remaining bacon while being pulled up the stairs again. Once within the oldest Zhang child's room, the door closed loudly. Sander jumped slightly in surprise at that, staring at his cousin, who was looming over him.

“Okay, what did you do, Rodriguez?”, asked the fire-bender, her hands at her hips.

“I didn't do anything! What makes you think I did something?”, huffed Sander defensively.

“Because uncle Nico and uncle Percy looked vicious”, grunted Nico and rolled her eyes. “And I know that look. I've always only seen that when someone was picking on Donny. But I know you'd never pick on our little boy. So... What did you do, moron?”

“I hurt his feelings by leaving without saying good bye”, shrugged the brunette and averted his eyes. “Not that I meant to, but he kind of... I just... I was in a hurry, okay?”

“Oh, you idiot!”, groaned Nico and shook her head before throwing herself onto her bed. “You know exactly how he takes everything we do with a pinch of salt. He's so freaking insecure if people really like him or are going to leave him... You know you'll have to make up for that somehow, right?”

“Tell me how”, muttered Sander frustrated, laying down next to her.

“Normally, I'd say flowers, but what with him and his connection to nature... Yeah, killing flowers to give them to him is a bad idea”, grunted Nico thoughtful, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I know”, sighed the male teenager, ruffling his own hair annoyed. “Argh! I hate this! I don't want to make him sad! I hate him sad! I want him _happy_!”

“You're doing a lousy job with that then”, huffed Nico and rolled her eyes at him. “How about you do it the right way then?”

“Like what?”, snorted Sander, glaring at his cousin.

“Do something nice with him”, shrugged the Latina, sitting up again. “Take him out for a riding trip with Trickster and Shadow, watch that stupid new DreamWorks movie in New York with him. You know how much he wants to see it, but no one wants to go with him.”

“That... sounds like a date...”, mumbled Sander and blushed slightly.

“Would it be so bad to go on a date with Donny?”, asked Nico teasingly as she grabbed some stuff from her desk. “I mean, he's adorable and kind and lovely-“

“And your cousin, so tell me, what are you trying to say here?”,asked the brunette with one raised eyebrow. “I mean, he's a great kid, that's why we're friends.”

“Friends, mh?”, hummed Nico curiously. “Well, you should still go with him to see that movie. As... friends, you know? I mean, friends go to the movies together all the time.”

Sander glared at his cousin and crossed his arms over his chest. He hated that she could be so inquisitive. But telling her was so not an option. She was just too close to Donny. And she was both their cousin, she would feel torn. He couldn't put her into that position. Aside from the fact that he really didn't want to tell someone else about his annoying love-life troubles. It was enough that all of his male friends, as well as Takara, knew about it. Thinking of the witch...

“Say, why do you want to check Rainbow?”, wanted Sander to know, changing the subject.

The Latina stiffened a bit, before continuing with packing her stuff into a brown leather bag. “I have no idea what you're talking about, Rodriguez. Blance, Kara, Sara and Joe are my girls and I just want to look out for them. So I obviously have to check out if that girlfriend of Kara's is any good, or if she's a rotten apple that's going to hurt my girl.”

“I don't remember you being that cautious when Sara started dating Marshall. Or when Blance hooked up with Loki”, pointed Sander out, taking a purple stuffed teddy from next to the bed, examining it closely, throwing it up into the air and catching it again. “That thing is cute. I thought you're not the girly kind of person. Where did you get that thing?”

“K—Kara gave it to me”, replied Nico and coughed slightly.

“And it got a place right next to your bed, yes?”, hummed Sander curiously.

“Well, it's a stuffed toy”, shrugged the Latina defensively. “They either belong next to a bed or into the augury, being sliced to be read in.”

“You know I'm going to test that theory by bringing you a stuffed toy with every visit, right?”

“Just leave me alone, Chrysander”, spat Nico irritated, steam coming off her skin.

“Wow”, blinked the brunette surprised and backed off some.

There was a moment of silence between them and he could hear the fire-controller taking deep, calming breaths. The steam went down again and the Latina heaved a sigh, running her fingers through her long curls, shaking her head.

“Sorry”, mumbled Nico, rubbing her face. “I just... What's there to talk about, San?”

“How long, for an instant. Or why you never told me. Or her”, grunted Sander.

“Too long. Because it's none of your business. Because I'm a coward”, replied Nico and bit her lip.

“Kids? Are you finished? Nico and Percy want to leave!”, called Hazel from downstairs.

“Coming, mom!”, called the Latina back loudly. “Now shut up about it, Sander.”

 


	13. A Ride and a Movie

13\. A Ride and a Movie

 

/diary|entry\

 

_I'm really exhausted. As in, dead on my feet. No pun intended. But mom really had not gone soft on me last night, at some point I was sure he would break Skotha with Riptide. But it was amazing! I learn so much from him and he always praises me. He said I'm a fast learner. Not sure if he only said that because I'm his son, but the way he fought me did not indicate that I am in any way related to him. Which makes me kind of happy too, because mom hadn't hold back and pushed me._

_Training was good. It took my mind off of Sander. I mean, well, he had left yesterday morning and he had not returned at all so far. When he wasn't around for breakfast this morning, I was kind of upset. I don't know why though, I mean it's not like he has to tell me when he goes somewhere. He doesn't owe me any kind of explanation, he can go wherever he wants. But the fact that he had said good bye to Thea, but not to me, kind of hurts, because I thought we were closer and_

 

/entry|end\

 

“Hey.”

Donny's pen fell down onto the floor, making a clattering sound as Donny jumped in surprise. Sea-green eyes looked up from his dairy to stare at the doorway. He had not expected to be interrupted by Sander's voice. But the son of Clarisse just stood there in the doorway, grinning leisurely.

“Hello, Sander”, nodded Donny slowly, playing his blush down. “There something you want?”

Sander's grin vanished, being replaced by a confused frown. “I just wanted to tell you that I'm back. Since I, uh, you know, forgot to say good bye...”

“There is no need for that”, huffed Donny and stood to fetch his pen. “You don't owe me an apology or anything, really. Anyway, I just wanted to go to get some dinner... See you later.”

Placing his pen on top of his diary, he made his way past Sander. But the older boy was a bit faster, grabbing Donny's upper arm to stop him. The green-eyed boy turned to glare a bit.

“You're not ditching me like that, di Angelo”, grunted Sander a little irritated. “I did an honest mistake and now I apologized. I know you're a bit sensitive and tend to take crap like that personal, even though it wasn't-”

“Don't analyze me like some shrink”, warned the young Sea Prince, his aura darkening.

Sander blinked surprised and backed off some. He had never seen Donny use his underworldly powers before. And what surprised him even more was how much that turned him on.

“I'm not analyzing you”, muttered the brunette and raised his hands in surrender. “Just think about it, Donny. You tend to overthink every little thing. Just take a moment to think about it. Maybe I just did something stupid and now I'm trying to make up for it. Are you going to be a pouty brat about it and go eat dinner, watching your baby brother making googly eyes on Luke, or you'll let me show you what I have in mind to say I'm sorry?”

Donny glared slightly and breathed deep. Sander was right, he tended to overthink everything others did regarding him, because he only had few people who were close to him and he constantly feared to lose them and be all alone. Biting his lower lip, he blushed slightly.

“Okay, so I may overreact a little”, muttered the smaller teen. “But I'm serious, you don't have to make up for it. You didn't say good bye, that's not a big deal.”

“To others”, shrugged Sander. “But it is to you. And I should have taken that into account.”

A small smile spread over Donny's lips. “Okay. Then lead the way. What do you have planned?”

The trickster grinned mischievously and took Donny's hand to pull him along. The green-eyed boy blushed slightly as he was pulled toward the stables. Frowning slightly, he tilted his head.

“You want to fly somewhere...?”, blinked the son of Percy surprised.

Sander whistled and nodded. Two stallions galloped over to them, one tall, proud and white, the other smaller and black. The black one nuzzled the taller pegasus, whining slightly. Sander had that happy grin on his face as he ran his fingers through his pegasus' mane, that grin Donny loved so much because it showed just how compassionate Sander was.

“Hey, Shadow, hello, Trickster”, grinned Donny and waved slightly.

The white stallion huffed irritated and walked past his rider to bump his head harshly against Donny's shoulder. The green-eyed boy blinked a bit surprised and Sander glared.

“Trick! What was that about?!”, exclaimed the brunette annoyed.

“ _When I leave my mate in your care, I expect you to watch out for him, young prince. I do not wish for that filthy Roman to come anywhere near my mate_ ”, growled Trickster.

Donny rubbed his shoulder and blinked a couple of times before nodding. “You're right. Sorry.”

“Seriously”, growled Sander demandingly. “What was that about?”

“Nothing”, shrugged Donny. “It's just... uh...”

“Just what?”, pressed the brunette confused.

“Shadow and Trickster are... mates... and... uh... Arion likes hitting on Shadow and Trickster just said that he doesn't like that I'm not watching out for his mate when I'm taking off with Shadow...”

Sander had a hard time to progress what was being said, but then he blushed. “Wait. Shadow and Trick are... mates? Like, a couple? And you mean Arion is hitting on Shadow...?”

Trickster rolled his eyes at his rider and nuzzled the black pegasus tenderly. Shadow whined happily, pushing his head against his mate. Both Sander and Donny blushed furiously.

“Answer enough?”, mumbled the green-eyed teenager.

“Uhu”, nodded the flustered brunette. “Well, anyway, come on.”

He climbed onto Trick's back and whispered something into the white stallion's ear. Donny stared curiously, but followed tail, sitting up on Shadowchaser. The two pegasi took off into the blue sky. Donny immediately relaxed. He loved roaming the sky, even though that was an odd thing for children of the underworld or the sea. Time passed way too fast for Donny's liking. He could spend the whole day flying with Sander. But they landed in New Athens way too soon.

“What are we doing here...?”, frowned Donny curiously and tilted his head.

“Stop asking questions and come with me”, chuckled Sander, leading the way.

“ _Should we wait?_ ”, asked Shadow, imitating the pose of his rider.

“No, I guess you guys can head off”, shrugged the half-Italian.

Donny blushed brightly when Sander took his hand to pull him along because he had staggered again, watching the two pegasi heading off again. There was an only slightly awkward silence between them as they finally reached the cinema. Donny blinked surprised at that.

“Wait. You're not forcing me to watch that stupid remake of _Die Hard_ , right? Because I told you mom already had me watch the original and anything but the original is just not right.”

“No. I'm not forcing you to watch that. I'll go and see that one with Sam, Trend and Marshall”, huffed Sander and rolled his eyes. “Besides, remakes are not meant to be as good as the original, they never could be. It's just to introduce a new generation to timeless classics and amazing plots they may have otherwise missed, because not everyone has such an amazing mom like you who introduces you to the wonders of movie times past.”

“Okay, okay, okay!”, giggled Donny amused. “So, if not for _Die Hard_ , why are we here?”

“Well, you've been nagging that you wanted to see DreamWork's _Rumpelstiltskin_ so I figured...”

“Really?!”, squealed the smaller boy with sparkling eyes.

“Sure...”, shrugged Sander, a light blush dusting his cheeks as Donny hugged him.

“Well then come! Come on!”, urged the olive-skinned boy, pulling Sander inside.

 

/break\

 

Half an hour into the movie, Sander had already completely lost the plot. Not because it was boring or bad or too complicated, but because the cute boy next to him was so engrossed in the movie that his deep, sea-green eyes were sparkling like stars. And the way he was sucking on the Popsicle he had coaxed out of Sander beforehand (“But popcorn isn't sweet enough! I need something really sweet too! Will you buy me an ice, San? Pretty please?” - how was he supposed to say no?) was not helping Sander any either. Munching on his own popcorn, the brunette tried very hard to look away from Donny, which of course did not work.

“What? No!”, yelped Donny, completely sucked into what was happening on the screen.

He frantically grabbed Sander's hand tighter (he had started to cling to that ever since the evil King and Queen had invaded Rumpelstiltskin's home to steal the child). Sander chuckled fondly. Donny was just too cute to be true. Now he was really glad he had listened to Nico.

 

/break\

 

Another hour later and Sander couldn't stop grinning. He had an eagerly chatting and happily glowing Sea Prince hanging off his arm, talking about the movie without taking a breath.

“I loved it! I loved it so much!”, exclaimed Donny, heaving a dreamy sigh. “What did you think?”

Oh, now that was a hard question. Sander had barely paid any attention to the movie. But he couldn't just say that he had been so distracted by the beautiful boy beside him?

“I liked the taboo it broke”, noted Sander cautiously. “With it being the first children's movie having a homosexual protagonist. I can already hear the wild roars of the 'traditional families'-defenders that will screech how a confrontation with gays may harm kids.”

“Oh, pish-posh. Mom and dad grew up with practically only straights in movies and they still turned out gay. As if stuff like that influences people”, snorted Donny and rolled his eyes. “But you still avoided the question. What did you like about the movie?”

“Rumpel. He was really pretty amazing”, grinned Sander with a shrug. “I mean, how he rescued the princess from a loveless home after her mother had just sold her for some stupid gold to him. But the audacity of the King and the Queen to demand the kid back! If I were the king, I would have let that bitch of a wife get executed!”

“Seriously?”, stuttered Donny wide-eyed.

“The money-hungry whore agreed to give her first born away so she would get the gold to impress the king. Hello? What kind of a bitch does that! I always hated how everyone was ready to tear Rumpel down for taking what was now rightfully his”, snorted Sander enraged. “What kind of mother would give her baby up like that? For _gold_? She didn't deserve it!”

“I think I liked Jack most”, drawled Donny to interrupt San's rant.

“Figures you'd go for the knight in shining armor”, snickered the brunette amused.

“What? No! It's not because of that! It's because he had the greatest change in morals, how he found the children in Rumpel's care and realized that they were happy and that he was taking care of those who had been forsaken by their parents – like Rapunzel, whose mother had given her up for some stupid salad, and Hansel and Gretel, whose father had just abandoned them in the forest because his wife had demanded it! I love how Jack fell in love with Rumpel's big heart”, sighed Donny before realizing where they were. “Oh. What are we doing here now?”

“Eating. I figured all my popcorn and your ice weren't enough to make up for missed dinner”, chuckled Sander and opened the door to _Katie's Salad Bar_.

It was a cozy little restaurant, only serving vegetarian food. Which was the reason Sander normally did not eat there. But Donny loved salad more than anything else. A beautiful brunette young woman with long hair, flowers braided into it, greeted them.

“Hello, boys. I haven't seen you in a while. How are your parents? Come on, take a seat.”

“Hello, aunt Miranda”, greeted Donny and hugged her. “Mom and dad are great.”

“Sis! Donny and Sander are here!”, called Miranda into the direction of the kitchen.

Another brunette, a slightly older version of Miranda, poked her head out of the kitchen to smile brightly at them. “Hello, kids! Aren't you supposed to be at camp?”

“We went to the movies, aunt Katie”, replied Donny with a grin. “We watched _Rumpelstitskin_.”

“Oh?”, hummed Miranda curiously while leading them to an empty table. “Basty and Kitty had been pestering Lou and me to go and see it with them. I've been kind of suspicious since no fifteen years old girl wants to go to the cinema with her parents.”

“No, the movie is really great”, smiled Donny and shook his head. “It's a movie for the whole family. You should go with them. I think Kitty and Basty would really have fun with it.”

“Mh, got to talk to Lou about that”, murmured Miranda thoughtful. “Anyway, take your time.”

She handed them the menus and left for the kitchen. The son of Nico and Percy blushed slightly as he realized that he was sitting opposite Sander, at a table with a candle in the middle, in a restaurant, just the two of them, after Sander had invited him to the cinema. Like a date.

“So... are we good...?”, asked the brunette in a nearly shy voice. “Or are you still upset with me?”

“I wasn't really upset with you to begin with”, grinned Donny softly. “I was a little disappointed. But you really made up for it today. You know I'll pay you back once we're at camp again.”

“No”, objected Sander and shook his head. “I did something stupid, I pay. You're not paying me back anything when we get back home. I insist.”

Donny's blush darkened a bit. Miranda chuckled knowingly as she arrived at their table again, a block and a pen in her hands, one eyebrow raised in question.

“What can I get you, kids?”, asked the daughter of Demeter curiously.

“A coke and your Grover Special”, ordered Sander.

He preferred the salad with enchiladas, because they at least made a bit up for the salad. How much he hated that stuff. Donny opposite of him was chewing his lower lip again, something that never ceased to distract and arouse the brunette.

“I'd like an apple tea and the Caesar salad”, smiled Donny softly.

“I'll bring it to you in a bit”, nodded Miranda and left again.

“So... You had fun today?”, asked Sander slowly, his hands in front of him.

“Very much so”, nodded Donny with a blinding smile. “I'd wish we would do that more often.”

“Really?”, asked the brunette slightly surprised.

The younger teen blushed brightly and nodded reluctantly again. “It's just... We've never done something like that. I mean, hanging out, just the two of us. You never do anything with me when Thea or Herc aren't around. But... I mean, I had fun spending time with you. I like that. I... really would like to hang out with you more often...”

“Me too”, interrupted Sander and grinned. “It really was fun. We're definitely going to do that more often from now on, you and me. That cool?”

“Very cool”, nodded the slightly embarrassed and very happy Sea Prince.

“What's cool?”

The two boys, who had subconsciously scooted closer until their noses were practically touching, suddenly bolted apart at the new voice. They turned wide-eyed to the three females standing in front of their table. A slightly wicked grinning Latina with wildly flowing, long curls framing her body, a red leather jacket over a sliced-up shirt that was knotted so it showed off her lean stomach. Next to Nico stood Thea, her hair even wilder than normally, with even more feathers and blue streaks. The third girl, trailing slightly behind, showed all her rainbow-heritage, not just with her multi-colored hair, but also with her tie-dyed camp shirt.

“What are you three doing here?”, blinked Donny surprised and stood to hug his cousin. “What are y _ou_ doing here anyway, Nico? I wouldn't have expected to see you here!”

“Your dad brought me to camp when he dropped Sander off”, grinned Nico and went to sit down next to Sander, elbowing the boy. “I wanted to visit my Greeks again.”

Thea chuckled slightly and sat down next to her best friend Donny while Rainbow Jordan stole a chair from another table to sit at the outer table-side. She nodded slightly in greeting.

“And she wanted to investigate me”, muttered Rainbow, rolling her eyes. “No need to look at me like that, Zhang. I _know_ why you invited me to tag along too. Because you want to check if I'm only using Kara for her really soft, big boobs, or if I have deeper feelings. For your information, I am quite capable of having deep feelings for her and still enjoying those boobs.”

The glare Nico threw at Rainbow was so dark that both Sander and Donny were eternally grateful she had no underworldly powers, because otherwise the daughter of Iris would have dropped dead now. The son of Nico and Percy shifted awkwardly, staring questioningly at his cousin.

“I have no idea what you want from me, Jordan”, grunted Nicole and crossed her arms over her chest, sinking a bit in her seat to get more comfortable. “I'm just here to see my friends and since you can consider yourself lucky enough to be with Kara, I suppose you are part of my inner circle now too, so I have to get to know you.”

“Oh yes, I can hear the pleasure dripping from your voice”, snorted Rainbow sarcastically.

“You see why I brought them here?”, smiled Thea apologetically, staring at Sander. “I just... couldn't stand being alone with them any longer. They were driving me _insane_.”

“Understandable”, muttered Sander and took his coke from Miranda as she arrived.

“My, you could have said that your friends would come too”, chuckled the daughter of Demeter.

“We didn't know”, sighed Sander exhausted.

“Well, can I get you something, girls?”, smiled Miranda.

Thea was already reading the menu to see what to get. She may also have used it as a shield so she wouldn't have to look at her still glaring friends. Donny next to her started to feel really uncomfortable. That much for their date-like night. Their friends had to bark in and ruin it. Though maybe that was even for the best, tried the Sea Prince to tell himself. Because he had been way too into this whole date-thing and being under that false impression would only hurt him in the end. He shouldn't live in such fantasies. Him and Sander were only here as friends. So having their other friends there would probably be better for him, to remind him of their just-friends-status.

“Wait. What did you mean, my dad brought you here?”, blinked Donny.

“Wow. That was slow. Even for you, Seaweed Brain Junior”, chuckled Thea amused.

“You mom and dad had been at our place for breakfast and uncle Nico brought Sander and me here”, shrugged Nicole casually. “He said he'd bring me back tonight too. Since I'm having plans with Kara tonight, wouldn't want to ditch her.”

She gave Rainbow a challenging glare at the mention of the daughter of Trivia. Rainbow rolled her eyes and twirled her rainbow-colored hair, snorting slightly.

“You wouldn't even know what to do with her if you'd find her naked in your bed. She's not a gadget, what would you know about her?”, smirked the daughter of Iris.

Nico growled and gritted her teeth. Sander rested his hand on her upper arm to stop her from lunging at the other girl. The brunette furrowed his eyebrows. He somehow had the feeling that this night would be a very, very long and draining one. Turning his head, he threw an apologetic glance at Donny, but the Sea Prince didn't look as if he was blaming him or taking it bad.

“Believe me, I have _very_ cunning hands”, grunted Nico with dark eyes.

“Enough! I _really_ do not need any more images of either of you with Takara!”, protested Thea. “How about we just order food and have some fun, yes?”


	14. Of Mothers... (Parental Life Part III)

14\. Of Mothers... (Parental Life Part III)

 

Leo gave a slight wince as he stood up in the morning. Blinking blearily and grabbing around on the bed with his hands, he noted that he was indeed the only one in the bed. He frowned slightly before looking over at the clock. Okay, it was way beyond reasonable getting-up-hours so his husband and wife must have been at the restaurant for a couple hours already. Groaning, he stretched. Last night had been really good. All their children had been at camp, really all of them. Because somehow the threesome had a hard time getting the kids out of the house. Maybe because Leo was coddling them too much, but no one was really blaming him for it. He had lost his mother way too early and was trying to be everything she had been to him and even more for his own children now. Needless to say, the four juniors were practically worshiping the ground Leo was walking and loved their mamá very much, thus always trying to sneak back home, even during camp time. And even though Frank and Hazel were relieved that all of Leo's worries about being a good mother had been dissolved, they sometimes wished their children would enjoy being away too so the two demigods could enjoy their husband. Which they had done last night. Thoroughly.

“Mamá, you're finally awake!”

Leo did not yelp like a little girl. No, really he didn't. Grasping for his heart, he stared over at the Latina sitting on the armchair opposite the bed (Frank sometimes really enjoyed just sitting there and watching how Hazel played with Leo). His genuine surprise turned to confused worry as he took his oldest daughter's appearance in. Nico sat there, with her legs pulled up, her chin resting on her knees, her eyes slightly puffy, her curls sticking into every possible direction.

“What's wrong, sparky?”, asked Leo softly, right away in full-blown mommy-mode.

“I—I was in New Athens”, mumbled Nico and rubbed her eyes.

“And why is that a sad thing?”, frowned the Latino and stood to walk over to her.

“B—Because I met Kara's girlfriend there... And I _hate_ her!”, growled Esperanza Nicole and glared at the wall, balling a shaking fist. “I hate her, hate her, hate her! She's stupid and dumb!”

“O... Okay?”, hummed Leo with a frown and combed his fingers through her hair. “Why? Did she say something stupid? I know Takara is one of your best friends, so why don't you like her girlfriend? Is she mistreating Takara?”

“ _No_ ”, spat Nico, looking even angrier. “She's all... polite and nice...”

“You make that sound like it's a bad thing, my angel”, commented Leo worried.

“Because if she would be a bitch, I would at least have a valid reason to hate her!”, whined Nico and buried her head in her mother's side, hugging Leo's waist and pulling him close. “But now _I_ look like the bitch for hating her without a reason!”

“But then _why_ are you hating her anyway...?”, blinked the Latino, extremely confused.

“Because she's Kara's girlfriend!”, growled Nico as if it was supposed to explain anything.

Leo tilted his head, unsure what he was supposed to say now, or if he was supposed to say anything. But for that, he needed to understand what his daughter was saying. Frowning slightly, he ran his hands over his face, thinking hard. Why would Nico hate this girl that much if she was the girlfriend of one of Nico's best friends? He tried to think back, questioning if he had ever hated the partner of any of his friends. Well, at first he had kind of hated Frank when he had first met them, but that had been because Hazel had been so nice to him and he had instantly crushed on her, thus... being... jealous. Oh. Leo's eyes widened comically.

“Y—You... Takara?”, stuttered the Latino slowly. “Really?”

“I should have talked to mom”, groaned Nico embarrassed, trying to hide her face in her mother's stomach. “She gets stuff like that! Why do you even have to _ask_?!”

“Because I'm a little slow when it comes to things like those, okay?”, sighed Leo, wrapping both his arms around his daughter in a tight embrace. “It took your uncle Percy's help for me to realize that your mom and dad liked me. Don't expect me to catch on when it comes to your love life like that, okay? So... you like Takara, mh? And she doesn't know, I take it.”

“Of course not”, mumbled Nico and shook her head a bit. “And that was okay, but now she has this _stupid_ girlfriend and I really don't like her because she's dumb and doesn't deserve Kara!”

“Of course she doesn't”, murmured Leo, because that was the only right thing to say.

“She's just that stupid brat of Iris! She can't do anything aside from summoning rainbows!”, huffed the irritated Latina. “But Kara is that awesome witch and she needs someone who is at least as awesome as she is, like—like a fire-controlling tinkerer!”

“I know, love”, whispered Leo in a soft, soothing voice.

He slowly sat down on the armrest of the chair, caressing Nico's hair as the girl rested her head on his lap and kept explaining why the other girl was stupid and didn't deserve the daughter of Trivia while her mother obediently agreed with everything she said. This was going to be a long day.

 

/break\

 

Clarisse glared at the clock. It was way past any reasonable or acceptable time to get out of bed. In fact, she had been up for six hours already, jogging, cleaning, opening the dojo and then returning home to prepare breakfast and wake her husband. The only reason she had allowed Chris to sleep that long was because he had to work a late shift last night. But enough was enough, because certain sleeping people in this house had no excuse to still be asleep.

“Let them be, Clary”, mumbled Chris sleepily and downed his coffee.

“No”, huffed Clarisse with a glare and left the kitchen. “If that spoiled little princess can sleep that long at home then that is the queen's problem, but if he's staying at my house, he will obey my rules and my rules do not allow for anyone to sleep until noon! And he's not influencing my own brat!”

Chris chuckled affectionately as he watched his wife stomping up the stairs and banging against the door. On the other side of said abused door was the bedroom of their only son. It was coincidentally also the messiest room in the house. Which came with him being a thieving trickster. On the bed laid two teens, closely curled together beneath the sheets.

“San”, whined one voice. “Make her stop!”

The banging on the door did indeed stop, but instead the door was opened and a brunette head pocked in to glare at the two boys. “Get out of that bed or I will make you! I don't even know why the four of you are _here_. Summer camp means that I get rid of my brats and not that they stay behind and even bring their friends over, for crying out loud! Get dressed and get out of my house!”

The door was closed loudly again. Donny whimpered slightly and buried his head in Sander's shoulder. After they had been in the restaurant last night, the teens had hit the clubs. And since it had been very late and also very close to Sander's home, the four teens had crashed there. The two girls were laying on the floor, groaning slightly, laying beneath some sheets and their clothes. Sander blinked a couple of times, slowly regaining awareness. His arms were wrapped around Donny's midsection, the smaller boy being curled together on top of him like a cat.

“We should get up”, murmured Sander with a frown. “You really don't want to know what kind of methods she uses to get unwilling kids out of bed. And she can be especially cruel if you're hungover. Come on now, I'll treat you to coffee before we leave for camp.”

“Coffee sounds good”, mumbled Thea, rustling beneath her cocoon.

“I want green tea”, objected Rainbow as she peeled the blankets off.

“I just want to stay right here and never move again”, whimpered Donny with a frown.

“Don't be such a baby”, huffed Thea as she stood and stretched.

The four teenagers slowly made their way downstairs, following the smell of pancakes and coffee. Chris chuckled amused as he took their appearances in. They looked ruffled, Donny and the girls all wearing Sander's shirts and their underwear and nothing more, but the girls still had their make-up smeared all over their faces and all their hair was pointing into various directions.

“Well, you are a bunch of little daisies”, snorted Clarisse with one raised eyebrow. “If I hear that you missed even a single activity today, I will personally ensure that you're not leaving camp again this whole summer, not even for a quest. Am I clear?”

“Yeah, mom”, nodded Sander obediently and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Love you too.”

“Good boy”, chuckled the daughter of Ares, patting his head before turning to the others. “And you, Disney Princess Junior, don't drink. Like, ever again. Because I can already see that you will suffer for the rest of the day. And I advise you to not miss any activities either, because I will tease you and your mother mercilessly about your inability to hold your liquor.”

“Sure, aunt Clarisse”, yawned Donny and plopped down on the chair next to Sander.

“Children”, sighed the brunette and shook her head in a dramatic gesture. “The bane of my existence. Tell me again why I wanted any to begin with?”

“Because you love to torture them”, commented Chris with an amused smirk.

“Right”, nodded Clarisse, serving pancakes to her husband. “You four will run around the house five times before you'll get any food. Go, run. I'm serious.”

The teenagers whimpered and whined, but in the end obeyed, because they knew she was serious.

 

/break\

 

A very predatory grin laid on Percy's lips as he stared out of the window.

Clarisse had called him in today, telling him that she had a drunk emergency to take care of at home and promising him much teasing about his whiny junior. He wasn't much looking forward to the teasing, because he knew that Donny was as good of a drunk as he was himself. Which translated to really not good at all. The first time Donny had gotten drunk with his friends, all Hades had broken loose in the di Angelo house. Quite literal, because grandpa Hades had not been very happy about his baby boy getting drunk while being underage. But since Donny really was like his mother in so many aspects, it had been hard to stay angry with the boy. Because the kid got extremely cuddly and adorable when drunk. And those big, pleading, guilty sea-green eyes were helpful too.

Anyway, now that Clarisse had to take care of four drunken teenagers and making sure that they left her house anytime today too, Percy had to come into work even though it was his day off. Seeing as it had come as a surprise, his husband had brought him to work. And being the good and nice guy he was, Nico had agreed when the kids had begged him to give them a lesson too. So now Percy had the perfect view, because on the other side of the window was Nico, sweaty and highly concentrated as he fought off three children of Ares with his sword. While being shirtless. Percy's mind really was other places at the moment, other places filled with that sweaty, hot body...

“Percy? Percy, are you even listening to me?”

The son of Poseidon jumped slightly and turned around to look at the blonde guiltily. The son of Athena snorted and rolled his eyes. Both of them were sitting in the office and supposedly going through their training plans for this summer.

“Sorry, Malcolm”, mumbled the son of Poseidon.

“No worries”, chuckled Malcolm amused and raised one eyebrow. “He's your husband. It's understandable that he distracts you when he's sweaty and half-naked. I mean, he even distracts half of his class. There had nearly been two cut-off arms because of Nico's abs.”

“Thanks”, murmured the embarrassed Sea Prince. “Clarisse would tease me to no end...”

“I know”, snorted the son of Athena. “I am still astonished that the two of you actually managed to build a dojo from scratch. Heck, most of the time I can't believe you live through being in the same room as the other, you two thick-headed idiots.”

“It's not that it's actual any malice between us”, huffed Percy with one raised eyebrow. “I mean, it may have started out as that, but it had surpassed that like twenty five years ago. It's more of a...”

“Sibling quarrel?”, supplied the amused son of Athena.

“Exactly!”, nodded the Sea Prince enthusiastically. “And besides, Clarisse and me wouldn't have managed anything without you, Mal.”

“I know that, believe me”, snorted Malcolm. “The two of you have not even considered any kinds of calculations, money, office work. All you have been thinking about was training and teaching.”

“Because that is the important thing. And for all other stuff we got you, brainiac boy.”

The two men turned around to their colleague, who stood in the door with her hands in her hips. Percy grinned and opened his mouth to say something, but Clarisse beat him to the punch by stalking up to him and poking her finger into his chest.

“You! Your junior is turning my son into a pansy!”, grunted the daughter of Ares.

“Excuse me?”, sputtered the Sea Prince, blinking surprised.

“You heard me quite well, Disney Princess Senior!”, growled Clarisse with a frown. “My son is a hero, a fighter, a _man_. But little miss Disney Princess Junior has him drooling and making googly eyes like a little school girl, drawing hearts around her crush's name!”

Percy was still blinking, trying to process what was being said. “What do you mean?”

“Sander had spend the whole bloody breakfast staring at Donny like that kid is the freaking personification of perfection or something!”, groaned Clarisse and collapsed on her armchair. “It was disgustingly cute. And I thought your yearning for di Angelo had been bad... Hah. Back then I wasn't the mother of the yearning pansy. Now I am. And it's driving me nuts!”

She groaned again, fisting her hair and hitting the tabletop with her forehead. Malcolm and Percy gave her a sympathetic look before exchanging a look of their own. The blonde smirked.

“I am so glad Amy is more interested in books than boys”, stated Malcolm. “I have no idea how I would handle that. And Andy is far too young for that kind of stuff.”

“Oh, shut up”, hissed Clarisse. “No need to brag.”

“I'm not bragging. Just saying that it serves you right”, hummed the son of Athena, slowly gathering the sheets of paper in front of them. “I mean, you dodged a bullet when Cally joined the hunt. So it only figures that Sander makes a big deal of being in love. A ridiculously big deal.”

“Uhu”, agreed Percy, bobbing his head. “I mean, Sander had been in love with Donny since they were seven. The boy is emotionally handicapped, even worse than Nico and me had been. Ten years. Ten freaking years and he's still too shy to say something.”

“To his defense, he only knows that he's in love with Donny for like five years now”, interrupted another voice, panting slowly. “Hey, love. I dismissed the class after the fifth... incident.”

Nico smiled and leaned down to kiss his husband before patting himself dry with his shirt. Malcolm snorted and rolled his eyes, glaring at the two men.

“It would have helped if you would actually put that shirt on”, explained the son of Athena.

“But where's the fun in that?”, smirked Nico. “I love making Percy drool. It's adorable.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're still two love-sick puppies, we all get it! Now back to the main topic at hand”, growled Clarisse, throwing a rubber at Nico's head. “My son being a pansy.”

“Ouch”, chuckled the son of Hades, rubbing his head offended. “Your son isn't a pansy and there is no problem. He's being an awkward teenager and he'll have to deal with that himself. The fact that he can't express his feelings is something you can only blame yourself for, because you are his mother. If you would have taught him right, he would have already confessed his love for my son and they would have been together for years now. Nothing you or me would be happy about.”

“You're both horribly protective dads”, noted Percy and stood. “I don't think anything productive will come of this so I'll return to my class and see to their Nico-induced injuries.”

 

/break\

 

“-two salami pizzas with extra pepperoni!”

“Will do, love”, called Frank back, keeping himself busy with his orders.

“Oh. There just came something else in”, called the daughter of Pluto back again and entered the kitchen. “Something extra hot and sweet.”

“Where's Leo?”, asked the Canadian, turning around slightly.

His wife grinned at him, her arms wrapped around Leo's waist. Frank returned her grin and leaned in to kiss both his partners, placing an extra kiss on the frown lines on his husband's face.

“What's bothering you, firebug?”, wanted the son of Mars to know.

The Latino heaved a sigh and rested his forehead against Frank's chest, pulling Hazel with him as she was still attached to his midsection. The two Romans exchanged a worried look.

“I just spend three hours trying to comfort out _heartbroken_ little sparky”, sighed Leo.

“What?”, yelped Hazel wide-eyed.

“Who do I have to skin?”, growled Frank darkly.

The son of Hephaestus sighed once more. He knew this was going to be a long day.

 

/break\

 

“You kids plan on leaving the house any time soon?”

Chris had one eyebrow cocked in curiosity as he leaned against the wall in their living room, staring over at the couch and the four teenagers cuddled onto it. His son was sprawled all over the length of the couch, with Donny curled around him on one of his sides and Thea on the other. Rainbow was folded as small as possible at the foot end of the couch, obviously the one suffering the worst.

“We plan on dying right here”, mumbled Thea, hiding her face in the crook of Sander's neck.

“Yeah. Can you, like, turn the light off, uncle Chris?”, whined Donny, fisting Sander's shirt.

“That light is called the sun and it is not within my powers to turn that off”, snorted the son of Hermes amused, tilting his head. “Clarisse is coming back for lunch break. And if she still finds you lazy asses lingering around here, she will teach you a lesson worse than that hangover.”

“Dad's right”, muttered Sander, his hands on his friends' necks. “You have no idea about mom. Really not. And you do not want to be on the receiving end of her lessons.”

“But I just want to stay right here”, mumbled Donny, rubbing his face against him.

The brunette boy blushed slightly as he ran his fingers through Donny's hair. Chris observed them curiously. The two boys were so painfully obviously in love with each other. He wondered briefly if it wouldn't be better if they would give them a little push, but then again... They needed their own pace, just like Chris and Clarisse had needed their own pace. If someone was not confident enough in his feelings and especially so in the other person then everybody else could bribe and beg as much as they wanted, it would be of no use. Pushing himself off the wall, he decided that the kids would have to deal with their own business on their own. May it be their love-lives or the wrath of Clarisse Rodriguez. Chris would not stand by and watch either of them.

“I have to go into the office. Make sure to be gone before your mom gets back, Sander.”

“Kay. Greet aunt Annabeth from us”, waved Sander and yawned.

“No!”, objected Thea and tried to sit up some. “Don't greet mom. She doesn't need to know about this, like really not. She'll only tell ma and I'll never hear the end of that!”

Chris didn't reply to that, only chuckling to himself. He was going to tell Annabeth. Grabbing his suitcase, he made his way out of the house. Rather working some more than hearing Clarisse's rant once she noticed that they were still here.


	15. Protective Grandpa Poseidon

15\. Protective Grandpa Poseidon

 

Percy took a deep breath as he was standing in front of Cabin Three. It had been so long since he had last slept in there. Stepping closer, he stared fondly inside the cabin. Sally Persephone and Theseus Paul were running around eagerly, throwing clothes into a big bag before fighting what was more necessary, then unpacking and repacking again. His younger twins were obviously already gone. Their beds were made and they never made their beds unless their father ordered them to.

“Mom!”, called his oldest son as he was spotted. “Percy and Thess aren't ready yet... Can we go to the lake together until? Pretty please?”

Donny crawled out of his bed, his youngest brother hanging off his neck piggy back style. Perseus nodded shortly with a fond smile. As Donny stood in front of him, Percy took the youngest di Angelo from him, hugging Jackson tightly. The four-years-old giggled delighted.

“Mommy's here! Mommy, I have many things to tell you! Everything is awesome!”, declared Jack.

“That's wonderful, honey”, smiled Percy, cradling Jack in his arms. “Well, Donny?”

The three heirs of the sea left the cabin, leaving Percy Junior and Thess to their quarreling about packing. They headed over to the lake together. The water was calm, no camper to be seen.

“I think I'm ready”, whispered Donny confidently and chewed his lips.

“For what?”, asked Percy softly, running his fingers through Jack's hair.

The boy in his arms was cuddled so close to his chest that he was chewing on Percy's shirt, his eyes closed tightly. Donny licked his lips and kicked a pebble into the water.

“To fight. I mean, I approved, didn't I?”, asked Donny, looking for confirmation from his mother.

“You improved greatly over the past weeks”, nodded Percy proudly and smiled. “But what do you mean? Tell me. You want to fight?”

“Yeah. I mean, I've never participated in Capture the Flag. Not actively at least”, mumbled the son of Perseus with a shrug. “I thought... maybe... Tomorrow we'll play again and I thought I could use the opportunity to show... camp... what I'm capable of?”

“Why?”, asked the son of Poseidon slowly.

“Well...”, drawled Donny, scratching his chin embarrassed. “I've trained so hard and... San and I have grown so much closer... There was this evening about two weeks ago, when we went to see a movie together. Just him and me and it was kind of like...”

“Like a date, maybe?”, guessed Percy with a grin, kissing Jack's head.

“Uhu”, nodded his oldest son flustered. “I mean, he paid. And we got dinner later, but... Then the girls crashed it and it turned into a group thing and now I'm not sure. And San never mentioned it again. At least not in a 'hey, what about that messed-up date we had'-kind of way...”

“Mh”, nodded the older Sea Prince thoughtful. “Maybe he is too embarrassed that the girls crashed the evening and now he doesn't know how to approach the topic either?”

“So... You think my plan is good?”, questioned Donny unsure.

“Of course. I mean, if you show him what you got, maybe he'll gain some confidence”, grinned Percy with a nod. “And maybe you'll even get him to drool.”

“You think so?”, giggled Donny, nudging his mom.

“Of course. You have much of me in you”, smiled Percy encouragingly. “Now let's get back to the cabin. You know your grandpa doesn't like to wait so I should really collect the kids.”

 

/break\

 

“I'm free!”, groaned Sander, bumping his fists in the air as he entered the Athena Cabin.

“I'm not. Not yet anyway”, grunted Thea with one raised eyebrow.

She was kneeling on the ground, trying to close a zipper while a sixteen-years old brunette sat on top of the briefcase. Sander grinned amused and decided to help the two girls out.

“Hey, Amy”, greeted the son of Clarisse. “Are you excited for the underwater palace?”

Amy Cage gave him a broad grin and nodded. “Sure. I mean, Percy and Thess never took us there before. This is going to be scientifically extraordinaire! Mermaids! And the whole social system!”

“Looks like aunt Katie, talks like uncle Malcolm”, commented Sander with a grunt as he finally closed the briefcase. “There you go. And have fun down there.”

“Thanks, you guys”, grinned Amy and grabbed her stuff to leave.

Sander shook his head amused as he watched her running out of the cabin. Amy was pretty cool, though they never really became all that close. Somehow the daughter of Malcolm and Katie liked to stick with the younger ones from their generation, with Percy, Thess, Luke and their friends. Grinning slightly, he sat down next to Thea. The girl looked exhausted.

“Luke had been packing all day long, with the help of his whole cabin”, muttered Thea irritated. “Because he wants to impress Lord Poseidon. So he wanted to pick the right clothes to take with him. Fred got picked up by uncle Nico earlier. And I assume so did Carry.”

“Yep. Hence the freedom”, grinned Sander, falling back to lay on the bed.

“That means”, started Thea with a teasing grin. “Donny is all alone in that big, big cabin, with only Jack to keep him company. But I think uncle Percy had said something about Jack spending the weekend with the Blofisses. So Donny would be there. All alone.”

“Would you please refrain from talking like that?”, muttered Sander and made a face. “There is nothing going on between us. I mean, I tried. I invited him to a date, which ended with you and Rainbow kidnapping us to a club, if I need to remind you. And ever since then, he was so... busy.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”, grunted Thea confused, raising one brunette eyebrow.

“I don't know!”, huffed Sander, waving his arms wildly around. “He always sneaks out during camp fire and I think he stays away nearly all night. And if not busy with some camp activities, he keeps napping. It's like he is too busy all night to sleep. Or does he spend much time with you?”

“Now that you mention it...”, mumbled Thea thoughtful and tilted her head. “I figured he just needed some time on his own. And I do have other friends that demand my attention too.”

“I think he needs some time with his _boyfriend_ ”, growled Sander darkly, crossing his arms.

“Are you still going on about that one?”, sighed Thea exhausted and hit him upside the head. “I'm telling you, he would have told us, or at least me, if he had someone.”

“But his odd behavior-”, started Sander, just to be hit again and silenced.

 

/break\

 

Percy grinned mischievously as he approached the Poseidon Cabin again. Donny had taken Jack from him, the youngest di Angelo giggling as he hung off his brother's neck once more and played with the thick curls of his brother, trying to braid them. Patting Jack absentmindedly on the head, Percy stared at the obediently lined up teenagers in front of the cabin.

His oldest twins were sitting on their luggage, their legs dangling off as they chatted with each other, most likely planning what to show their friends first. Sally Persephone was wearing her typical all-black punk/goth attire (sometimes Percy hated that his husband had such great influence on their kids), her broad black curls falling around her pale, thin frame. Her twin Theseus Paul giggled at something she said, his fingers running through long, straight hair. Unlike his sister, he preferred wearing all blue, always one to look up to his mom (Percy's little angel).

Behind Sally Persephone stood her girlfriend, the daughter of Lou and Miranda. Kitty's dark brown hair was pointing upward, her green eyes staring down at her girlfriend endearingly. Her goth/punk attire going along perfectly with her girlfriend's. Next to Kitty Ellen stood her best friend and the boyfriend of Thess; Luke Chase. He had his arms wrapped around Thess' neck, resting his head on top of his boyfriend's head and attentively listening to every word Thess was saying.

On either side of the twins stood their respective best friends. Next to Percy and Kitty was Amy Cage, eagerly braiding her long brunette curls, her glasses sliding down her nose as she looked left and right, staring curiously around for Percy with her stormy gray eyes. She was pretty adorable and reminded Percy a lot of a combination of Annabeth and Leo somehow. The clever mind, but also the extreme ADHD, making her jump from one thing to the other within seconds.

While on Thess and Luke's side stood Elizabeth Mason, the adopted daughter of Jake and Will. A daughter of Apollo whose mother had died during birth. But the blonde girl had a better life than most demigods, living with Jake and Will.

A little off from the Greeks were the two Romans of their age-level (as Percy liked to call it, splitting his kids and his friends' kids into four age groups – four to seven, seven to twelve, thirteen to sixteen, sixteen to nineteen). Thalia Hylla Grace, or Thalia Junior as Percy liked to call her because she looked just like her aunt, and Sammy Marie Zhang talking in hushed voices with each other. Percy rolled his eyes at that. The two praetors were most likely discussing whether or not it was a good decision to tag along and leave Camp Jupiter to the augur (not that Sedanur was a bad augur, but they just enjoyed worrying, he supposed).

Making a head-count, Percy grunted. Going to the underwater palace with eight teenagers, what exactly had he be thinking when offering it? Oh, right. He wanted to visit his dad again and figured teasing his kids would fit there perfectly. It had been horribly embarrassing how Poseidon had been glaring at Nico whenever they sat together. So Percy figured that bringing his older twins along with their partners down there would lead to some hilarious situations. Lifting two fingers up to his mouth, he whistled loudly until the barking, tall figure of Mrs. O'Leary came dashing out of the woods, nearly running Percy over. Laughing at it, he started to pat the giant dog.

“Hey there, old lady”, smiled the son of Poseidon fondly. “I missed you too. Ready, girl?”

“Greet grandpa from me, okay mom?”, grinned Donny as he entered his cabin again.

“Will do”, called Percy after his oldest son. “And you other kids, come on! We better hurry. Dad said he'll have a big lunch banquet prepared for us.”

Within seconds, he had all teenagers hanging off Mrs. O'Leary. The hell-hound looked slightly amused if Percy looked closely. Grinning amused himself, Percy walked up to them, waving Jack and Donny as he too climbed on top of his pet dog. Holding onto the collar, he took one last glance around to see if all the kids were on board (kids was kind of a stretch, he was half-way to saving the world from titans at their age, after all, but times had changed and they had lived a normal, protected life so far). Percy held back a laughter as Percy Junior and Thess attached themselves to him, clinging to his waist and staring up at him with sparkling eyes, Percy's sea-green ones and Thess' dark, earthy eyes.

“Thank you, mom!”, whispered Persephone and kissed her mom's cheek.

“Yeah, thanks, mom”, nodded Theseus in agreement. “This'll be great!”

“I hear you saying that now, let me hear you say it again once your grandfather decides to inspect your choice of lovers”, smirked the son of Poseidon knowingly.

The twins paled significantly (which Percy would not have believed to be possible, because those two were the palest kids he had ever met). Mrs. O'Leary gave a loud bark as she dove right into the shadows, causing most of the teenagers to yelp in excitement.

 

/break\

 

Poseidon frowned as he walked up and down in front of his throne. Had he prepared everything? Four guest rooms with bunk beds for the kids, he had even asked his servants to prepare things that human children of that age may enjoy. Food was ready to be served – the best of the best that the ocean had to offer. And, of course, Percy's room. He had personally seen to it that everything was a different shade of blue and just the way Percy liked it. It had been so long since he had last seen his only mortal son. Not that anyone was to be blamed for that. Poseidon was a busy god and Percy was a very busy mother. The Sea God vividly remembered how lively the palace had been when Triton, his brother and his sisters had been young. Amphitrite and he had a hard time keeping track of those four. He didn't want to picture having seven of those rascals running around.

Then again, once Percy would arrive here, he'd have eight of them around for the weekend...

“Dad! Where's Percy?”, exclaimed the giddy cyclops, barking into the throne room.

“He hasn't arrived yet, Tyson”, grunted Poseidon slightly amused.

As soon as Percy had decided to come over for the weekend, so had Tyson. Even though the General of the Cyclops Army was very busy, he too wanted to see his family as often as possible. Needless to say, Triton and Amphitrite had decided to visit her mother for the weekend. Which was for the best, seeing as Percy had ended up as a chromis the last time he had visited (don't ask; it involved an angry Amphitrite and magic).

“Dad! Ty!” - “Wow.” - “Awesome.” - “Where's the buffet?” - “How do we breath?” - “Who cares?”

The sudden noise of different voices all talking at the same time disturbed Poseidon's thoughts. The next moment, three bodies collided with the Lord of the Sea. Percy hung off his neck, grinning broadly up at his father and Sally Persephone and Theseus Paul hugging him from both sides. That was okay, until Tyson decided to join the hug and lifted all of them into the air.

“Dad!” - “Grandpa!”, chorused Percy and the twins excitedly.

Poseidon laughed good-natured and ruffled the children's hair. “Sally, it's so rare to see you around.”

The girl blushed and wiggled her nose. “Don't call me Sally. That's grandma!”

“But so is Persephone!”, huffed her twin brother and stuck his tongue out at her.

“And Percy is Percy!”, nodded Tyson, pointing at his half-brother.

Poseidon grunted amused as they were placed on the ground again. It truly was rare for him to get and see some of his grandchildren. More specifically those who had inherited their father's powers. That was why he was always looking especially forward to Sally Persephone and James Charles whenever they came over. With his hands still resting on the twins' heads, his eyes took in the appearances of the other children.

There was the daughter of Apollo, her long, blonde hair floating behind her as she insecurely stood slightly behind Thess. Elizabeth Mason, if Poseidon recalled that correctly. The daughter of New Athens' best doctor, or well, the adopted daughter anyway. One of the less fortunate half-bloods whose mother had not lived through labor. Poseidon still vividly recalled the discussion on Olympus as to what they were supposed to do with the baby (oh Percy and his friends truly had changed some of the policies on Olympus when it came to half-blood children). In the end, it had been Percy's husband and that little agency of his that had brought them a solution (never before had Poseidon been that short of kissing a son of Hades' feet. But after twelve hours of being locked up with the other Olympians and having to listen to their ridiculous and off-topic fights, he was just glad to get out of there).

There was the clever one – not the brilliant one, but the clever one was standing next to Elizabeth, trying to take everything in at once. Even though Amy Cage did her very best to become like her big cousin Thea. The girl with the long, brown curls reminded Poseidon a lot of his sister Demeter when they had been their age, which was probably the reason why it had come as a shock for everyone that she was a child of Athena by power, coming after her father (who had been proud and bragging for weeks after that revelation).

The two praetors of Camp Jupiter stood straight and proud (and curious, as Poseidon noted amused). Though Thalia Hylla Grace, or Thyl as most called her because both of her namesakes were still very much alive and they already had enough naming confusion with Percy Junior and Nico Junior as it was, was a little more on guard than the young Zhang-girl. Then again, Sammy had been around Poseidon more often. There had been a time when it was hard to get to Percy without bumping into Leo Zhang, and inevitably his children.

What did confuse Poseidon a little were the other two kids, who looked guilty. Guilty in a way that had Poseidon not wanting to know the crime they committed. The blonde boy with the multi-colored eyes, the second gift of Athena to Annabeth Chase, was shuffling his feet on the ground, his hands behind his back. Though the brunette girl next to him wasn't any better, if anything Kitty Ellen looked ready to have a heart-attack any moment now while Luke Chase just looked nervous.

“Well, children”, started Poseidon slowly. “Before we get to the buffet”, Thyl Grace turned her full attention to him. “How about you go and unpack your stuff first? Just follow the clown fishes. I got four bedrooms prepared for you. Three for the girls and one for the boys.”

Several things happened at once, startling the god slightly. The previously nervous Luke suddenly fist-bumped the water. Thess stopped clinging to him and instead blushed brightly. And Percy exclaimed loudly what he was thinking of this idea.

“Oh no, dad. We are not doing that!”, disagreed the son of Poseidon. “I will not hand that little Aphrodite devil the free pass to deflower my baby boy! Thess, you are rooming with your sister. And Luke, you go with Kitty. And each of you take one room of either side of my room so I will hear if someone sneaks out at night for a little something. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir”, mumbled the embarrassed teens.

“Guess that means we get to room with each other?”, whispered Amy with a grin.

“It appears that way”, nodded Elizabeth in agreement. “Now hurry and let's go before Lord Poseidon's head explodes and he drowns Luke and Kitty.”

“Good plan, girls! Come on!”, grinned Sammy eagerly, pulling a protesting Thyl after her.

Staring after the four retreating girls, Poseidon took a deep breath. “What is the meaning of this?”

“It so happens that Luke here”, started Percy to answer, resting his hands on the blonde boy's shoulders to keep him in place. “Is dating your grandson. And Kitty”, he took one of his hands off Luke to hold onto the already half way gone Kitty. “Is dating your granddaughter. How about you kids tell grandpa Poseidon all about those secret relationships that took weeks before you decided to tell your dear, worried parents about it while I will go and talk with Ty some?”

“No!”, exclaimed the four teens wide-eyed and in protest.

Kitty and Luke were clinging onto each other for dear life as they watched the vein on Poseidon's head pulse in suppressed irritation. Their partners all the while were trying their very best to look innocent, adorable and above all judgment. In short: They were performing Percy's begging-kitten eyes on Poseidon. Even Tyson noticed that this was not the best of times to be around their father.

“Brother, I made a great new sword! Come, I want to show you!”, urged the cyclops on.

“That actually sounds like a brilliant plan, Ty”, nodded Percy in agreement as the two brothers turned around and hastily left the throne-room. “Say, how is Ella doing?”

“Great. She enjoys living in New Rome, but we don't see each other very often because I have to take care of the new recruits to the army now that it's summer again...”

“Aw, but that means it'll be even more awesome once you see each other again”, smiled Percy.

Their voices slowly droned out as Poseidon was left alone with the twins and their respective partners. Partners. Girlfriend and boyfriend. _Lovers_. Poseidon took another deep breath.

“Nico di Angelo”, started the Sea God in his calmest and most collected voice as he started pacing the throne room once more. “Had the decency to wait with courting my son until he had helped saving the world. Not once, but twice. Now, I will give the two of you an hour time to come up with the reasons why you deserve to date my darling grandchildren. If I may not be pleased by your answers... Well, let's just say many have been lost in the sea already and many shall follow.”


	16. Nico's Babysitting Adventures

16\. Nico's Babysitting Adventures

 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“If you say it any more often, I'll go deaf”, chuckled Nico amused and took the bag from his sister.

The daughter of Pluto looked exhausted and grateful as she shoved her second youngest daughter over to her brother. Grinning broadly, Nico ruffled Emily's hair. The eight years old that looked like the female mini version of Frank (everyone liked to point out what a poor kid she was because of that). She was the fiercest of the Zhang clan. Where Esperanza was cheeky and clever, Sammy was wise and cautious and Claire was a shy little angel, Emily was the fighter, the true heir of Mars. Nothing he truly was looking forward to at the moment.

Because Jupiter Perseus Grace was already with him, running around him like the hyperactive wanna-be-hero that he was. The mini Jason kept babbling on about all the adventures they were going to have in the underworld. He was looking like Jason, but he held the legacy of Bellona.

Heaving a sigh, Nico tried to recall why exactly he had agreed to willingly take four children of war, one witch boy, a flower child and his youngest twins to the underworld. A picture of Percy, naked and widely spread, passed through his inner eye. Right, that was how Percy had gotten him to do this 'willingly'. He needed to stop making his decisions with his dick.

“Okay, JP, please tone it down some”, grunted Nico amused.

He ushered the two kids to leave the house, waving his sister for a last time. The daughter of Pluto was looking very relieved, but if Nico recalled it correctly, his sister had said something about having trouble with Nico Junior. Not that the son of Hades could picture that the brilliant tinkerer would ever really make any problems, but judging by the look in Hazel's eyes, it must have been something very concerning. Better to give her, Leo and Frank some time to figure out a solution.

“Where are the others, uncle Nico?”, asked Emily softly, staring at him adorably.

Oh, Nico knew his niece better than to be fooled by her adorableness. She was a little devil, especially together with her 'boyfriend'. He didn't want to call it a proper relationship, because JP and Emily started giggling like they did something forbidden when they were just holding hands. Then again, she was eight and he was ten so he would not expect much more.

“I already brought the Greeks downstairs. You're the last to follow”, chuckled the Ghost Prince.

Grabbing one hand of each of the children, he shadow-traveled them down to the underworld palace. Both were screaming and yelling joyfully as they exited the shadows. Nico frowned at them as they ran past him through the halls, following the sound of voices.

Glaring down at the two back-packs he had to carry for the children like some kind of private servant, he started to make his way into the other direction to the bedrooms. The children were paired up in the rooms around his own bedroom so he would be able to supervise them during the weekend. The children of war were to sleep in the rooms left and right of his so he would know if they did something incredibly stupid or thought they could sneak into each other's rooms. Just because the two couples were still young, didn't mean he trusted their innocence.

Emily would be rooming with Carry, the youngest child of Clarisse and Chris. Mini Clarisse was being mini Clarisse, to quote his husband. She could be mean and nasty and was a tiny brute, but deep down in her heart, she was a nice girl, even thought she scarcely dared to show it.

JP Grace would be rooming with Carry's boyfriend, Fred Chase. The boy that looked like Piper and acted like Annabeth, a strategist and fighter by heart. The least trouble of those four war children.

Not that there was a single one of those eight rascals that wasn't trouble. Well, maybe Malcolm's and Katie's boy Andy, but then again he was only seven, the youngest of them and also the calmest. Being raised by Malcolm and Katie must have done that, making him thoughtful and peaceful.

Nico didn't like the idea of having Andy room with who could be considered the biggest trouble. The son of Miranda and Lou – and no, Nico had stopped asking how, because Lou always got that perverted grin and whispered 'Magic, babe' – who sadly enough was magic. And Alabaster didn't use his magic for nice, cute things. He rather helped the Hermes cabin with pranks and let things go boom (the reason why Nico persistently told Lou to make him see a shrink).

But seeing as his twins would be rooming together, because Carry and Emily were already sharing a room and Laura Silena was the only other girl and there was no way in Hades that Nico would let his baby girl stay in the same room as a member of the male gender that was not part of their family.

The twins, that was a troubling topic too, at least for Nico. Him and Percy had gotten the fairly easy end of the deal with their first four children – Bianca Maria joining the hunt, Hades Poseidon only now with sixteen discovering sexuality at all, Theseus Paul being firm believers of love at first sight that shall last until the end of days (Nico briefly wondered if Luke was aware what they had gotten himself into there). Sally Persephone was another matter entirely. And albeit the fact that the twins were only nine years old, Nico could already smell the danger they posed.

Laura Silena was a beauty yet to bloom, he could already see that. She had Nico's Italian looks, but Percy's deep sea-green eyes, his charm, his shyness and tendency to blush, his powers over the sea, love for horses and animals in general and just all in all the Sea Prince's good heart. Nico feared what would happen once she'd develop boobs, because then Nico would be forced to chop dicks off left and right. He knew that, because Silly – no, that had not been Nico's idea and for once also not the Stolls', but rather her best friend's because Silly short for Silena and also because she was a Seaweed Brain Junior sometimes – was also as much of a teasing, unintentional flirt as her mother. The way she smiled at the boys when they talked with her or small, mundane touches that would linger, simply because she was nice and friendly. That was probably the worst part. Nico was pretty sure he would be able to handle having a slut as a daughter, as harsh as it sounded, but with that, he would know what he had and could start preventive measures, but that girl was just too innocent and good to be true. Maybe he should consider sitting down with Paul and Sally to learn how they had dealt with their unintentionally flirty and adorable son...

There was one thing worse than Silly's sweetness. And that was her twin's intentional behavior. James Charles had the complexion of his mother, but the eyes and sharpness of his face from his father. As well as the powers. And the badassness, even though Nico had tried to explain to his husband that badassness was not something passed on through genes. The boy was constantly wearing black and leather, being broody and mysterious. He was just pulling all of that off a little better than Nico had back then, because he had the natural grace and elegance of his mother. Nico knew that, out of all his children, Jimmy was the most likely to become a great hero one day.

“Are you hiding in your room, trying to avoid the responsibilities you burdened yourself with?”

“A good day to you too, 'Phone”, sighed Nico and rubbed his face.

He may have wandered off to his room after dropping the bags in the boys' room and it could be that he was currently laying very comfortable on his old bed in his old room, staring up at the _Doctor Who_ poster Percy had put up there twenty years ago. John Barrowman was smiling down at Nico in that annoyingly sexy way that had made Percy put it up there to begin with, so he could 'stare at a hot guy while he had to spread his legs for Nico'. Needless to say, Nico had started avoiding the bed to fuck his Sea Prince, which may or may not have led to some very awkward meetings with his father and stepmother while Percy had his legs in the air and was laying on the kitchen table when they had wanted to prepare dinner. Once or maybe twice.

The Goddess of Spring smiled amused as she walked up to her stepson and sat down next to him on the bed. As her eyes followed Nico's, she started to grin widely and also laid down.

“So... Anything new up there? Percy pregnant again?”, asked Persephone casually.

“Contrary to the popular opinion, I do not spend all my time knocking my husband up”, huffed Nico annoyed and crossed his arms. “It's not my fault he's that fertile and had to give birth to two sets of twins. But no, Percy is not pregnant again. Jack's the worst case of ADHD I've ever seen, Jimmy and Silly are getting into so much trouble with their friends, Percy and Thess are starting to bring partners home with them and Donny... We're having all hands full with the ones we have at the moment. Now is not the time to plan another one.”

“I don't like the way you let my favorite grandchild's name hang in the air”, noted Persephone.

“You're not supposed to pick favorites”, snorted Nico, avoiding the question at hand.

“If I wouldn't have picked a favorite, if I wouldn't have made him the first Champion of Persephone, then you would probably not even have those other bundles of joy and dear Bianca Maria would long since be with her two namesakes”, pointed the goddess out.

The son of Hades heaved a sigh. He knew that he owed Persephone much. Much more than anyone would ever be able to pay back in one lifetime. Because he owed her the safety of his family. Glaring annoyed at being reminded of it, he turned onto his side to look at her.

“Well, congratulations, you may become a great-grandmother, if Donny would have a say in it”, huffed the irritated Ghost Prince. “Which he does not, just so you know. I will force-feed him Percy's herbs until he's at least thirty.”

“Donny?”, repeated Persephone stunned and blinked. “Our Donny? Hades Poseidon di Angelo?”

“How many grandsons named Donny do you have?”, grunted Nico and raised one eyebrow. “Yes, him. The one and only. You remember, that adorable little thing that has caused us so much trouble with his birth. Seems that that is his goal in life. Worrying us. Because _your_ grandson is set on getting Sander – and before you ask, yes Chrysander Rodriguez – to become his boyfriend.”

“Tell me again, which one of the twins was that?”, frowned Persephone thoughtful. “The one with the combined abilities of Ares and Hermes, or the trickster?”

“The trickster”, nodded Nico. “The one with the doubled amount of power joined the hunt.”

“Huh. Reminds me that I could visit Artemis again”, hummed Persephone before she shook her head. “Don't distract me, Nico. Donny is in love? Our cute, little Donny? And how is he doing?”

“Worse than Percy”, frowned the son of Hades. “I mean, he has no idea how to do it and he too wants Sander to make the first step, if Sander really wants him, which he doubts. And I pray for Sander's safety that that is not the case, because as much as I may hate the idea of _anyone_ _ever_ having sex with my Donny, I hate the idea of _anyone ever_ breaking Donny's heart much more.”

“Mh... Chrysander Rodriguez...”, whispered Persephone deep in thought.

“And Donny is actually learning how to fight now because of Sander”, snorted Nico and shook his head. “It took a _boy_ for Donny to finally start working on his powers. Sixteen years of Percy and me trying to get him to train with us and the minute he realizes that he fancies the greatest hero of Camp Half-Blood, he realized that he should work with what the gods have given him.”

“Training?”, hummed Persephone, listening interested and cocking her head. “That has been long overdue. But perhaps it had been better that way. You remember how furious father had been that someone like him had even been born. If you and Percy would have trained him from a young age, Zeus would have been screaming bloody murder up in Olympus, fearing that you're training his personal assassin down there or something equally ridiculous like that.”

Nico would have loved to laugh at that, but sadly, it was true. Bianca Maria's birth had already made the King of Gods furious enough, because she had united all three sides of Hades, showing signs of controlling shadows, the dead and the riches, the last of these in the most unique way the gods have ever seen. For this girl, with Hades' powers over the riches, was translating those powers onto Poseidon's realm. She was overly sensitive to treasures lost at sea – a thing Nico and Percy had discovered when they had first gone to Lord Poseidon to introduce him to his granddaughter. Her abilities were more than Nico ever had, something that had made him worried at first. Too much power made Zeus suspicious. It had started a heated discussion on Olympus, one that had lasted for over a year and nearly ended in a full-blown war between the Big Three, worse than any before, as Donny had been born. The boy, uniting underworld and sea, posed a threat to Zeus, at least in Zeus' crazy mind. Persephone was probably right, it had taken them all enough trying to calm Zeus down back then and if Donny would have gotten trained, Zeus' paranoia may have broken loose again.

“Tell me more about this Chrysander”, ordered Persephone, waving one hand. “Donny is, before anything else, my champion. And if he is now truly trained, then even more so. So if Donny has interests, I need to judge if the chosen suitor is a good choice.”

“Donny is, before anything else, mine and Percy's son”, corrected Nico with a warning glare.

“Same difference”, shrugged the goddess slightly bored. “Now talk.”

“Like I said”, sighed the son of Hades annoyed. “He's the biggest hero of Camp Half-Blood, very well respected by everyone. Brilliant swordplay. A clever mind, because he puts his naturally scheming mind into tricks for quests and not senseless pranks. He's the current leader of camp, together with a son of Ares. I can't think of any other current camper with more victorious quests and a longer list of slayed monsters. So yeah, if I had to pick one guy who may be allowed to have a harmless, sexless romance with my precious little boy, I would pick him.”

“You can't forbid him to have sex”, snorted Persephone highly amused.

“I can. Believe me, I can”, declared Nico with dark eyes. “I will-”

“Nico di Angelo, where are you?!”, called his father loud and furious.

“I'd say that the children _you_ wanted to watch did something stupid”, grinned Persephone.

“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”, called his little princess girl and barged into the room.

Nico had just enough time to turn onto his back again before Silly and Jimmy collided with him, each clinging to one of his sides and trying to hide in his arms. Silly was easily frightened and Jimmy liked to hide for protection. Which meant that Jimmy most likely had pulled a prank again and scared his sister. Nico huffed as his bed was invaded by six more children. Fred, PJ, Emily and Carry right away started jumping up and down on the bed, giggling like the crazy, little monkeys they were. Only moments later and someone else tried to shyly snuggle up to him, the youngest of them. Andy was staring up at him unsure with his big, forest green eyes. Giving the tamest of the kids a reassuring smile, Nico patted his blonde curls and pulled him closer. Andy cuddled up to his best friend Silly for additional protection. Counting children in his head (it was more effective than counting sheep, ever since his generation had started to reproduce...), he came up with one missing.

“Where is Basty?”, frowned Nico, glaring at his son. “Jimmy, where is Basty?”

“How should I know?!”, pouted Jimmy and hid his face in Nico's chest.

“Because you two are always in cahoots and in nine of ten cases, you two are at fault whenever Silly comes running to me, screaming 'daddy'”, stated the son of Hades flatly.

“That little brat will go to the fields of punishment right away”, growled the Lord of the Underworld in a threatening voice. “No, not safe enough. Something that can be locked up, not broken or opened again and then the key should be thrown away. Who is this brat anyway?!”

Nico frowned a bit irritated. It wasn't news that his dad wasn't the best with children, but now he was going a little too far. Or that was what Nico was thinking until he sat up and took a look at his father. The mighty Lord of the Underworld was wearing a pink, frilly dress, his rocker-long hair in broad princess curls with a tiara on top. He was holding a broadly grinning brunette boy up.

“Dare to object, Nico”, warned Hades darkly. “Dare to object.”

“His name is Alabaster Ellen”, replied Nico smoothly. “And his mothers will be _thrilled_ to hear about this. As will Chiron once I return the boy to camp.”

Alabaster's broad grin died down and all color left his face at that threat. As much of an up-to-no-good prankster he was (and as proud as that made Lou), he  _hated_ to disappoint his mommy Miranda. He was, after all, still a nine-years old child that still came running to his parents when the thunder was getting too loud and the night was too dark.

“Dad?”, asked Silly softly, tugging on his shirt. “Where's mommy?”

“He's in the underwater palace with Thess, Percy and their friends”, replied Nico. “Why?”

“He always shows us all those awesome places when you're talking with grandpa Hades and granny Phone”, mumbled the girl, playing with her long hair. “I—I wanted to show Andy the garden...”

“My garden?”, grinned Persephone and perked up. “Right, you're that son of one of my half-sister's, aren't you? Anthismos Cage.” The boy wrinkled his nose, but nodded. “Andy, then. Alright, come on you two, I'll show you my garden, mh?”

The shy blonde beamed happily and nodded, but he still first turned to Nico to see if it would be alright for them to go. Okay, Nico took back what he had said earlier, Andy wasn't just the least trouble, he was no trouble at all, as long as Jimmy and Basty didn't group pressure him into one of their pranks. Nodding briefly, Nico watched how Andy and Silly climbed out of the bed to follow the Spring Goddess out of the room. Now how to stop the children of war from jumping on his bed? Because he slowly started to get sea-sick.

“Who wants some training with the creepy skeleton zombie guards? One on one swordplay?”

Carry, Fred, JP and Emily stopped dead in their tracks and turned with wide, hopeful eyes to him. Jimmy, albeit feigning boredom because summoning skeleton warriors was something he had first done when he had been five (which, admittedly, had given Paul's birthday party an interesting twist), looked up at his father half-way interested too. Regardless of how much the boy tried to be a badass, he was still a kid and he too just wanted to have fun with his friends.

“Outside”, barked Hades irritated and threw Alabaster onto the bed to the others like a rag doll. “And if that brat does something like that again, I will be standing at my brother's doorstep and have a long, intense conversation with your wife about how little you pay attention to the children he left in your care to supervise.”

“Don't always call him my _wife_ ”, grunted Nico with a frown. “And don't be such a tattle-tale.”

“Don't get cheeky, brat”, warned Hades with a glare. “Or I _will_ be telling your wife.”

“I'm not a brat and what do you want to do? Ground me?”, snorted the Ghost Prince.

“I am sure that it doesn't need that many words to convince your wife to make you sleep on the couch for a month or two”, threatened the Death God. “Just some wisely chosen words on how you were rather taking a nap while the brats were running wild and doing _this_.”

“Then you would willingly admit, in front of your younger brother and in your younger brother's realm, that you got outsmarted by a nine-years old and turned into a pretty princess?”

Hades spend some moments simply glaring at his son, like he was truly regretting the Italian's existence at the moment. “Why am I even putting up with you and those brats to begin with?”

“Because Phone was excited that I wouldn't just bring the twins, but also their friends, saying something about it being more lively down here then. And if your wife has the same means of conviction as mine does, then there was no way you would have said no”, snorted Nico.

The far-off look on his father's face was telling him way more than he truly wanted to know. Shuddering slightly and turned a faint shade of green, he instead turned around to face the children. They had been awfully silent and with them, that was never a good sign. The two girls and four boys were sitting cross-legged on the bed, frowning at him in silent demands.

“Stop being boring adults and let us go train!”, demanded JP fiercely.

“You remind me so much of your father, it's not funny anymore”, glared the son of Hades.

Not all that silent after all. Heaving a sigh, Nico stood up from his bed. If he send two or three skeletons after each of them, he would be off the hook for a little while. That sounded like a brilliant plan. The way his father kept glaring at him told him that Hades would be supervising this and using every single 'mistake' Nico would be making against him. The Ghost Prince knew that his father hadn't been joking. It wouldn't be the first time that Hades would rattle him out to Percy.

“Very well, who is ready for an adventure through the underworld?”, asked Nico rhetorically.

“Yes!”, chorused the six children, bumping their fists into the air enthusiastically.

 


	17. Capture the Flag

17\. Capture the Flag

 

Donny grinned just the tiniest bit stupidly. But it was Capture the Flag day and the Ares cabin and the Poseidon cabin were on different sides, yet still Sander was in his team. Because Sander always switched to the Hermes cabin if they were being teamed up with Donny and Ares wasn't. It was cute. He knew Sander was doing it to protect him, because he was a crappy fighter. Had been a crappy fighter. But not anymore, not that anyone knew that yet though.

He would finally be useful. That thought send a fluttering feeling through his being. They were always dividing his siblings so each team would get one set of the twins, so that each team had a child with Poseidon's powers and one with Hades' powers, so the game would be fair. No one ever cared where he would end up in, because he was 'just as useless as the Aphrodite Barbies'.

“Donny”, hissed Thea next to him, hitting him on the arm. “Don't just stand there, staring at Sander, we got to get moving! I know you're not a big fan of this game, but at least try, okay?”

Donny flushed slightly. His best friend _loved_ that game and regardless of how much she loved Donny, she hated that he never even tried to pick a fight or be all that useful. Trend Austin was standing next to his... niece? Urgh, never think about the family tree... his arms crossed and a sour expression on his face. Come to think about it, he often looked sour these days. Donny frowned a little confused at that. Blinking a few times, he tried to concentrate on his best friend. Him, Thea and Trend were supposed to be one of the distraction teams while Sander would make his way to get the flag. They were tailing Sander to make sure no one from the opposing team would stop him. Thea was taking this game very serious, more so than normally even. She always did when the Iris cabin would be in the opposing team, because she and Rainbow were always competing then.

“We're going to lose anyway with him on the team”, muttered Trend and rolled his eyes, glaring at Donny. “No offense, but you suck. And not even the parts that are enjoyable when being sucked.”

“No offense taken”, smiled Donny brightly as he spotted Sander in the bushes. “Come on now, we should hurry after him, or else we're going to lose him, right?”

“Uh? Yeah?”, blinked Thea, thrown off by her friend's enthusiasm.

They followed their hero's lead, deeper into the forest. And it went very smooth, at least until a red team caught up to them. Three members of the opposing team. Marshall Mikaelson, Sam Raser and Derek Rhys. But judging by the not very subtle roars close by, most of their cabin-mates were already close too. Donny grinned as he felt Sander behind him. Felt, not heard or saw. His father had taught him to read souls, to feel them and his mother had taught him to differ between the feeling the water within different bodies gave him. If he would close his eyes now, he could tell who exactly was on the march over to them and how far they were away. They were fast approaching the river from its other side, which gave Donny an idea.

“That's too many”, glared Sander with a curse. “I though the rest of our team was leading a distraction farther off. Why is everybody following us? Damn. We can't take them all on.”

“You're damn right, Rodriguez!”, smirked Sam victoriously, lifting his sword up. “Give up before our backup arrives and you will not have to feel the shame of being beaten by me in front of the Disney Princess. What do you say? Fair enough offer.”

“We're not giving up”, growled Thea annoyed, drawing her dagger. “We'll go down with a fight. I'd rather take ten of you on and lose fair than being a coward, Raser.”

“Or”, started Donny softly, gaining the confused attention of the other six teenagers because he normally never spoke up and tried not to draw anyone's attention to himself, especially not at the dawn of a battle. “Or we just won't let your backup get to us.”

“Genius, if that would be in our powers-”, grunted Trend annoyed, glaring.

He didn't get to finish his sentence however, because Donny reached out with his hand, his fingers spread. And as he lifted his hand up above his head, the water of the river rose. A wall of solid water was separating them from the backup. Everyone stared bewildered at Donny.

“H—How-”, chocked Derek stunned. “You're _useless_ , how did you do that?!”

“Grandson of Poseidon”, smirked Donny. “Did I forget to mention that I trained?”

“Who's supposed to believe that?”, sneered the son of Demeter irritated and lunged at Donny with his sword drawn. “Let's see how many seconds you can hold that up, di Angelo!”

“Oh no, you don't!”, growled Sander with a hint of panic, drawing his own sword.

He wanted to jump in front of Donny to protect him (and that so didn't make Donny blush), but Sam was faster, blocking Sander with his own sword. Sander was sending a pleading look into Thea's direction, but she already had enough of a hard time blocking Marshall off. There was something like fear in his eyes and that made Donny's heart flutter. But he really didn't have time for that. Lowering his hand hastily, he twirled the ring on his finger, turning it into a sword. It was easy blocking Derek's attack, the son of Demeter had never been the best swordsman. The brunette gave a grunt as he was faced with the Stygian-iron sword.

“May I introduce you to Skotelnos Thalassa, the Dark Sea”, said Donny casually.

Derek cursed beneath his breath as every hit he wanted to place was instantly blocked. Sam nearly knocked Sander down a couple of times, because the son of Clarisse was too busy staring at Donny in awe. The way Donny moved, so swift and beautiful, his face highly concentrated as he was still keeping the wall of water up while fighting against Derek. Sander had to confess, he had often pictured what Donny would look like while fighting, but this was so much more. There was barely a trace of the innocent, shy boy as Donny fought like a real man. It was pure sex, at least to Sander. The boy was swift and cunning and confident, which was probably what he loved most right now. Because yes, he loved Donny, but the boy was always so nervous, shy and insecure. But like this, right now, fighting with that gleam in his eyes as though he knew he would win, that was making Sander so hot right now. If not for Sam, who was very much a worthy opponent, he would have jumped Donny by now probably. Turning slightly, he saw that Thea was fighting hard against Marshall. But where was Trend?! That up-to-no-good brat was still pouting about Derek and their very recent breakup, but that wasn't a reason not to participate!

“I have it!”, called Trend from somewhere behind the trees. “I got the flag!”

So that was where he was. Okay, not that useless after all. Putting his sword down, he reached out to fist-bump Sam, who was grinning broadly at him. Marshall and Thea were shaking hands, both smiling satisfied. But there was still the sound of metal hitting metal. Donny may have let go of the barrier, allowing their own team and the other team to gather to celebrate, but he hadn't stopped his fight with Derek. The two were fiercely going at each other.

Derek had never liked Donny, because Sander had always been in love with the son of Percy. Even while he had been dating Derek. Not that Derek hadn't known that right from the start, but it still hurt the brunette's ego. The son of Demeter had started picking on Donny out of jealousy and spite, which had been the reason why Sander had broken it off in the end.

“Guys? Guys, stop it. The game is over”, whispered Thea a little worried.

“No. _This_ is not over”, growled Donny determined, landing another hit. “He had it coming for years now. I'm sick and tired of you calling me useless, Rhys. You're the worst of all! I'm used to getting pushed around and insulted, but you're the worst of them all and I will never be your doormat again. Maybe now you'll learn that. Never mess with the heir of Poseidon and Hades.”

As he talked, everything around them darkened. The shadows grew longer and darker even though the sun couldn't be seen anymore, because the clouds were gathering above their heads, rumbling with a coming storm. As the rain started pouring down on them, Donny looked mightier than any god Sander had seen so far. He gulped and stared, longing to touch. A symbol was glowing over his head, one they had seen five times already, a skull with a trident behind it. The symbol of the unity between Hades and Poseidon, the family crest of Nico, Percy and their children.

“Hail Hades Poseidon di Angelo, controller of water and shadows!”, cheered Thea.

The others who had gathered around them started to fall into the chant, the demigods and halflings lifting Donny up easily, carrying him on their shoulders. All his siblings – aside from Jack, because this was his first year at camp – had been 'claimed', more on an honorary and obligatory base, years ago, whenever they had finished their first quest or proven that they were fighters.

 

/break\

 

Sander frowned displeased. He had been looking all over camp now, but after all the praising, Donny had just disappeared. Glaring slightly, Sander went deeper and deeper into the forest. He _needed_ to talk to Donny right now. Pushing some bothersome branches out of his way as he reached the grotto in the deeper parts of the forest, a small pond where the water from the river collected in the middle of a clearing. The last rays of the setting sun colored the water a brilliant red.

“Donny! There you are!”, scolded Sander as he walked up to the... naked... oh.

Sander stared and gulped and stared some more. Donny was skinny dipping in the pond, his olive skin glistering in the red light of the sunset. The picture was accented by the fireflies all around the boy. Donny grinned as he turned around some. Oh, not naked. Too bad, but Donny was still wearing his boxershorts. Sighing slightly, Sander got rid of his own shirt, his jeans and his shoes before walking up to Donny. A bath sounded like a brilliant idea, he was still sweaty and dirty from the game and the fight against Sam. Once he came to stand next to Donny, he grabbed the smaller boy's hand to take a closer look at the ring.

“So... you've decided to be a hero now, mh?”, grunted Sander with one raised eyebrow.

“I decided to not be a push-over anymore”, smiled Donny slightly and blushed a bit.

“What did you say it's called? Your sword, I mean”, asked Sander curiously and sat down on one of the stones at the stone wall on the other side of the pond, leaning against the cool stones. “And where did you even get it? And your training.”

“Mom and dad trained me”, shrugged Donny, playing with his ring. “And they gave me the sword. Skotelnos Thalassa, the Dark Sea. But I call her Skotha, it's shorter.”

“Her? Your sword's a girl?”, snorted Sander amused.

“Uhu”, nodded the younger boy slightly embarrassed. “So... you think I did good today...?”

“I think you were awesome”, grinned Sander, ruffling Donny's hair and pulling him close. “You were great out there. And Derek deserved it for being a jerk all the time, mh?”

“Thanks”, smiled Donny, showing all his brilliant white teeth. “Hearing that from you means a lot to me. I... I still have a lot to learn, but I'm trying. I want to be able to protect myself. I don't want you to constantly worry about me. N—Not that I don't appreciate that, because I do! But one day, you will get hurt because you're so distracted trying to protect me and I couldn't stand that.”

“You're too cute to be true”, laughed Sander amused, closing his eyes for a second. “But you're right. I guess I played the big brother part in a slightly overbearing way...”

Big brother? Donny stared at Sander with hurt eyes. Was that what Donny was to him? A kid brother? A responsibility that was adorable, but nothing more? And he had been stupid enough to think that maybe, if he trained, Sander would be able to see him in a new light. Stupid him. Heaving a sigh, Donny stood and swam back to the shore.

“I want to take a shower before dinner. See you around.”

 

/break\

 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid...”, groaned Sander, hitting his head against the table-top with every time he repeated that. “I am so eternally stupid.”

“No one disagrees, but why this time?”, snorted Trend as he walked up to his friend.

Sander lifted his head off the table and stared at the blonde. He couldn't say it, he probably should never say anything again, because he was just too dumb to talk. Why had he called it the big brother part?! Because his brain had broken down, because he was too busy staring into those brilliant sea-green eyes and the first thing he could think of when protecting was his baby sister Carry, so his mouth had just babbled instead of shutting up or phrasing it differently! He hated his brain!

“I'm an idiot, isn't that enough?”, grunted Sander and went back to hitting his head.

“He's been like that ever since he came to the cabin”, shrugged Sam unimpressed.

“Well, Sander has always been the odd one”, noted Thea teasingly, ruffling his hair. “Donny! Come here, sit with us. We're busy teasing Sander, I know you'll enjoy that too.”

Donny looked reluctant as he walked over to them and joined them for dinner, awkwardly sitting down next to Sam so he was opposite Thea. He glared slightly at Sander, but tried to shake it off. This wasn't Sander's fault. If Sander wasn't interested in him, then that's that.

“You were impressive out there”, commented Sam casually.

Donny blushed slightly and shrugged. “I... did my best...”

“Yeah, you should keep doing it. Looked good”, smirked the son of Ares, putting one arm around Donny's shoulders. “Looked _really_ good.”

And damn, did that son of Ares have strong arms. And a cheeky grin. Sam Raser was hot, Donny was well-aware of it. Not as hot as Sander, but still really, really handsome.

“Uh... thanks...”, mumbled Donny, blushing a little brighter.

“So... what are you doing tomorrow?”, asked Sam, drawing little figures on Donny's shoulder with his fingers. “There's that new Disney movie in the cinemas and I thought, hey maybe the Disney Princess hasn't seen it yet. Something about a fairy princess in an enchanted forest.”

“It's the first of the _Adventures with Dwarfs_ series, based on an old children's book series”, corrected Donny practically automatically and blushed a notch darker. “Mom always made me watch it and I really like Disney, okay? Don't judge. But I wouldn't have figured _you_ to like Disney. Why would you even want to see that movie?”

“I heard there are dinosaurs in the enchanted forest. I like dinosaurs”, shrugged Sam. “So?”

“Huh? Sure. I really want to see it”, grinned Donny happily.

“Great. Then it's a date”, grinned the son of Ares, running his fingers up and down Donny's arm.

Trend, sitting next to Sander and opposite Marshall, chocked on his drink. “D—Date? You two?”

“No”, laughed Donny. “Why should-”

But he didn't get any farther, because he was interrupted by Sam. “Yeah. He just agreed.”

“Wait”, blinked Donny, even more stunned than the others. “You want a date with me? A date-date? Like... a real date? With me? You?”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes”, replied the son of Ares amused. “I don't like pansies, but you just proved that you aren't a pansy. And you _are_ cute. So why not getting to know each other a little... better? If there's sex in it for me, then it would be even better. But for now, a date.”

Thea glared wide-eyed and opened her mouth to reply for her best friend, but said best friend beat her to the punch. “Okay.”

Silence befell their table. An eerie, awkward silence. Thea was torn between glaring at Sam suspiciously and throwing curious glances at Donny. Sander had gone back to hitting his head on the table top, but this time without cursing himself while doing so. Trend was throwing imaginative daggers at the son of Ares as though he wanted to skin the other alive. And Marshall was highly amused by all of this, he couldn't wait to tell his girlfriend at Camp Jupiter so she shall spread the word throughout the Romans. This was going to be interesting.

 

/diary|entry\

 

_Hey, yes, I'm still alive. Okay, so I've been busy with training. Turned out training was useless after all, because Sander only sees me as a little brother. Just great._

_Oh, and I may have agreed to go on a date. With Sam Raser. No idea how that happened. But he asked me out. No one ever has been interested in me in that way! I've always wanted to try a date. I... wanted it with Sander, still want it with Sander. But if he doesn't want me, why should I sit around and cry myself to sleep? That won't change a thing. I said it today myself. I refuse to be anyone's doormat anymore. Not even Sander's. So if he doesn't want me, why shouldn't I spend time with a boy who seems to do?_

_And Sam doesn't seem like a bad guy. He's not having that bad a reputation about bedding his fellow campers as Sander does, at least. I mean, San had so many guys and girls already. But Sam? I don't even remember if he's ever actually been with anyone... like, ever... Now that I think about it, that's kind of odd. I mean, he's a pretty strong fighter, one of our best heroes around here, a son of Ares, which on the long run always gives you extra credits because they're prone to become strong fighters and due to their always very intense training, they're also very well-built. And that, Sam is. I mean, really. He's one of the hottest guys around here and he has that bad boy smile that gives you weak knees. His mohawk is pretty cool too._

_Sander doesn't want me, but Sam does. And Sam is good looking, so why shouldn't I give him a chance and get to know him better? Who knows, maybe he's a really great and gentle guy on the inside. I think it's cute that he likes dinosaurs and asked me to go see a Disney movie with him instead of some action movie thing that he would probably prefer._

_I'm having good arguments to go on that date, so why does it still feel wrong and why does it hurt so much to think that Sander doesn't want me...?_

 

/entry|end\

 

“Big brother? You alright?”, asked Jack worried as he heard his brother sob.

Climbing out of his own bed, the five-years old walked over to his brother's bed, slowly climbing in. Donny was sitting there with his knees pulled up against his chest, his arms wrapped around them and his face resting against his knees, his frame shaking with tears.

“Don-Don?”, mumbled Jackson, biting his lip as he nudged his big brother. “Please say something.”

“S—Sorry, Jacky”, whispered Donny, rubbing his eyes and lifting his face to look at his youngest brother. “I'm alright. I'm just a little sad, but it's alright.”

“Sure?”, asked Jack with those giant, innocent sea-green eyes. “I don't want Donny sad.”

That actually made Donny smile. Sitting up some, he wrapped his arms around his baby brother and pulled the olive-skinned boy into a tight hug. Jack giggled and wrapped his arms around Donny's neck, snuggling up to his older brother.

“I love you, little bugger”, smiled Donny, kissing the top of Jack's head.

“I love Donny too! Because Donny is always nice to me and watches out for me”, smiled Jack brightly, placing a sloppy kiss on Donny's cheek. “Jimmy is always too cool to be with me and Thess is only being with Luke now and doesn't have time for me... But Donny never lets me alone. I love my big brother, so I don't want Donny to be sad. Promise not being sad, yes?”

“Promise”, laughed Donny, ruffling Jack's hair. “No more sad. You know, I really don't feel sad anymore, because you make me happy. I'm really glad to be your big brother, because you're just the perfect, adorable little brother. I love you, Jacky, and I promise to always be there for you.”

“Great!”, grinned Jack pleased, snuggling into Donny's chest. “Can you help me then, because I think I have to go to Mister Chiron because there was something the Hermes cabin and I did...”


	18. Awkward Date/Espionage... Thingy

18\. Awkward Date/Espionage... Thingy

Donny was feeling slightly worried and just the tiniest bit nervous as he was walking through the cinema at Sam's side. The son of Ares looked amazing, an open Army shirt over a black muscle shirt, Army pants and black boots. A grin was laying on Sam's lips as he led Donny to the counter.  
“So, what do you want?”, asked the mohawked boy, nudging Donny. “It's on me.”  
Donny frowned, biting his lips. This was strange. He wasn't used to the bully to be that nice.  
“Uh... maybe some... candy?”, mumbled Donny unsure.

/break\

Donny was by far not the only one feeling awkward. Hercules too was feeling very awkward. He had wanted to go to the cinema with his girlfriend again, yes. But he had not pictured for Loki Murdock, Blance Lamour, Takara Thompson, Nico Zhang, Sander Rodriguez, Marshall Mikaelson or Trend Austin to go with them. That was more like a group excursion than a date.  
“Why am I here, Thea?”, asked Herc in a low voice as they followed Sam and Donny. “I mean, why is any of us here? Does Donny really need a babysitter now? And what are they doing here?”  
He pointed at Marshall and Trend, not even questioning the others anymore. Seeing as it clearly had to do with Donny, him and Loki were there to support Sander, as was most likely Nico. And with Nico came her best friend Blance, or maybe the daughter of Khione was there because of Loki, you never knew with her. Thea gave him an apologetic smile, linking their fingers as they kept close behind Sam and Donny, but far enough behind so other people covered them. Trend and Sander were leading their group.  
“Sander and I don't trust Sam, so we wanted to keep an eye on them”, whispered Thea back. “And when we came over because Sander wanted your support – and I thought it would be nice to go and see the movie with my boyfriend if I'd have to go anyway – Nico insisted on coming along too.”  
“I'm only here because I tagged along when they went to New Rome, hoping I'd get some time with my girlfriend, but Sara already had plans with Joe”, shrugged Marshall a little bored.  
“I'm here because I don't trust this”, hissed Trend with a glare. “Sam has never gone on a date and he never even looked twice at those cute ones. Cute isn't his type at all. Never has been.”  
Herc raised one eyebrow skeptically. How in the world had he ended up with such weirdos as friends? Shrugging, he wrapped one arm around his girl. Whatever was going on, at least he got to spend time with his best friend and his girlfriend. Even though he didn't really understand why they had to follow Donny. Wasn't it enough that his parents were following them...?  
“But why are we here?”, voiced Herc as they sat down in the last row of the cinema, with a good view of Donny and Sam. “I mean, isn't it enough that uncle Percy and uncle Nico are here...?”  
His friends froze up and stared at him as he pointed over into the other corner of the last row, where Percy and Nico di Angelo were sitting together, sharing a popcorn and pointing at Donny and Sam. While Marshall and Trend weren't interested in that, the others stared a little surprised.

/break|flashback – five hours ago\

Sunday late afternoon had a very exhausted Percy collapsing on his bed face-first. He had just dropped off the Romans after a very eventful weekend in the underwater palace. A slight grin spread over his face as he thought about how timid and polite Luke and Kitty had been throughout the whole weekend. They jumped every time Poseidon had entered a room.  
“My love?”, asked Nico from somewhere behind. “I know you probably want to sleep through to tomorrow, but when I brought the Greeks back, I found a little something and brought it here.”  
They had split up, Percy returning the Romans and Nico returning the Greeks. Yawning widely, the son of Poseidon rolled onto his back to stare at the door, where his husband, his oldest son and his youngest son were standing. The bright blush on Donny's cheeks was what got his attention.  
“Okay, humor me”, sighed Percy, patting the bed beside him. “What's going on?”  
Nico, Jack and Donny sat down on the bed, Donny cuddling up to his mother, with his arms around Jack, pulling the youngest one close between himself and their mother. The son of Hades grunted, wrapping his arms around his boys. Judging by the frown on Nico's face, Percy braced himself for what was about to come. Couldn't be good. Running his fingers through Jack's hair, he waited.  
“Sam asked me out on a date yesterday”, whispered Donny. “And I kind of said yes...”  
“How come?”, asked Percy softly. “What about Sander?”  
“He doesn't care about me, so why should I care?”, huffed Donny with hurt eyes.  
Percy reached out with his free arm to caress Nico's neck to keep the son of Hades from traveling to camp and beating the crap out of Sander. Nothing good could come from that. Nico calmed under his touch, taking deep breaths and trying to focus on Donny.  
“Who is this Sam-bloke?”, grunted Nico with gritted teeth.  
“Sam Raser, the head of the Ares cabin”, replied Donny and blushed. “He's kind of... hot. I don't know him that well, but he's a friend of Sander's. The greatest hero, aside from Sander.”  
“And do you like him? I mean, you said yes”, hummed Percy curiously.  
“I said I don't know him”, sighed Donny with a frown. “So I don't know if I like him. But he's the first boy to actually ask me out and this whole thing with Sander is getting too complicated for me. I mean, sometimes I feel like he may like me, so I do all this stuff to impress him, but then he goes and says that I'm like a little brother to him!”  
“Considering the family tree, that doesn't have to mean much”, grinned Percy teasingly.  
“Uh, mom, gross”, yelped Donny, wiggling his nose in disgust.  
“Okay. So, you don't want Sander anymore?”, asked Percy a little serious.  
“Of course I do! I love him!”, exclaimed Donny frustrated. “But it's so complicated and I want something easy for a change and Sam seems nice enough and I don't plan on marrying him, I just want to go on a date with him. Is that... wrong? I mean, I feel like I'm cheating on San, but that's stupid, because there is nothing between San and me.”  
“You have no reason to feel guilty about this”, whispered Percy soothingly, kissing Donny's head. “You have every right to do what you feel comfortable with. If that's a date with Sam, then go on a date with Sam. Who knows? Maybe that will help you sort through things. Your dad wasn't the first boy I dated either, after all.”  
“I wasn't?!” - “He wasn't?!”  
“I... was dating Octavian for a couple of weeks...? Don't tell me you didn't know that”, blinked Percy and stared at his husband surprised. “How... come you don't know about it?”  
“I have no idea! But you're not allowed to come near him again!”, growled Nico determined.  
Percy smiled amused, tilting his head and kissing his husband softly. It never ceased to amuse him how jealous Nico could get, even after thirty years of being together. It gave Percy an idea.  
“You need to go on that date, Donny”, declared Percy with a knowing smile. “Jealousy is the key. You will know if Sander likes you once you go on a date with someone else. If he has even the least bit of feelings for you, you will know. Believe me.”  
He placed another kiss on Donny's head, who nodded slowly. Nico didn't like that. At all. He had only barely wrapped his head around the concept of Donny being in love with Sander. But now he had to adjust to Donny dating some Ares brat? Not without his surveillance. Who knew what that brat would be up to without supervision?  
“So... Jack could use your help...”, hummed Donny casually, tickling his baby brother.  
“No! Don't tell mommy!”, whined Jack, hiding his head in Donny's belly. “You promised to help!”  
“And telling mom and dad is helping”, grinned Donny. “They know Chiron, they can talk to him about it. I won't be much of a help, Chiron and I barely even met so far.”  
“Chiron? What is going on with you?”, frowned Nico with a glare. “And here I thought I had taken the two troublesome kids with me to the underworld! Now he comes with his love troubles and you have trouble with Chiron? What did I do wrong when raising you?”  
“Don't make it sound like Thess and Percy had been easy”, snorted Percy with a glare. “But yes. Jackson Tyson di Angelo, what have you done?”  
Full names. That meant trouble. Jack squirmed, turning to stare at his parents with his big, green eyes and a quivering lower lip. The glares on his parents' faces melted some.  
“I made some friends with the Hermes cabin and they had a great idea and I did what they suggested and then suddenly the Aphrodite cabin was all black and with skulls and now Mattie is angry at me and he ran to Mister Chiron and cried and I think I'm in trouble with Mister Chiron now and my bestest friend on the world isn't talking to me”, babbled Jack and sobbed.  
That was going to be a hand full of work. Nico cradled Jack in his arms, trying to comfort him while Percy went to pick the perfect clothes out for Donny. Not that Nico approved of that. Those black jeans were way too tight and what was going on with that blue shirt? That didn't even cover Donny's hip-bones! There was no way in Hades he would let Donny go unsupervised!

/break\

Nico frowned and grumbled as he shoved more popcorn into his mouth. This Sam kid was having his arm around Donny's shoulders! And they were sitting way too close.  
“I love you when you're in that protective dad mode”, grinned Percy and leaned up to kiss him. “Oh! The movie starts. I really wanted to see that one anyway. Stop being broody.”  
Percy hummed as he snuggled up against his husband, who had one arm wrapped around his shoulders. Sea-green eyes drifted off to the six teenagers that sat on the opposite end of the row. Loki and Blance, the son of Mercury and the daughter of Khione who had been the previous praetors, as well as the daughter of Trivia, Takara, and Nico, who kept stealing popcorn from Herc and Thea, who sat next to her, on Thea's side was a very angry Sander (the boy looked nearly as furious as Percy's husband did), on the other side were Trend and Marshall, Percy remembered them from some classes he had given last summer at camp. A grin split Percy's face at that. And here Donny kept insisting that he had no one who cared about him. Trend, Marshall, Loki, Blance, Takara, Nico, Herc, Thea and Sander did, enough to stalk him even. Maybe not all of them out of the same level of comradeship. He saw that Loki and Blance were too preoccupied with kissing and making out, the gorgeous white-haired girl half sitting on the black-haired trickster's lap. The two were a cute couple, her pale skin against his sun-kissed muscles, her calm mind compared to his full of mischief. Herc and Thea too were holding hands and rather gazing into each other's eyes instead of on the screen. Not that Percy had anything to say against that, he literally could not wait to see the wedding between the oldest Chase and the oldest Grace, it would be the first link between their friends' children! Hopefully, Donny and Sander could follow them...

/break\

Loki grunted into his kiss as he choked on a piece of popcorn Blance had stolen from Nico, who had stolen it from Herc and Thea. He rolled his eyes slightly. When he had gotten together with Blance, the Snow Princess had simply demanded for him to go on a date with her. When Herc and Thea had gotten together... okay, that had been a little more complicated. But nothing, nothing on this planet, was as complicated as Chrysander Rodriguez! And now he had to sit through a children's movie with a group of hormonal teenagers like some school trip bullshit. That was really telling him about how much he cared about his dumbass friends!  
Blance next to him didn't care all that much about what was going on anyway. She had an excuse to be in a dark place with Loki, so what's it matter? And Sander had paid for the popcorn.  
Nico was confused as she sat there between her friends. She had thought Donny liked Sander? Then why was he on this date? That was probably the only reason she had come along to begin with. That and maybe the witch next to her, not that she'd admit it out loud.  
“Why exactly are we here, Nico?”, whispered Kara between Blance and Nico, tugging on the tinkerer's sleeve. “Not that I don't appreciate a good Disney movie, but... uh...”  
“Don't question it”, grunted Herc from Nico's other side, wrapping one arm around the Latina so he could properly poke the witch. “See it as a... favor to a friend in need, will you?”  
“Says the one who has been questioning all of this the whole time”, chuckled his girlfriend Thea slightly amused and kissed him. “You're so adorable, Hercules.”  
“Would all of you mind shutting up?”, hissed Sander, elbowing Thea next to him. “I try to hear what they're talking about down there!”  
“You can't”, huffed Trend on his other side, his arms crossed. “I already tried that.”  
“You guys crack me up more than that movie”, snorted Marshall and stole some popcorn.

/break\

Blushing slightly, Donny poked the salad in front of him. Sam had invited him to dinner afterward and now the two of them were sitting in the Gardner sisters' restaurant together, candle light, soft music, the moon shining through the window. Everything was perfect and Sam really was a gentleman, he had even pulled Donny's chair back for him.  
“So... Shit, I'm so bad at this”, cursed Sam, running his fingers through his mohawk. “Fuck, I said shit. Damn, now... Argh... I can't do small talk... That's why I wanted to go see a movie.”  
“It's alright”, laughed Donny softly, grabbing Sam's hand. “Just... tell me more about you. Like, what do you enjoy doing? What... shows do you like to watch, stuff like that.”  
“Uh... okay...”, nodded Sam with a serious expression, thinking hard. “I love sport. Like, every kind of sport. Especially football, but not the American one, the real deal. And fighting, obviously. I don't really watch much telly though... or read. I actually really mainly... play sports. Uh... You?”  
“I really don't like sport at all”, laughed Donny and blushed. “Sorry, but... I have two left feet.”  
“Didn't look that way yesterday”, hummed Sam with a wink. “You were pretty awesome.”  
“Because mom and dad taught me”, smiled Donny sheepishly. “And I guess because of our battlefield reflexes. I doubt we also have basketball reflexes, huh?”  
“No”, snorted the son of Ares amused. “No, we don't. Would be awesome though. Okay, so if you don't like training or sport, what do you do in your free time? You know, all that calling you Disney Princess thing always made me assume you like... skip through the forest and sing with the birds...”  
At least he had the decency to blush at that, which made Donny laugh again. “No, not really. I like animals and I love spending time with them. Sometimes I feel like they understand me better than humans do. I love swimming, so I guess there is a sport I enjoy after all.”  
“What is your deal with the animals anyway?”, asked Sam honestly curious. “I mean, you don't dance around and sing with them, okay. But... what exactly is it you do?”  
“Talk to them, mainly”, shrugged Donny casually.  
“To which? To all?”, frowned the son of Ares a little confused.  
“Fishes and other creatures of the sea due to my mom, as well as horses”, started Donny to count off. “Animals of the underworld, like hell-hounds, due to my dad's powers. And animals of spring because of Grandma 'Phone's blessing. Like, bees, butterflies, song birds, bunnies, deers, stuff like that. So yeah... most animals around here, I guess.”  
“Pretty cool”, hummed Sam impressed and nodded. “Would be wicked to send a swarm of bees after someone who annoys you. Actually... pretty impressive that you never really did that. Even though many at camp were being awful to you... me... kind of included there... I'm... sorry... I just never realized that you're actually a pretty cool kid and you have to understand that it's kind of against my very nature to see someone with so much potential, so much power, just wasting it away instead of training and really fighting with it, you know?”  
“I actually think I do”, nodded Donny slowly, chewing his salad. “But... is that it? Why you invited me on this date, I mean. Because I'm powerful and now I know how to use that?”  
“No. Well, a bit. I mean, it makes you interesting”, nodded Sam slowly, a little awkwardly.  
“Because it's kind of weird. Not just you asking me out, but you generally going on a date. I think I've never seen you with anyone before”, frowned Donny thoughtful.  
“I normally don't go for the cute ones”, shrugged Sam and blushed furiously. “Uh, I mean... agh, great now I called you cute. Sorry. Or... should I even apologize for it? It's probably a compliment for you? Argh, I didn't mean to imply that I didn't mean it as a compliment, I just meant-”  
“You mean that as a kid of war, you normally go after the stronger guys and not the cute ones, I get that”, smiled Donny reassuringly, patting Sam's hand. “No need to get a heart attack.”  
“I'm normally not that awkward, I swear”, sighed Sam frustrated.  
“Just... tell me why exactly you asked me out”, wanted Donny softly to know. “If I'm not your type and you never actually were interested in me before and me being okay comes as a surprise to you.”  
“You make it sound like you're the worst date possible”, frowned Sam displeased. “I'm sorry if I gave you that feeling, because I'm actually really having fun with you. It's been awesome so far.”  
“I'm having fun too”, grinned Donny. “You're cool to talk to. I just want to know what...”  
“Made you interesting for me?”, continued Sam for him and leaned in some so he could whisper. “I'm really, really sorry, but... see, I normally don't go for the cute ones. That's Trend's thing. And I figured that now that you showed how strong you are, he would go after you, because he just broke up with Derek and he tends to take what's cute and Sander had or wants, so I thought I'd be first.”  
“So... Assuming you didn't do it to defend my honor”, grinned Donny teasingly. “You did it to make Trend jealous then, mh? Because.... you like him?”  
“What?”, snorted Sam wide-eyed and blushed. “I don't. I mean, sure I do, but as a buddy, not a...”  
“And what do you mean what Sander wants?”, interrupted Donny with a frown.  
“Come on!”, groaned Sam with one raised eyebrow. “Everyone like knows he's totally into you. What do you think why he's here with his friends stalking us?”  
“Because we're friends”, shrugged Donny casually. “Mom and dad are here too, after all.”  
“Yeah, I noticed”, snorted Sam amused. “I never pictured the great Percy Jackson so lovey-dovey.”  
“Oh, right”, grinned Donny broadly. “You totally should meet my mom and dad. Them being heroes and all, you probably can't wait to hear some stories, right?”  
“Kind of, yeah”, nodded Sam embarrassed. “Not that that's why I went on a date with you...”  
“No, you went on the date with me because you want to make Trend jealous”, smirked Donny.  
“Did not!”, protested the son of Ares with a glare. “You're a mean little thing, di Angelo. I think I really start liking you. But... really not like that. So... I'm sorry if I came off different...”  
“It's alright!”, interrupted Donny hastily. “I like you too and I think we'd be great friends. But I kind of am in love with someone else and I just... wanted to go on this date because...”  
“You wanted to make Sander jealous because you like him”, smirked Sam knowingly.  
“As much as you want to make Trend jealous”, pouted Donny and stuck his tongue out.  
Both boys stared at each other and started laughing at the same time. Still, Sander wanting him? Looking at his not very well-hidden friends, he frowned thoughtful.


	19. ...And Fathers (Parental Life Part IV)

19\. ...And Fathers (Parental Life Part IV)

 

“I have a headache. I think I'm getting sick. I don't think I can go... Can I stay home. Please?”

Percy rolled his eyes as he stared at his husband. “No. Don't be a baby. One should think that a man your age, two times savior of the world, wouldn't be afraid to go to Chiron.”

“It's like being called to the principal”, muttered Nico and wiggled his nose. “You _know_ I didn't go to school after I entered this time period. To avoid exactly that. And that's also the reason I never really fully joined camp. I hate authority figures. They give me the creeps.”

“Sometimes, I wonder...”, snorted Percy and shook his head. “Now come here, you big baby. We are going to see Chiron and get that mess sorted out for Jack. Remember, he's your son.”

“Yeah, yeah”, muttered Nico with a glare. “Bloody fertility of the sea...”

“ _What_ did you just say, mister?”, growled Percy borderline murderous.

“N—Nothing!”, exclaimed the son of Hades and wrapped his arms around his husband's waist obediently. “Just mentioning what a blessing it is that you gifted me with all those children...”

“That's what I thought”, smiled Percy charmingly, cuddling up to Nico's chest.

“I was just questioning how it comes that nearly all of our children are causing some kind of trouble for us”, muttered Nico a little upset. “Donny, denying his heritage for so long, Percy and Thess with them being way too early bloomers, Jimmy and Silly with their mischief and now even Jack... Bianca is the only angel we have and she had to join the hunt...”

“We could always make some more and hope for some more angels, Mister di Angelo.”

Nico chuckled good-natured and shadow-traveled them to Camp Half-Blood. He knew that Percy knew he wasn't being serious. The Ghost King loved all of his children and he would rather raise hell than give a single one back. But sometimes, just sometimes, he would like to have a peaceful Sunday where he could sleep in and spend the whole day with his beloved husband. Without trouble or problems caused by their off-springs. If people thought being a hero was hard, hah. Being parents to them was even harder. And now they had to go and see Chiron...

“Mommy! Daddy! You came!”, exclaimed a very joyful voice as they entered the Poseidon cabin.

Seconds later and Nico had a joyful, olive-skinned mini Percy attached to his hip. He always liked to compare their children to them, see whose trades they got. And Jackson didn't just look like a copy of his mother, he was also very much like Percy.

“You know you shouldn't be that joyous, kiddo”, grunted Nico and ruffled his youngest son's hair. “We're going to Chiron now. And _you_ will come with us. It's been your fault after all.”

 

/break\

 

Monday mornings in the McLean-Chase household were lazy ones. It was the one day Annabeth had picked to work at home, to see through the business of the last week and finish it, sign documents and not be available for phone calls or visits. That had the additional bonus of sleeping in and avoiding the most annoying day of the week. Under normal circumstances it of course also involved trying to get their four children out of the beds and more importantly out of the house. But during the holidays, said children were at camp, which meant that the house was peacefully silent and Annabeth could just stay in the very comfortable bed.

“You look like a lazy cat, Annie”, noted her wife in a soft voice.

“Aren't you supposed to be at work?”, murmured the daughter of Athena sleepily, turning around.

She blinked one eye open to stare at the native American beauty she had married. And what could Annabeth say, with a tray with orange juice and pancakes in her hands, Piper looked even better.

“Nico called. He had to cancel our meeting, because it seems little Jack did something bad and now he is forced to go to Chiron together with Percy”, chuckled Piper and neared the bed. “So I figured I'd make breakfast for my beautiful wife and enjoy the morning. I'll only have to be in around noon for the meeting we're having with Grover and the other satyrs”, replied Piper with a smirk.

“That gives us... three hours...”, hummed Annabeth with a look at the clock. “Mh... breakfast sounds good. And I have the perfect idea what we'll do with the rest of the time.”

The daughter of Aphrodite smirked as she placed the tray on the night stand and climbed into the bed to straddle her wife's lap and pull the blonde into a kiss. Lazily laying her arms around Piper's neck, Annabeth closed her eyes in bliss. Now _that_ was a perfect Monday morning in her books.

 

/break\

 

A kind of stupid smile laid on Leo's lips as he woke up to his husband's morning wood poking him between the cheeks. Cuddling up to the soft bosom of his wife, he slowly blinked awake.

“Do you hear that?”, whispered Leo softly.

“Mh? What? Is there something?”, asked Frank, right away fully awake, and sat up.

“Lay down again”, huffed Hazel, her arms wrapped around Leo tightly. “He's talking about the fact that you can't hear anything. No loitering children around. Just blissful peace and quiet.”

“Oh”, nodded Frank slowly and laid back down, laying one arm over his two spouses.

“So... You... only open the restaurant in the afternoon today, right...?”, drawled Leo innocently.

“It's Monday. Yes”, nodded Frank with a grunt. “You know that, firebug...”

“He's talking about us spending the day with him. Maybe I should go and get you a coffee before we continue this conversation”, snorted his wife with one raised eyebrow.

The Canadian gave a confused grunt and sat up some to look at his two wives (not that Leo knew he was calling the Latino that in his head). Hazel was leaning against the headboard of the bed, Leo sprawled over her like a lazy cat, his legs on either side of her as her hands were busying themselves with the Latino's behind. Blinking a couple of times, Frank noticed with _what_ the hands truly were busy. The movement, the in and out, coupled with that blissful blush on Leo's cheeks.

“Oh”, nodded Frank happily and crawled over to them. “Spending the day with him. Yes. Yes.”

“I love how slow you can be sometimes”, grinned Leo amused, kissing his husband.

 

/break\

 

“Percy, Nico. You know that I can't let him go unpunished. Regardless of how adorable and pitiful he can look”, grunted the centaur displeased. “He was just as much part of the prank as the Hermes cabin. And I can not favor him by sparing him the punishment.”

“I told you this was a stupid idea”, hissed Nico softly, glaring at his husband.

But the Sea Prince next to him simply ignored him and kept smiling at Chiron in that charming, undeniable way of his, their youngest son sitting on his lap. Jack had that whole kicked-kitten look going on as he clawed his fingers into his mother's shirt and stared at Chiron afraid. The centaur huffed annoyed. That boy was worse than Percy Jackson had ever been, even though Percy had always managed to get out of his punishments too.

“Your family is the bane of my existence”, sighed Chiron, rubbing the spot between his eyebrows exhausted. “I will let it slip because he's only five and he hasn't been here for long. _But_ I expect for you and for your other children to teach him how to behave. The next time something like that happens and he can expect the doubled punishment. And I will be on the Philippines and let Mister D execute it, because he is immune to those eyes.”

“Thank you, Mister Chiron, sir!”, exclaimed Jack happily and jumped off his mom's lap to hug the centaur. “Thank you, I promise I'll be good!”

“I wouldn't expect anything else from a son of Perseus”, grunted Chiron amused.

“Hey!”, pouted Nico and crossed his arms over his chest. “They're mine too.”

“You are adorable”, whispered Percy and kissed his Ghost King's cheek.

 

/break\

 

If there was one day of the week that Clarisse Rodriguez truly hated, then it were Mondays. Mostly so because she was a teacher and students hated Mondays, making them especially whiny and bitchy and useless and annoying. She swore, she would make Percy pay for leaving her on her own with the brats just because he had to go and see Chiron about something.

And Malcolm was useless too today. The son of Athena had, so far, spend the whole day IMing with his children, listening to their tales of the great weekend they had with uncle Percy and uncle Nico. And when Malcolm was having that doting father look going on, she really didn't want to come close to him. The last thing she needed was for him to decide and share his joy.

Entering her office and deciding to lock herself in for the rest of the morning, she noticed that no, that wasn't the last thing she needed. The last thing she needed was sitting right in front of her desk on a chair, with his head hung low and the most miserable look possible in his eyes.

“Chrysander, I'm not sure if you fully grasp the concept of a summer camp, but it means that your parents get the summer free from you because you spend it in a camp”, grunted Clarisse annoyed. “I feel as though I've seen more of you than during the school year so far.”

“I know, mom... sorry...”, mumbled Sander and shrugged guiltily.

“Why aren't you at camp, boy?”, frowned the daughter of Ares as she sat down next to him.

“Camp is just... not as great as it used to be, I guess...”, shrugged Sander with a pout.

“Right. And why not?”, asked Clarisse skeptically. “You're the camp leader, the greatest hero this camp has seen since my generation retired. What in the world would make camp less fun?”

“I... think I screwed every chance of being with Donny up...”, whispered Sander miserably.

Urgh, couldn't it be because of a failed quest, or a rivaling hero, or a pending war? Those things she could handle. But _love_? Clenching her teeth, she took a deep breath, trying to sound calm.

“How come?”, asked the brunette woman nearly softly. “It can't be that bad.”

“I called him my little brother and now he has a _boyfriend_ ”, spat Sander with tears in his eyes.

That was even worse. Crying, she had never been able to handle. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled her only son into a deep hug. Why had she been cursed with such a pansy? Calandra was strong, already a highly praised huntress in the ranks of Artemis. Charisma was a brat most of the times, but she already knew to just take what she wanted. But Chrysander? That boy was _sensible_. She didn't do sensible. But her son was all into this whole all-conquering-love thing.

“Yeah, you screwed up”, nodded Clarisse and winced as her son sobbed. “Now man up some.”

“Mo—om”, grunted Sander and glared at her, rubbing his eyes. “I need you. Not as a war daughter, but as my mom. I love Donny and now I lost him and I need my mom.”

“Yeah. That was my motherly advise”, huffed Clarisse with one raised eyebrow. “You're my kid. None of my kids would let anyone take away what is theirs. Have I ever told you how your dad and I got together, Chrysander?”

Sander frowned thoughtful and shook his head. “No... I don't think you did...”

“I was in love with him”, started the daughter of Ares softly, running her fingers through her son's hair. “But I was really bad with this whole love-stuff. So I went to get help. From someone who knows what they're doing. The Aphrodite cabin. It's how I befriended Silena... she... she was a great hero. She died a great hero. I would... love to send you to her for help, but.... that's impossible. She helped me gaining Chris' attention. And even though the titans' army snatched him away from me, I did not give up. I fought for him until I got him back. You're my son, don't shame me by running away with your tail between your legs. Stand proud and fight for what you want.”

Nodding slowly, Sander rubbed his eyes. His mom was right. Giving up was not a solution. Sam Raser would never get Sander's pretty Disney Princess.

 

/break\

 

Percy grinned a little sadly as he laid on top of his old bed in his old cabin. Many memories flooded his mind, fond memories of his times at camp. Long passed times. Sometimes he hated being an adult, sometimes all he wanted was to have a carefree summer at camp, defying monsters with Annabeth and a panicked Grover, staring longingly after Nico and bickering with Clarisse. Sometimes he missed those times dearly.

“Mommy!” - “Mommy!” - “Mommy!” - “Mommy!”

Blinking a few times, just just had time to sit up before his two sets of twins collided with him on the bed, all fighting to get to hug their mother. He was glad that his children loved him just as much as he had always loved his mother. Deep down, he had always feared that maybe he would fail them as a parent, too deeply scared by Gabe. But his mother's good heart was beating in his chest; that was what Nico always said so fondly when Percy voiced those thoughts.

“What are you doing here, mommy?”, asked Silena wide-eyed, sitting down in front of him demandingly. “Can you braid my hair? Percy always messes it up!”

“Am not!”, yelped Sally Persephone and stuck her tongue out at her younger sister.

“Are too”, muttered her twin Thess with a grin. “Mom? Where's dad?”

“He said he wanted to check something”, shrugged Percy and started to braid his youngest daughter's hair. “Now, you guys. You failed me here.”

“What?”, yelped all four of them with panicked, wide eyes.

“We would never!”, exclaimed Jimmy, causing his mother to chuckle.

The one playing most pranks and getting into most trouble was saying that? Percy really regretted that he had taken the Stolls up on their offer to babysit so often when the kids had been small.

“I asked you kindly to watch over your little brother, because it's his first summer here”, continued Percy with a sharp glare in his eyes. “And yet he got into trouble even after such a short time. Is it really asking too much that you children look after each other when I'm not around? I can't attend camp anymore, but if I don't know you're safe, then I can't let you go either. I need to rely on you here. Either you guys watch out for each other and help each other, or this was your last summer.”

The twins had the decency to blush and avert their eyes shamefully. All four of them were nodding softly. Percy knew they weren't ashamed that Percy was calling them out on their bullshit, but that they had not done as promised to begin with. The most important thing in the di Angelo family was the bond they shared. They always were there for each other. And the kids had failed to be there for Jackson and keep him from getting into trouble.

 

/break\

 

Cursing beneath his breath, Nico fought his way through the forest. If they had to be at camp anyway, he could as well have a serious conversation with that Ares brat. He just needed to find the boy. The Ares cabin had send him into the forest, saying that Sam and Donny were at the small clearing with the pond that Percy too had loved during their youth. It had been Nico's favorite place to spy on a nearly naked Sea Prince. That notion annoyed Nico, because if Sam was there with Donny, his bet was that the Ares brat was using this opportunity the same way he had done.

What he found was not what he had expected. Donny was sitting at the shore cross-legged and only in his swimming shorts, the mohawked son of Ares sitting opposite of him. Playing cards.

“Donny?”, called Nico out, stepping closer to the couple.

“Dad? What are you doing here?”, blinked Donny bright-eyed and stood.

He ran over to the Italian and hugged his father tightly, burying his face in Nico's chest. The son of Hades grinned and wrapped his arms around his oldest son.

“Your mom and I came here to talk to Chiron about Jack”, huffed Nico and turned to glare at the son of Ares. “And you, lad. You must be this Sam, this son of Ares. This boyfriend of my son.”

“Uh, hello, sir”, said the mohawked boy slowly as he stood, extending his hand for greeting. “I'm Sam Raser, son of Ares. It's an honor meeting you, sir. But I'm not Donny's boyfriend.”

“Really now?”, frowned Nico annoyed. “How come? Is my son not good enough for you?”

“Da~ad”, whined Donny embarrassed, hitting his father's chest. “We're just friends, okay?”

“But you were on a date yesterday”, pointed the son of Hades out.

“Being on one date doesn't mean we're dating”, huffed Donny and rolled his eyes. “We had fun, but we're not interested in each other in _that_ way. So we agreed to being friends.”

“Oh...”, nodded Nico thoughtful and frowned, before finally shaking Sam's offered hand. “Well, then it's a pleasure meeting you, Sam. You should come over for dinner some time, Percy had been curious about meeting you since yesterday. When Donny told us about you.”

“You meant to say since you have been stalking us in the cinema?”, grunted Donny accusingly.

“I would love to come over some time, Mister di Angelo!”, exclaimed Sam with sparkling eyes.

Nico smiled amused at the boy's enthusiasm. Figured a son of Ares would be eager to meet Percy. Nico could live with them not dating, but somehow it offended him that Sam didn't like Donny. Don was his little boy, anyone should be glad to get a chance to date him and not back down like that.

“Still, you went on a date and you came to the conclusion that you don't want to date my son?”

“Dad. You're weird”, huffed Donny embarrassed, hiding his face behind his hands.

“H—He's a nice guy”, replied Sam softly, embarrassed himself as he buried his fingers in his mohawk. “B—But I'm... uh... he's kind of not my type? I mean, he's cute and all, but I'm not into the cute ones. Some people like cute guys, right? That's not my type... I like them more muscular...”

“Just give up”, mumbled Donny annoyed. “He'll _always_ complain.”

“No”, huffed Nico with a glare at his son. “I do understand.”

Of course he understood that. His Percy was one of the more muscular-cute guys himself. The way those muscles flexed when the cute hero was training. _That_ was the type he was going for. Then there were others too, of course. He'd just have to think of Frank, who _obviously_ swung for the cute, frail ones. Someone he could never see himself with. A category Donny obviously fit in too, he was only training for a few weeks now, after all. No real muscles to show so far.

“Well then, my... cute yet muscular husband and I would love to have you over some day.”

Sam flushed at the one-eyebrow-raised look Nico was giving him. “I—I wasn't implying that I want something from your husband, sir! Uh, not saying that your husband doesn't look great, but-”

“He's fun to fluster”, noted the son of Hades amused, looking at his son.

“I know!”, grinned Donny and nodded hastily.

“I start thinking your whole family is evil”, muttered Sam with a pout.

“They do say that about us, yes”, drawled Nico with a smirk. “Don't worry, boy. Percy is less evil.”

 

/break\

 

“So... you scared Donny's boyfriend while I was with our other children?”

Percy grinned as he was laying on their bed, his feet dangling in the air as he stared teasingly at his husband. Nico looked at him offended as he joined his husband.

“Whatever made you think I would do such a cruel thing?”, smirked Nico as he sat down next to his love. “They're not dating, by the way. And I invited Sam over for dinner some time.”


	20. Entering: The Hunters of Artemis

20\. Entering: The Hunters of Artemis

 

“So... when did you fall in love with Trend?”, hummed Donny softly.

He was laying on his back, his arms crossed behind his head, mirroring Sam next to him. Both were staring up into the blue sky, observing the fluffy, white clouds that passed their heads as their feet dangled in the shallow water of the small pond. Sam huffed irritated, poking Donny's cheek.

“I am not in love with Trend”, grunted the son of Ares.

“Oh, come on!”, whined Donny and turned around to stare at Sam with wide, begging eyes. “I keep talking about Sander for like hours all the time! I start feeling like you're my new therapist! You need to talk too! When did you fall in love with Trend? Just tell me. We both know it, after all.”

“I don't know shit”, huffed Sam with a glare. “Stop bugging me. For five days, you've been bugging me with that crap. I don't love Trend. He's my mate, okay? My buddy. Not my knight in shining armor or shit like that, you noisy brat. I'm not you.”

“Oh, so he would be the knight in shining armor?”, grinned Donny teasingly, folding his arms on Sam's chest to rest his chin on them and stare intensely and curiously at his friend. “I wouldn't have figured you to be the princess in this tale, Sam. Please, enlighten me more.”

Sam blushed furiously and glared some more. “You are the devil. Not just his grandson.”

“Don't call grandpa Hades the devil, he doesn't like that”, laughed Donny and shook his head. “Okay, so if you don't want to tell me when you fell in love with Trend, can you at least tell me when or how you two met? I mean, I know you and Trend and Marshall are friends with Sander, that's how it has always been since I first came to camp. But how did you become friends?”

“Noisy bugger”, mumbled Sam and heaved a sigh. “Okay, okay, okay... It was... the summer of 2025, my first summer at camp. My mom, she's a marine and it was the second time she was stationed overseas and I was nine and the last time she had left me alone with my grandpa, I had an incident involving some snake-legged ladies and an ice cream truck... Anyway, knowing she'd have to leave for a couple of months, she didn't want me to be unprotected. It was the year she told me about my dad being Ares and me being a demigod and all that stuff. At first I thought she was pulling my leg. But then she brought me to camp. I was very convinced I would hate it.”

“But... you didn't...?”, guessed Donny with a grin.

“At first I did”, shrugged Sam. “I mean it sucked. I used to live with my grandpa, whenever my ma was on a mission, otherwise I was with her in the US. We moved from state to state. Every time we moved, we moved together. I always had her. And suddenly, I was alone.”

“Mh... I get that”, murmured Donny softly. “You love your mom very much, huh?”

“My ma is the most awesome woman on this planet”, huffed Sam with a glare. “Anyway, so I was alone. But Sander, he had been the leader of the Ares cabin at that time, together with Cally. The two of them were nice, to all the new kids. To me too. San explained camp to me and all that stuff we could do there and I started liking the idea of camp. It sounded like much action and fun. Then we had the first Capture the Flag of the summer. I was so adamant on proving myself, you know? Being in the Ares cabin, I got to see how strong everybody was and how well-trained they all already were. I just needed to prove to them that I belonged there too. But, and that is how I first met Trend, the Ares cabin and the Athena cabin were teamed together.”

“Together?”, frowned Donny confused. “That's good, isn't it? Why 'but' then?”

“Because there was that blonde, scrawny kid”, grunted Sam, glaring into the sky.

“Wait, Trend was _scrawny_? Really?”, giggled Donny delighted.

“Hey, I wasn't born with these babies either”, defended Sam and flexed his arms.

“Oh, do that again”, blinked Donny wide-eyed. “Please?”

“Really?”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes. “Anyway, we were just two nine years old kids and it was our first year. I wanted to prove to the others that I could do this, I also kind of wanted to prove to my ma that I didn't need her, that I could do stuff without her if she abandoned me like that. I was a brat, okay? Anyway, Trend was set on coming up with a plan himself, he too wanted to prove himself to his new siblings. But he kept talking about chess and I got annoyed because I didn't see what that had to do with Capture the Flag. Hey, I only knew that chess was a nerd game back then, okay? Anyway, we got into a fight. I gave him a shiner and he nicked my front tooth. Fair and square. We both got punished by Chiron, had to clean the kitchen and wash the dishes and shit for the rest of the summer. Which meant we had to spend much time together. The first two weeks or so we just ignored each other. But with the time, that got kind of boring, so we started talking. Like, he asked me why I had been such a jerk, I asked him why he was such a jerk. When he learned that my ma was in a dangerous part of the world, risking her life on a daily base, he grew silent. When I learned that he joined camp because his dad had died two months prior, I grew silent. Then it was awkward for a while. At some point however, we became friends. We started training when we had to do our time, you know just sparring with wooden spoons or shit like that. It's how we grew closer. There, that's the end of the story.”

“And when did you fall in love?”, grinned Donny once more, poking Sam's cheek. “Was it his golden blonde hair as though he's a prince, or were you mesmerized by his dark, intelligent eyes, or were it the abs? Because the abs, I could totally relate to.”

“You're just as perverted as everyone else. But you hide it behind those innocent eyes and that charming smile, you little sicko”, snorted Sam and ruffled Donny's hair.

“Hey!”, protested Donny and blushed. “I'm a teenage boy too, okay?”

“What?”, smirked Sam and sat up, starting to tickle Donny. “You wanking to Sander's abs?”

Donny beneath him squirmed and laughed, trying to fight the demigod off. “What about you? Wanking to Trend's abs, eh? Imagining him as the knight in shining armor to _your_ princess?”

“You are a little bastard!”, growled Sam and head-locked Donny to nudge him. “I'm not the chick! I've never been the chick in any relationship I had and Trend would be a lousy knight!”

“Yeah, right”, snickered Donny with a nearly evil grin on his lips as he freed himself and pushed Sam into the pond, straddling the other boy's hips to get his revenge. “Because you save yourself for Trend! That is so romantic of you! You're like a virgin-slut! Fucking other guys just so you can save your first time bottoming for the one you love, that is so cute.”

“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”, groaned the flustered son of Ares. “So, so, so much!”

 

/break\

 

“I am positive that I need new friends”, grunted Marshall with one raised eyebrow. “I am so sick of this pity-party you two keep having. Really, makes me sick to my stomach.”

The son of Enyo crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his two friends. Trend and Sander were sitting there, with equally pouty/angry expressions attached to their faces. Like little kids whose favorite toys got stolen. They were sons of war, damn it. They needed to get their shit together. The four of them had been unbeatable. But now Sam spend practically all his time with Hades Poseidon di Angelo, which was also the reason why Trend and Sander were so mopey.

“I mean, Sander I get”, continued Marshall, ignoring how blatantly his friends were ignoring him. “He's been all lovey-dovey about the Disney Princess since I first met him. I get that he's all jealous that Sam is shagging the Disney Princess now, but what in the world is your deal, Trend?”

The blonde son of Athena huffed and turned away some, not answering. Shaking his head, Marshall stood. He didn't need them to ruin his mood. It was a beautiful day and with any luck, he got to at least IM his girlfriend at Camp Jupiter later on. Then he sat down again. He couldn't leave them like that, they were just too pathetic to be left on their own.

 

/break\

 

Jack was the happiest little boy about right now. His best friend, Mattie Chase, was talking to him again after he had apologized and Mister Chiron hadn't been too angry either. And he knew a secret. He actually knew plenty secrets. Which was really confusing, because he sometimes forgot what he wasn't supposed to tell who. Like, he knew that Sander was really sad that Donny was friends with Sam (which he really didn't understand). Sander had made him promise to not tell Donny, which didn't even make sense, because the two were friends and Donny certainly would want to know when his friend was sad, right? His brother Thess had made him promise to tell no one when he sneaked out of the cabin at night to meet with Luke, which didn't make sense to Jack either. Wouldn't it be safer if their big brother Donny would know that Thess wasn't alone out there? And when Jack had gone to the Hades cabin, which was like their second cabin (which was totally awesome, because they had like two cabins all to themselves), he had found Luke and Thess sleeping there, naked. Sure, it was hot this summer, but that hot? And he also didn't get why they made him promise not to tell mom and dad. With all those promises, Jack's head hurt. But now he was really looking forward to another secret. Something auntie Rachel had told him yesterday when he had been sad because Donny spend so much time with Sam and Percy was always with Kitty and Thess was always with Luke and Jimmy and Silly were scheming pranks with their friends, but Jack had promised mommy and daddy not to be involved in any pranks anymore. So he was feeling a little lonely. But then auntie Rachel had told him something wonderful!

“Hello, Jack. How is my favorite little baby brother?”, asked a charming, soft voice.

Turning around, he stared wide-eyed at the girl entering the Poseidon cabin. She was so, so pretty. Her black curls were put up in two pig-tails, her black eyes sparkling with love. She was wearing a white dress with a blue sash with a silver moon on it. Jumping up from his bed, he ran over to the girl, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his head in her stomach.

“Bibi! I missed you so, so, so much”, sobbed Jack happily.

“Where are our siblings, Jacky?”, smiled Bianca as she got into her knees to look at him.

 

/break\

 

“What kind of embarrassment is this supposed to be?”, snorted the pretty black-haired girl as she entered the arena. “Busy sulking much, girls?”

“Cally, finally a child of war that is not moping around!”, exclaimed Marshall relieved.

The oldest Rodriguez child chuckled amused, tightening her red bandana before walking over to Marshall and giving him a bro-fist. The other two boys stared up at her surprised. It took Sander a moment to realize that his twin was actually really here. He stared a little longer before getting up.

“What are you doing, Cally?”, asked Sander stunned, hugging her tightly.

“Our hunt led us into the general direction of camp, so we asked Lady Artemis for a little detour”, grinned Cally wickedly, ruffling her twin's hair.”How are things around here, little bro?”

“You're like seven minutes older than me, shut up”, growled Sander annoyed, swatting her hand away. “Things are great. Awesome. Really wonderful.”

“Then why are you sitting there, looking like a whiny girl?”, snickered Cally teasingly.

 

/break\

 

“So... not to disturb our little peace here, but... you _really_ never bottomed?”, asked Donny softly.

“You are a sick little perv”, mumbled Sam and shook his head. “Do I look like I bottom? Have you seen my abs? How should someone looking as smoking as me bottom?”

“Well... I do know you like your guys more muscular than little, adorable me”, grinned Donny, batting his eyelashes innocently at his friend. “You wouldn't want a strong, muscular guy just to have him lay beneath you. Come on. You secretly want to bottom, admit it.”

“I hate you more and more with every minute you talk”, muttered Sam exhausted.

“You know you're getting in trouble with me if you hate on my baby brother.”

The two boys jumped slightly as the voice interrupted them. Donny felt his heart racing in surprised shock. No one knew of this pond, aside from his parents, him, his big sister, Sander and now Sam. Turning toward the voice, he saw his big sister. A brilliant smile spread over his lips and lit his eyes as he ran up to her and hugged her tightly. She buried her nose in his neck and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him close. She too smiled serenely as she held her younger brother.

“Oh great, another one”, muttered Sam, holding his head. “As though the six I had to endure this summer so far weren't bad enough. Damn those di Angelos, they're just everywhere.”

“He's a real prick, you know?”, noted Bia with one raised eyebrow. “You could have done better.”

“Done better?”, frowned Donny confused, pushing his big sister off some.

“Yes! Mom told me about your date!”, grinned Bianca broadly. “I'm so proud of you! You finally socialize. And you got yourself a boyfriend. Mom told me he's looking pretty good.”

“I don't... We're not dating”, huffed Donny and flushed. “You should get yourself updated more often. We only went on one date. We're _friends_. Not _boy_ friends. Please don't embarrass me.”

“What's the fun of being your big sister if I don't get to embarrass you?”, teased Bianca and sat down next to Sam, motioning for Donny to sit down too. “Okay, so we've been busy in Canada and I may not have talked to mom in a while. Got to call him today, otherwise he'll worry... Anyway, now tell me more. If you're not dating, then how is your love-life doing?”

“Yes, yes”, nodded Sam amused. “Let's talk about _your_ love-life again. So much better.”

 

/break\

 

“Are you only going to stay here, or will you be dropping by in New Athens too?”, asked the ginger curiously as she sipped her tea. “I'm sure the others would be happy to see you too.”

“We're on the hunt. We don't have time for tea parties”, protested Artemis annoyed.

Thalia grinned amused as she stared down at the Black Forest cherry cake and the tea on the table between them. No time for tea parties, but when Bianca and Calandra had begged Artemis to take a little stop at camp, the goddess had agreed. Taking a bite of her cake, Thalia turned to Rachel.

“Not very likely. We'll only be staying for a night here to rest too”, smiled Thalia. “It would be nice to see Annabeth. I think I haven't seen her since Matthew's fifth birthday a couple months ago.”

“It's nice of you to be here”, said Rachel and stared at Artemis. “Donny and Sander really could use their big sister's input at the moment. The other di Angelos miss Bianca too.”

“Because they're such a tight-knitted bunch”, muttered Artemis and shook her head. “It's horrible. Bianca calls her parents at least once a week, just to calm Nico and Percy down from freaking out.”

“You can't blame them”, argued Rachel softly. “Nico lost his big sister to the hunt. Percy watched her and another friend die during a quest. They have a right to fear for their oldest child.”

Artemis gritted her teeth and stared into her tea.

 

/break\

 

It happened about three hours later that a very angry Bianca stalked into the Artemis cabin. As soon as she spotted her best friend, she lifted a threatening finger. But Cally, who was sitting on one of the beds, just stood and mirrored her angry expression and stance.

“Your brother is a dick!”, exclaimed both girls at the same time, just to freeze.

“Wait, what?”, frowned Bianca upset. “Donny is like the sweetest teenager in the world.”

“Right”, snorted Calandra, crossing her arms over her chest. “Sander told me how Donny is now dating Sam. Like, everybody knows that Sander has the hots for Donny! Come on, San has been in love with that brat for like ten years now! And instead of finally giving my baby brother the time of day, your dick of a brother just starts dating Sander's second in command? What shit is that?”

“First of all”, grunted Bianca with a dark glare. “Donny and Sam are not dating. They're just friends! And besides, your brother is the dick, because he called Donny a responsibility, like a baby brother! Not like 'I love you for all eternity and want you to carry my children and grow old with you'. Like 'hey, you're that brat I have to watch after'. Which is a dick thing to say, okay? So Donny got frustrated and _heartbroken_ , because he is very much in love with Sander. That's why he agreed to that date with Sam, to make Sander jealous. But that dick still hasn't told Donny.”

“So wait... you're saying that Donny loves Sander too...?”, frowned Cally stunned.

Calandra frowned confused and sat down on one of the beds, soon followed by an equally confused Bianca Both girls stared at the wall thoughtful, not saying a thing for a little while.

“Our brothers are both idiots”, sighed both of them at the same time.

“Are we... going to tell them?”, asked Bianca after another couple of moments.

“Naw, where's the fun in that?”, shrugged Cally bored. “I mean, if they're stupid enough to not even figure that out by themselves, they really don't deserve to be together.”

 

/break\

 

“So... your sister going to kick Sander's ass?”, grinned Sam as he walked Donny to the bonfire.

“Sh”, huffed Donny with a dark glare. “She wouldn't. And don't talk about it now!”

“Donny! Sam! Come here!”, called Bianca out and waved to them.

Bianca and Cally were sitting with Rainbow and Thea, the four girls talking animatedly with each other. In the row right in front of them sat Marshall, Sander, Trend and Derek. Donny grinned as he saw jealousy in Sam's eyes at the way Derek was rubbing himself against Trend. The son of Demeter was still trying to get back together with his ex-boyfriend again. Grabbing Sam's hand, Donny pulled the son of Ares with him over to the others and effectively squeezed his way between Sander and Trend so he was sitting next to Sander and Sam was sitting next to Trend. Very close next to them, because there was barely any space left to push the others to so the two boys could sit there. It was nice sitting so close to Sander, because of the limited space Sander had one arm around Donny. He leaned against Sander casually, trying to be as subtle as possible, making it seem as though he just tried to be comfortable in the tight space. Now that he was leaning against Sander, he was facing a glaring and blushing Sam. Grinning apologetically, he grabbed Sam's hand in silent support. And he took the time to take a closer look at Trend and Sam, together. He had never before noticed that Trend was actually a little taller than Sam, if only by an inch or two. Donny had spend much time observing the heroes of camp ever since he noticed that he was gay and he had to admit, Trend had a nice body. But he had never really shown up on Donny's radar before as a hero, because the son of Athena preferred to do strategy than going on quests, staying in the background. And blondes weren't Donny's. Now, really paying attention to Trend, he noticed that the blonde looked like he pictured Oliver Queen (not that he needed the others to know that he was a nerd when it came to old comic books too), tall, muscular, with clever eyes and a really strong body. If he had to compare, he'd even say Trend looked stronger than Sam. Sam may have said that Trend went for the cute ones, but Sam was cute when he was blushing and stuttering around embarrassed. Grinning pleased, Donny leaned some more against Sander's chest. He was so going to help Sam realize his own feelings and get what he wanted. He just needed a plan.


	21. The Quest for Persephone's Butterfly

21\. The Quest for Persephone's Butterfly

 

/diary|entry\

 

_This is bullshit. Total and utter bull. And I have no damn clue why I'm doing this. No, scratch that, I know exactly why I'm doing this. It's all Donny's fault. Stupid, dumb, adorable jerk._

_Okay, I have no idea how to do this, so I should probably start... somewhere, I guess?_

_Name's Samuel Elijah James Raser the Third. Shut up. It's my grandpa's name and his pa's name and because my pa is a god – Ares, god of war, fyi – ma couldn't possibly name me after him and because grandpa helped her during the pregnancy and supported her even though she really feared he'd throw her out for being a single pregnant, she felt she owed him that, I guess. My mom, she's the greatest woman ever. Lieutenant Jolene Raser of the US Marines. She's the best._

_So yeah, she raised me and my grandpa helped her. He always watched me when she was on a mission. Spend much time at my grandpa's in Dublin. I love Ireland, it's my home. But the US meant being with my mom. Even though we were constantly moving, I liked it. At least until two lamiae tried to lure me into an ice truck and wanted to eat me. After that, the next time she got stationed overseas, she brought me to CHB and told me the truth about my dad and the gods._

_Anyway, I was born on the 29 th July 2015, which makes me sixteen, at least for two more days..._

_The reason why I'm writing into this stupid, stupid diary/journal/book, is my new best friend. Don't tell Derek that I said that, but somehow I really get along well with Donny. At least as long as he's not being a little dick. He keeps bothering me about how I'm oh-so much in love with Trend, which is complete bullshit. So yesterday after the camp bonfire, Donny handed me this empty black book and said he had bought it for himself because his diary is nearly full, but he figured I'd need it more than him. Little twat, like I said. I'm not a chick, not like him anyway._

_He's a total chick. Like, seriously. He's got that whole cute, innocent thing going on. And he's not muscular. I mean, sure he now can handle a sword, but he's not a fighter. He got pretty awesome with his powers, which kind of makes it needless for him to learn hand-to-hand combat anyway. I mean, he's the freaking grandson of Hades **and** Poseidon, he controls water and shadows and the dead. With powers like those, lifting a finger is enough to kill your opponent. Not that he would ever do anything like that. Like I said, he got that whole innocent thing going on. He's a little damsel in distress most of the times and he got the hots for one of my buddies, Sander._

_ And now he's obsessing over the idea that  **I** got the hots for another one of our friends. Trend. Which is so stupid, I'd need a new word for it, actually. But to explain that, I'd need to explain my friends first, I guess. Or something like that. I don't know how this whole diary-thing works... _

_So, there's Marshall, son of Enyo, he's like our Big Guy around, really buff and all that. His girlfriend Sara, who is my Roman half-sister. Chrysander, grandson of Ares (aka: Donny's crush). Derek, who is my best friend, or at least he was when we were kids, but these days I don't know what his deal is, he's really whoring around and I don't like that. Even with Trend, and with Sander too. And I just, I don't think you should sleep around with your mates, that just ruins the friendship. If you love each other, like Marshall and Sara do, then that's something different, but just for a quick fuck? That's just cheap. There's Joe too, pretty cool daughter of Vulcan, but we're not really that close, she's more like Sara's best friend so she belongs to us too by extension, I guess. Now I also have Donny, which was a weird coincident involving me asking him out and making a fool out of myself, ending with the two of us becoming friends._

_ And well, uh... the reason why Donny gave me this stupid book. Trend. Trend Ignatius Austin, son of Athena. And yes, I'm like the only person who knows about  **that** middle name. He's that blonde hunk who loves chess and shit like that. He's really strong, but he doesn't enjoy fighting much. He enjoys strategy more. Bo—oring. And we always fight. Not like serious or anything. We're just close enough to know that our fights are not to be taken serious. It's like we hit each other or have sword-fights with each other, mostly ending with one or both of us in the infirmary, but there's no bad blood behind it. Donny calls it foreplay. I call Donny a little bitch. At first he was only bugging me about me being in love with Trend, but now he started spurting crap about me saving myself for Trend. Because I never bottom, you know. I don't bottom because I'm a stud and studs don't bottom, end of the story. Besides, Trend only fucks the cute ones. I'm not cute. So what would it matter even if I'd like him, which I don't, but I wouldn't be his type anyway. I got strength and fight, he only takes the dudes in distress, the not-fighters. Like Derek. Sure, Derek can fight with a sword relatively okay and he's good at hand-to-hand, but he's a son of Demeter, a flower-child, a pretty boy. And Derek was Trend's latest conquest. I know the strong, muscular ones don't always have to get with the pretty, weak ones in gay relationships, I mean when I look at Donny's dads, they're both really strong heroes and both got their fair share of muscles and probably also battle-scars. But Trend is like that. He's the strong one and he wants a cute, weak one he can protect. I don't need protection, I can stand up for myself. Not saying that I would be the chick in this hypothetical relationship, because I wouldn't! Argh, why is Donny getting into my head like that...? _

 

/entry|end\

 

“Oh fuck no. Don't tell me that little Disney Princess is rubbing off on you, turning you into a princess too? Are you seriously writing diary while laying on a clearing, really? What comes next? Little blue birds flying around your head, singing with you?”

Sam flushed brightly and hastily closed the journal before staring up at the unimpressed looking blonde. Cursing beneath his breath, Sam stuffed the book into the back-pocket of his pants and stood. He had chosen to go into the woods so no one would see this embarrassment that he was putting up with only because of Donny's big, pleading eyes.

“Shut the fuck up, Austin”, huffed the son of Ares, brushing past Trend's shoulder hard.

“Damn”, blinked Trend confused. “Since when are you so sensitive? I was just kidding around. Calm down. Are you on your period, or what?”

“Sorry”, sighed Sam after a moment and shook his head. “It's just something Donny said to me, that really got to me. And now he's forcing me to 'express my feelings' in this stupid diary, which makes me feel like a chick and I really just want to shove it up his ass, or down his throat.”

“Really?”, snickered Trend teasingly, nudging Sam. “I thought there would be something else you'd like to shove up his ass, or down his throat. A book wouldn't be my first choice for that.”

“Uh, shut up”, shuddered the son of Ares. “Don't talk shit. We're not fucking.”

“Wait. Seriously?”, blinked the blonde stunned and stared.

“I think I'll get us shirts made!”, groaned Sam annoyed. “Like 'He's not my boyfriend', with little arrows pointing at the other so we could walk next to each other wearing them. First Donny's dad, then Donny's sister, now you... Does everybody think we're a thing?”

“You're spending like nearly all your time with him since your little date”, shrugged the son of Athena and shoved his hands into his pants' pockets. “You've ditched training with Marshall, Sander and me three out of five days now. You're sneaking off with the Disney Princess. What else are we supposed to think? You've never spend that much time with anyone outside our little gang.”

“Don't call us a gang, it makes you sound like a brat”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes. “Donny and I are just friends, okay? He's pretty awesome when you get to know him really. And while I've spend years getting to know you, Sander, Marshall, Derek and Sara, I have to make up for that with Donny now. I'm just trying to learn more about him. And he's fun to hang out with.”

“So... you're not having sex with the Disney Princess?”, frowned Trend thoughtful. “Interesting...”

 

/break\

 

“I'm telling you, he was being really weird about it”, huffed Sam confused as he sat down opposite Donny. “I think everyone at camp assumes that we're shagging. You and me.”

“Huh”, blinked Donny and shrugged. “Strange.”

Poking the carrots on his plate, Donny cocked his head. It was amusing how annoyed Sam looked.

“That's all you have to say about this? Really?”, groaned the son of Ares. “A little more?”

“That's human nature for you”, shrugged Donny bored. “If you let their imagination roam wild, they'll come up with the weirdest crap all on their own without much suggestion. What else do you want me to say? Rather tell me, what have you been writing into your diary?”

“I thought the whole point of a diary is to keep your thoughts to yourself so you won't have to share them with others”, frowned Sam and took a big bite of his bloody rump-steak.

“Wait, _you_ are writing diary, Raser?”, snickered Rainbow teasingly as she joined them.

With her came Thea, who just raised one curious eyebrow as she sat down next to Donny. “Why can't you eat your flesh fully cooked instead of... eww...”

“What are you girls talking about?”, snickered Trend as the four other boys came into sight.

Sander took the empty seat on Donny's other side, glaring at Sam accusingly (something he had done for a week now). Marshall and Trend were sitting down on either side of Sam, with Derek attached to Trend and now opposite Rainbow. Sam didn't really notice Sander's glare, because he was busy glaring at Derek a little annoyed. Donny snickered at that, kicking Sam slightly to gain his attention and then wink at him teasingly. The son of Ares blushed and redirected his glare.

“Aw, you two are so cute”, snickered Rainbow amused. “You even make Sam blush, Donny.”

“Okay, enough is enough”, sighed Donny and climbed onto the bench, clapping hard with his hands before loudly calling out. “Hey! Everyone! I'd like to have your attention for a moment! Sam Raser and me are not having sex, we are not romantically or intimately involved! We're just friends, nothing more! Thanks. That's it. Enjoy your meal.”

“You are as unconventional as your mother, Hades Poseidon”, noted Chiron from the big table.

Grinning sheepishly at the centaur, Donny sat back down and attacked his broccoli, unaware of the stunned and disbelieving stares from the other campers and especially so from his friends. As Thea looked at Sander, she was pretty sure he had a stroke. Marshall was holding his stomach in laughter, elbowing Sam on a constant base. The son of Ares looked mildly embarrassed, while Trend next to him had a kind of victorious smirk on his lips (and was still ignoring Derek's behavior).

“That's how you tell us?”, huffed Thea offended, hitting Donny upside the head. “I thought I'm your best friend! Couldn't you have told me before? In private? I'm hurt.”

“I'm going to ignore that”, chimed Donny, chewing his cauliflower. “Because _I_ thought we're friends. So how come you didn't just walk up to me and ask me face to face what's going on, instead of assuming something after stalking us in the most shameful ways.”

The others had the decency to blush brightly in embarrassment. Thea scratched the back of her head, nudging Donny apologetically and stealing come of his carrots. Smiling at her, Donny nudged her back. After a moment of silence and contemplation, they fell into light conversation.

“So, what was that about Raser writing diary?”, asked Rainbow casually.

“Yeah, I saw that too earlier”, snickered Trend, wrapping one arm around Sam's shoulder to ruffle his mohawk. “I'd say the Disney Princess is rubbing off on him. Next thing, he'll be talking to birds and bunnies and dancing through the woods.”

“Fuck you, Austin”, grunted Sam, pushing Trend off so the blonde was falling from the bench onto his ass. “It was just some crappy suggestion from Donny that I should do it to sort shit out, okay?”

“What kind of shit are you trying to sort out, man?”, laughed the son of Athena as he stood. “What flowers to pick for your floral wreath, Missy?”

“Fuck you”, spat Sam and swung at the blonde.

Donny frowned worried, chewing his lower lip as he watched Sam and Trend fight. It was relatively even. Once Sam hit Trend, the other time it was Trend landing a blow on Sam. The way they were rolling around on the floor kind of looked more like foreplay than real fighting. Because if either of them would want to seriously hurt the other, then there would be teeth on the floor and bones broken. Grinning satisfied, Donny turned to look at Sander and ignore the boys.

“So... you and Sam, you're really just friends?”, asked Sander, trying to sound casual.

He was having a hard time sounding casual, because his heart was speeding up and his mind was racing. Sam and Donny were not having sex. The relief was incomparable.

“I'm not his type”, shrugged Donny, concentrating on his carrots. “Not that I mind. I mean, sure, he's hot, but I wouldn't just want to have sex because someone is hot. I'd want it with love and a real relationship and all of that. We tried, we went on a date and we noticed we'd be better as friends. No big deal. In fact, it's better that way. We get along really well.”

So Donny thought that Sam was _hot_? That was not good. Sander turned to glare at Sam angered, but Sam was too busy straddling Trend's hips and punching the blonde in the face. Donny wanted to have a real relationship and trying seemed to not be a problem for him. Maybe Sander should gather his courage and try? Ask Donny on a date and if it didn't work, they could go back to being friends?

“J—Just that easy...?”, mumbled Sander unsure. “I mean, if the date doesn't work out as planned, just go back to being friends? Isn't that... wouldn't that be... awkward...?”

“Why should it be?”, frowned Donny confused and tilted his head. “It's not like we've been making out or already had sex. Then it would have been awkward. But we just went to see a movie and we ate together. Something I've done dozens of times with Thea too.”

“True”, nodded Thea thoughtful. “Huh. You've grown up, kiddo. I'm proud of you.”

She ruffled his hair teasingly, but honestly. In the course of the last month, her best friend really had matured. He had learned to control his powers, to fight, to stand up for himself. Smiling softly, she nudged him again. He gave her a slightly confused look, but returned the nudge.

“That is true. My precious, little Donny has really grown up.”

“L—Lady Persephone”, stuttered Chiron a little stunned. “What do we owe this pleasure?”

The whole dining hall was filled with whispers and murmurs as everyone stared at the beautiful Spring Goddess. Her earthy dark curls surrounding her olive-toned skin, a black and dark green dress falling softly around her frame, blossoms springing from its rims. Donny grinned broadly and waved at his step-grandmother, getting up to properly greet her.

“Grandma 'Phone! What are you doing here?”, asked Donny and hugged the goddess.

Rachel, at the big table with Chiron and Argus, stared curiously at Persephone. The goddess looked serious as she straightened up and pushed Donny off some to join the big table. Standing there and leaning against the table, she surveyed the campers.

“I'm here to give a quest”, announced Lady Persephone loudly.

For a minute, it grew eerily silent. Gods scarcely came over to camp to personally give quests. Everyone grew antsy at that. What kind of quest would it be? Who could be part of it? This would be the first quest of this summer and everyone wanted to be part of it.

“What kind of quest, Lady Persephone?”, asked Chiron curiously.

“My companion Teardrop has gone missing. I need a hero to retrieve him.”

“Wait. Isn't that the blue little butterfly?”, blinked Rainbow confused. “A _butterfly_?”

Some campers snickered at that, others started to look bored or disappointed. Donny huffed annoyed, glaring at the ones that had no idea what they were talking about as he stood.

“Teardrop isn't just a butterfly. He is the bringer and terminator of the warm seasons.”

“That is true”, smiled Persephone. “Teardrop had been born from my mother's tears that she had shed as I first joined my husband in the underworld. Ending summer for the first time, making room for autumn and winter. As I return to my mother's side, Teardrop leaves Olympus to wake the animals and insects of spring, alarming the nymphs of the change of season. Ends summer, he does everything reverse, warning the animals of the nearing winter. Without Teardrop, nymphs will freeze, animals and insects will die as winter comes without a warning. And then it will never end.”

“What's never end supposed to mean?”, frowned Thea, putting her fork down.

“Ice age”, replied Donny for his step-grandmother. “Teardrop told me once. The last time he had been lost, it had caused the last ice age, because winter never ended again.”

“Okay, that sounds a little more serious than a lost pet”, muttered Trend as he stood up.

He helped Sam up, dusting both their clothes some and rubbing the blood from his chin as they both sat down on the bench again. Sam rubbed his chin with a glare, taking the glass with the coke and ice cubes to hold it against his slowly bruising face.

“Kay. What's going to happen? Sounds like an important quest...”, asked the son of Ares.

“I have no idea where he is, if he is simply lost or if someone took him”, frowned Persephone worried. “But you are right, this quest is very important. And I only want the best.”

It was kind of amusing for Donny how many campers suddenly puffed their chests out or flexed their muscles to show the goddess that they were perfect. A quest for a goddess? Two goddesses even, since this was a matter of Demeter and Persephone. It would mean prestige. Everyone wanted to compete with Sam and Sander, wanted to get as well known a hero as they already were.

“Very well, Lady Persephone”, nodded Chiron and leaned back. “Take your pick. We have many qualified heroes here. If I remember correctly, even Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase once had a quest to retrieve a lost pet. Two even, weren't it? Lord Hermes' snakes.”

This seemed to make everyone even more eager. Competing with Sam and Sander was a current thing, but Percy Jackson? He was the greatest hero this camp had ever seen. Knowing that even he had done more mundane quests aside from saving the world, they wanted this even more.

“Chrysander Rodriguez and Samuel Raser”, announced Persephone. “The muscles of this quest. The greatest heroes this camp has seen since the last big wars.”

The two boys grinned at each other and bro-fisted under the 'well-duh' eye-rolls of everyone.

“Theadora Chase, for she holds the most knowledge about varying topics. And Trend Austin, for he is the best strategist your generation has brought forth. Wherever your quest may lead you, they will be the brains of this mission”, smiled Persephone with a small nod to her.

Thea blushed brightly and averted her eyes. She was practically eating books, but she always tried to not make it public that much, because she wasn't a child of Athena, only a grandchild. Trend looked a little shocked as he still rubbed his bleeding knuckles. He tried not to be a hero, that was Sander's and Sam's thing. Sure, he loved strategy, but he preferred to use it for chess.

“And the most important one”, smiled Persephone kindly. “Hades Poseidon di Angelo.”

While the other four had gotten cheers from the other campers, especially so from the guys from their cabins, Donny earned himself gasps and anger. His friends looked a little surprised. The only one cheering loudly was Jack, who was clapping his hands excitedly.

“My big brother will be a big hero, just like mommy and daddy!”, screamed Jack happily.

Donny blushed as his brother hugged him tightly while others still glared at him. “Why me?”

“You're my champion, Hades Poseidon”, chuckled Persephone amused, cocking her head. “You have been given to me by your parents when you've been born. This is the first quest I've given in a long time. Of course I would send my champion. You are the heart of this mission. You are the only demigod who understands insects, who could talk to Teardrop if you find him. You're the most important member of this quest, my dear. _You_ are the leader.”

His weird Disney powers were what made him the leader of a quest? After all the training he had done with his mom and dad, this was what would make him a hero...?


	22. Leaving Camp Part I

22\. Leaving Camp Part I

 

“I don't like this. It's a shitty idea.”

“Language”, warned Sander and turned to his glaring little sister. “Besides, it's just a quest.”

“A quest given by a god. Those are the most dangerous ones”, pointed Carry out.

She had her arms crossed over her chest as she sat on her brother's bed. Sander was rolling his eyes at her, ruffling her dark brown hair. Then he returned to packing his things. Three sets of clothes, his weapon, drachmas, a bunch of hundred dollar bills, the tent. Only the most necessary things.

“I'll manage. Don't look at me like that. You'll have to keep an eye on camp for me, kiddo”, grinned Sander with a wink. “Sam and me will be gone. Camp will be without its leaders. They'll still have the cabin heads, but I still want you to watch out for the Ares cabin, okay?”

“Okay...”, mumbled Carry with a pout, but still a little excited at the task.

“This is going to be fucking awesome”, grinned Sam behind them, patting Sander's back. “This is like our first big quest this year. The first one together in years! We'll so rock this.”

“Before you think that, consider that I'm pissed at you”, warned Sander with a glare.

“Oh?”, frowned the son of Ares confused. “Why? This won't rock if you're pissed at me...”

“Because I spend the last week thinking you're dating the love of my life!”, hissed Sander, punching Sam's shoulder. “You're such a dick! Why did you do that?”

“The... love of your life?”, repeated Sam slowly, gaping at Sander. “You've always only been talking about him as a crush. But you really love him? That much?”

“Yes, you dick-head”, growled Sander, hitting Sam's other shoulder. “I love him. I only want him. There will never be anyone else for me. I've tried. I really tried finding another cute guy or girl, trying to develop feelings for them. I tried relationships. But it never worked, because all I can think of is him. He's the only one for me. So tell me, what was that shit about?”

“Wow...”, blinked Sam slowly and sat down on Sander's bed, staring around the empty cabin. “Shit, man. Sorry. I didn't... I was being an egoistic jerk and I haven't thought about you. I'm really sorry.”

The Ares cabin was vacant aside from them, because they were currently scheduled to be at the forges. Sam and Sander had to pack though. And Carry had to protest. But hearing her brother talk about lovey-dovey stuff made her sneak out to join her cabin mates.

“I would understand that if you were in love with Donny too, or if you had at least fucked him”, groaned Sander, ruffling his hair. “Not that I want you to fuck him, gods really not, but then I would at least understand why you'd do this to me, okay?”

“I did it because I'm a jealous prick, because I'm in... love. But not with Donny”, rushed Sam out.

“I don't get it”, frowned Sander confused. “What's it to do with Donny then?”

“Donny's cute”, muttered Sam upset, resting his elbows on his knees and holding his head. “And now he learned to fight. That's Trend's type. The cute ones who moderately know how to fight, but still give off that damsel in distress vibe. And now that Trend broke up with Derek, I figured he'd go after Donny next after that Capture the Flag game, so I acted on instinct and asked him out so Trend wouldn't ask him out and I know it was stupid and I'm sorry. I didn't think of you.”

“I still don't understand it...”, blinked Sander, running his hands through his hair. “Didn't you just say you're in love? And now you're talking about T... oh.” Sander froze up, staring wide-eyed at Sam. “You're in love. With Trend. Shit. You're in love with Trend.”

“Shut up!”, hissed Sam wide-eyed, looking around in paranoia. “Yes. Don't repeat it again, okay?!”

“H—How? When? Why?”, blinked Sander stunned and leaned back some. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, I know”, sighed Sam frustrated, rubbing his face. “I'm just so tired of seeing him with those girly boys with the big, pleading eyes. I thought if I'd snatch his next possible target away...”

“Is that why I like practically never saw you with anyone before...? Because you're in love with Trend?”, asked Sander slowly, turning to Sam. “And the guys you've been. The son of Enyalios, what was his name? Jonas, I think. And Marshall's little half-brother Erik, from the Enyo cabin. And of course the Apollo boy. The Apollo boy. He even looked an awful lot like Trend. Your track-record. All determined fighters, just like Trend. And all of them were blonde. Actually, how have I not noticed this before? Then again, they weren't _as_ strong or muscular as Trend. What's that about? Are you chasing them because they remind you of Trend or not?”

“Please stop talking”, moaned Sam annoyed. “You're worse than the Disney Princess...”

“You owe me this for the heartache”, glared Sander accusingly. “Imagine I would have made you believe that I'm dating Trend for a week. Now give me some answers, you prick.”

“Your Disney Princess”, huffed the son of Ares slowly. “Accuses me of taking the not as muscular ones so I'd get them to bottom, while taking the blondes to maybe get Trend jealous, to remind me of him, but according to Donny, I top to mask that I secretly want to submit. Fucking bullshit.”

“Oh...”, nodded Sander slowly, thoughtful. “Makes sense. You're a son of Ares and of a soldier. You've always been trained to be strong, to be the top dog. So you cover your true feelings up, trying to mask them with relationships where you dominate, even though that's not what you want. Let's face it, if that would be what you really want, you would have had more than three boys so far. You and me, we're the top catches of camp. You could have had your pick, if you truly wanted it. You just did enough to appear in a certain light, because you're afraid to admit your true feelings.”

“Please stop talking, Freud. You really are worse than Donny. You'll make a fine pair”, groaned Sam embarrassed, collapsing on the bed and hiding his face beneath Sander's pillow. “Asshole.”

“You love Trend”, grinned Sander teasingly and laid down next to Sam. “Damn. I'm so relieved. I really thought maybe there would be something between the two of you, even though Donny said it wouldn't be. But if you don't want to fuck Donny because you want Trend to fuck you, then that is perfectly fine and I won't have to kill you during this mission. That's a relief.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”, frowned Sam skeptically.

“Well, we'll share a tent”, shrugged Sander and blushed brightly. “I so would kick you in the balls if you'd look inappropriately at Donny. But now I guess you'll be too busy looking inappropriately at Trend to even notice Donny, eh?” He froze up again, wide-eyed. “Oh fuck. Now I _know_!”

“Know... what?”, asked Sam slowly, unsure if he wanted the answer.

“Why you love Trend”, smirked Sander in a nearly sadistically teasing manner. “The Monstrosity.”

“Can't you just forget about that? Why did you have to remember that? Now, of all times!”, mumbled the son of Ares and blushed brightly. “You're a fucking asshole, Rodriguez...”

“He may not be my type, but even I can't forget a cock like that”, blinked Sander and shrugged.

The four sons of war had measured their dicks when they had been about fourteen years old. And even after that day, Sander had never seen anyone hung like Trend. The four boys had started to call Trend's dick the Monstrosity since then, often joking about it when one of Trend's latest conquests would limb out of the Athena cabin. They even had a fake newspaper made with a headline stating _The Monstrosity Strikes Again_ and they'd leave it at the door of the Athena cabin whenever this was the case. An inside joke no one else caught on. Grinning wickedly, Sander pocked Sam.

“The guy is hung like a horse. You little perv”, smirked Sander. “That's what you want. That's why you've been so annoyed with Derek recently and so... insulting too. Because you were jealous. Because you wanted what he got. A ride on the Monstrosity.”

“I hate you so much. I think I even hate you more than I hate Donny”, muttered Sam frustrated. “I need new friends. Nice friends. Non-jerk friends. Where do I get those...?”

“Hey”, smiled Sander apologetically, bumping his shoulder against Sam's. “I'm on your side. I'm just teasing, okay? I mean, it must be fucking hard for you. I can train and become stronger to be more Donny's type, but... you can't just stop training and pray to lose muscles and strength to turn into Trend's type, because that's not you. That's not who you are and it'll never be.”

“I know”, muttered Sam upset, burying his face in the sheets. “Why can't he just love me...? Fuck. I'll kill you if you tell anyone that I said that, or that we had this conversation to begin with.”

“Sure thing”, grinned Sander amused, staring up at the ceiling. “You know, we'll be all alone with them for at least a week. Me and Donny, you and Trend. Well, and Thea. But she's more like a chaperone then, huh? I don't know about you, but I will make Donny mine before this quest ends. I'll come back a hero and I'll get my prince.”

“Please. Please do that. If I have to listen to another hour of Donny's on going rants about how delicious your abs are and how weak your smile makes his knees, I will vomit”, nodded Sam. “You're two love-sick bastards and you don't even realize it. Fucking morons.”

“T—That's what he says about me...? Really?”, asked Sander slowly, his heart nearly stopping.

“Oh fuck this shit, I'm out of here”, grunted Sam and stood to leave the cabin.

 

/break\

 

“Do you really think you have everything you need?”, asked Silly worried. “Really?”

“Yes, I do”, chuckled Donny and ruffled his sister's hair.

His five younger siblings were surrounding him, all looking worried and proud in equal terms. They were happy that their big brother would become a great hero, just like their mom and dad, but they were also worried, because they knew quests were dangerous. Jack was sitting on top of Donny's bed, grinning the broadest and proudest grin possible as he helped Donny packing.

“And you're sure you'll be fine?”, asked Jimmy, his arms crossed over his leather jacket.

“Okay, one last time”, smiled Donny softly and turned toward his siblings. “I will be fine. I'll have the best backup possible. I promise, I'll IM you as often as possible to tell you that I'm alright. Thess, while I'm gone, you'll be head of the cabin. Which makes you responsible for the others, okay? Jimmy, I want you to try and lay off the pranks at least a little while I'm gone. All of you, don't forget watching out for Jack and spending time with him, you hear me? And before I'll leave for the quest, I'll go home and tell mom and dad in person that I'll be gone on a quest. They'll worry otherwise. So this is good bye. No big crying scene when my friends and I leave later, okay?”

He nearly got suffocated by his siblings as all of them tried to hug him at once. After about a quarter hour of being cuddled to death, he slowly pealed the younger di Angelos off himself again.

“Donny! You're still around. Great”, grinned a cheerful voice from the door.

“Sam?”, asked Donny confused, turning to the son of Ares. “Yeah. I just wanted to leave.”

“To your parents' place, yeah”, nodded Sam, fidgeting with his hands. “I just... uh... Do you think I can come with you? I just took a walk and I had an idea and I really think your mom is the only one who can help me and I don't know if I'll be able to handle this quest without getting this answer.”

“You're being weird. But okay”, nodded Donny slowly, shouldering his backpack.

 

/break\

 

Percy smiled softly up at his husband as he was seated between Nico's legs, his head resting on the Ghost King's chest. He knew the son of Hades was trying to read a book, but Percy was very busy himself. He was trying to distract Nico from reading that stupid book and even more so, he was trying to get Nico to fuck him. So far, his plan seemed to work moderately good. Nico had yet to notice that, ever since he had dropped his book ten minutes earlier when Percy suddenly rubbed his ass against Nico's crotch, he was holding the book upside-down. This game was fun.

“Mom? Dad? Please tell me you're decent. Oh, and I brought a friend”, called Donny's voice.

Percy sat up hastily and frowned in the direction of the kitchen. “Donny. Camp time means your dad and I get some privacy. Now that Jack finally joined camp too, I really thought I'd get my dear husband for a whole summer all to myself. If you keep coming home like this, that's kind of... not the point of summer camp, my angel.”

“It's not like that, mom!”, protested Donny as him and Sam entered the living room. “I came to tell you that I'll be leaving for a quest, together with Sander, Thea, Sam and Trend. Didn't want you to learn from auntie Rach the next time she's over for tea, okay? Oh, and Sam wanted to talk to mom.”

“A quest?”, exclaimed both his parents; Nico displeased and Percy proudly.

“What kind of quest? Where to? What about? Why?”, inquired the son of Hades suspiciously.

“Hush now”, chided Percy his husband and pulled his son into a hug. “I'm sure you'll do great. I'm proud of you, my little angel. How about you go and sooth your father's panic while I talk to Sam?”

“Great idea, mom”, grinned Donny, patting Sam's back. “Don't worry, he's harmless.”

The son of Ares still looked a little awkward as Donny and Nico left. Raising one eyebrow, Percy motioned for the teen to sit down on the couch with him. This could be interesting.

“Uh, I'm Sam Raser, sir. It's an honor to meet you”, smiled Sam politely.

“Don't sir me, boy”, chuckled Percy with an amused grin. “Name's Percy. Don't even start calling me Mister di Angelo. That's too confusing in this household, okay? Besides, you're a friend of Donny's, which makes you practically family. So, tell me. What can I do for you?”

“Uh... I'm... This is the most awkward thing I could ask a stranger”, winced Sam embarrassed, ruffling his mohawk annoyed. “But you're the only person I could think of that I could ask for advice. My mom is too busy and I don't think she would be of much help and my grandpa doesn't even know I'm gay, that would be too awkward too. And all my friends are _different_.”

“So, I conclude it has something to do with your sexual orientation?”, guessed Percy cautiously, not wanting to hit a nerve or anything. “What do you mean, your friends are different?”

“Donny. He's the cute guy and he wants a strong guy. Sander, he's a strong guy and he wants the cute guy. Derek is a cute guy with a complex for heroes and strong guys. And asking Trend would be awkward, besides he's also one of the strong, muscular guys, who want someone petite to protect and shit”, muttered Sam with an upset frown. “They're like... giving me the feeling that it's only that. Either you're a cute bottom, or a strong top. But... I mean... Uh... Your kids kind of give very much away about your sex life, Miste—I mean, Percy. And I was wondering... You're a really strong and brave hero, you're the savior of the world. It doesn't get much braver. How come you bottom...? I mean... how did you even find someone and isn't it awkward for you and I... I don't know...”

Percy raised one eyebrow, looking the very desperate and exhausted boy up and down. He was a wreck. This must have really tormented him for a while now. Smiling kindly, Percy rested one hand on Sam's shoulder, causing the boy to look up at him with pleading eyes, begging for answers.

“You're afraid because you feel different”, smiled Percy softly. “But you shouldn't be. Being different isn't a problem. It's a solution, at least in my experience. To tell you the truth, I was freaking out too when I first noticed that I didn't like my girlfriend the way I should, but that I instead harbored very specific desires for Nico. For a while I was wondering if it made me weak, if I could ever be the hero everyone expected me to be if all I longed for was being held by Nico – to give you the G-rated version. I only realized after I got together with Nico that submitting isn't really a sign of weakness. It actually needs more courage and strength than dominating, because you have to completely trust someone else. And you know, it's actually not that uncommon for people who are strong in everyday life, like heroes, but also like CEOs or other important people, that they desire to submit in the bedroom. Balancing the stress and burden they have to carry everyday out with the bliss of just leaning back and having someone taking care of them. If you find that someone, then you're the luckiest person on this planet and you shouldn't let your own insecurities take that away from you. Never deny your heart its desires. Go for them, it'll pay off.”

“Y... You really think so?”, asked Sam, with an edge of hopefulness. “So it's not weird? That I... want this...? But... I... The guy I want, he doesn't want me back, so I guess it doesn't matter...”

“Did he say that?”, asked Percy with a frown. “Because love is the only matter where you should never assume. As long as he didn't say that he doesn't want you, it doesn't have to be true.”

“He's...”, started Sam, running his fingers through his mohawk until all his hair pointed upward. “He's strong too. Could be a hero if he'd go on more quests. And all his boyfriends were more like Donny. They were just cute and adorable and innocent and shit and I'm not like that. I'm not cute...”

The way the son of Ares was sitting there, with a crestfallen look on his face, pouting like a little puppy, Percy had to laugh. “Believe me, you _are_ cute. There's more than just one definition of cute. Nico always calls me cute too. I'd disagree to that too. There are the innocent cutes, but there are also those who are accidentally cute, you know? Those who don't mean to be cute, don't try, but especially because of that, they're cute. What I've heard of you and seen of you in the class I taught at camp before, you're trying really hard to be a bad ass. After this conversation, I'd say you do so to cover up your insecurities. You've been loud, obnoxious, insulting and aggressive when I met you back then. But the way I meet you right now, the way Donny and Nico described you, you're not always like that. You can be a really sweet and shy guy. If you really want this boy, then you have to be the bravest you've ever been, because you have to show him who you really are. You have to drop that act and let him see how you feel on the inside, everything you've bottled up. That is the kind of strength it takes to submit. That's all I can tell you. Now it's up to you and if you're really brave enough and strong enough to do this, or if you give up and keep hiding.”

The Sea Prince was a little surprised as he suddenly found himself in a tight hug and with a mohawk under his chin. Smiling softly, he wrapped his arms reassuringly around Sam.

“Thank you...”, mumbled the son of Ares. “Donny's right. You're really awesome.”

“No problem”, smiled Percy, ruffling Sam's hair. “If you want to talk, our door is always open.”

“I think that was enough talking for now. We have to leave! The others won't wait forever!”

Percy grinned as his very excited son bounced over to them, hugging Percy too before grabbing Sam's hand. This was the kind of excitement he wished he would have had during his first quest. A still slightly grumpy Nico walked up to him and came to stand next to his husband. Nudging the Ghost King softly, Percy leaned against him and stared at the teenagers until they got swallowed by the shadows and disappeared. The son of Poseidon was praying to the fates that Donny's quest would be a success, that he would get to taste what being a hero feels like.

“I don't like this”, muttered Nico upset. “It's too dangerous...”

“That's why I didn't tell you about it”, chimed Percy.

“What's that supposed to mean?”, frowned the son of Hades skeptically.

“Your stepmother had dropped by yesterday while you were at work and informed me beforehand that she may need Donny's help, that she might need a quest. I wanted to tell you, but knowing you, you would have gone to camp, taken Donny with you and locked him up where he would be safe.”

“You're still accusing me of being at fault that my dad locked you into the dungeon all those years back, right?”, grunted Nico annoyed. “I wanted you out of harm's way during the war, yes. That's why I brought you to the River Styx. I did not get you locked up in the dungeons.”

“Not believing you”, grinned Percy and shook his head amused.

“I _will_ be locking you up right now though”, huffed Nico and grabbed his husband around the waist to lift him up and throw him over his shoulder. “You are so in for a punishment for not telling me.”

“Aw... And how does that involve locking me up?”, frowned Percy confused, appreciating the view he now had that he was hanging over Nico's shoulder. “I'd prefer a different kind of punishment...”

“It involves me locking you into our bedroom, where I will tie you up and fuck you until you don't remember your own name anymore”, declared the son of Hades, slapping Percy's ass once for good measure. “Maybe a spanking too, because you didn't let me read my book earlier.”

“Oh, you noticed what I was aiming for? How pleasant”, grinned Percy broadly.

How much he loved his Nico. He could just hope that Sam would figure it out for himself too...


	23. Leaving Camp Part II

23\. Leaving Camp Part II

 

Thea looked through her bag once more, which made Sander roll his eyes annoyed. After he had finished packing, Sander had gone over to the Athena cabin to check on the other two members of their quest, knowing that Sam had wanted to go with Donny to see the di Angelos.

“Thea, you have everything”, grunted Sander and rolled his eyes annoyed.

“The horn of Achelous from ma, Daedalus' laptop from mom, drachmas, dollars, clothes, toiletries”, murmured Thea with a thoughtful frown. “Nectar and ambrosia. My knives, of course.”

“There, that's enough”, huffed Trend amused. “You got the horn, that's good. Means we don't need food or drinks. Lighter luggage. Better for long walks.”

“Long flights”, corrected Sander with one raised eyebrow. “We take the pegasi.”

“No”, stated the son of Athena sharply. “I'm not flying. Especially not on a _horse_.”

Thea grinned and leaned over to Sander to whisper into his ear. “He's afraid of horses. It's why Chiron allows him to not participate in cleaning the stables. Especially so because Trend is always awkward around Chiron. Because of the half-horse part.”

Trend huffed, shifting his backpack onto his other shoulder. “Shut up. Both of you. Where's Sam?”

“Sam _and Donny_ ”, grunted Sander with a glare. “Are visiting the di Angelos for a last time before leaving. Donny wanted to tell his parents in person. Not sure what Sam wanted there...”

“Maybe he wanted some privacy with Donny to fuck...”, sneered the blonde with a glare.

“They're not fucking”, glared Sander, brushing Trend's shoulder hard. “Come on now.”

The three teenagers left the Athena cabin to head over to the stables, where they were supposed to meet up with Donny and now probably also Sam. Practically the whole camp was gathered around the stables, antsy and curious, wanting to say good bye. The front row consisted of Carry Rodriguez, Luke, Fred and Mattie Chase and Percy, Thess, Jimmy, Silly and Jack di Angelo.

“I hate horses...”, muttered Trend with a glare as he stood in front of the stables.

Thea and Sander each brought two pegasi out. Sander was leading his own white stallion Trickster as well as Donny's shadow-pegasus Shadowchaser. Thea had her light brown stallion Nightowl and Sam's dark brown mare Fighter at their reins, patting their muzzles.

“Fuck, that shadow-traveling shit is really making me horny!”

Sander rolled his eyes as he turned around to stare at Sam. The son of Ares stood with his arms tightly wrapped around Donny's waist in the shadows of the wooden building. Sander glared.

“Get over here so we can get going”, grunted Sander displeased.

The notion of a horny Sam holding Donny was nothing he appreciated, regardless of what Sam may have declared earlier. Mounting his white companion, Sander waited for the others to do the same. Thea was even already seated on Nightowl, back straight and expression proud like a true warrior ready to ride into battle. Only when looked at closer could the nervousness in her stormy gray eyes be seen. Donny smiled softly as he ran his fingers through Shadow's mane.

“Hello, my beautiful lady”, grinned Sam next to him, nudging Fighter. “Ready for an adventure?”

“You talk to your pegasus?”, teased Donny as he climbed onto Shadow's back. “But you call me the Disney Princess? Isn't that a little hypocritical of you, Sam?”

“Hey, I don't expect her to answer me”, huffed the son of Ares and rolled his eyes, mounting the mare. “I just respect her the way you should respect a lady.”

“ _Charming little foal_ ”, whined Fighter amused, pushing her muzzle against Sam's hand.

“He has the dirtiest mouth at camp and yet he can be so sweet around a horse”, snorted Thea.

“Guys. I'm not sure if you got what I said earlier, but I am not flying on a horse”, pointed Trend out.

“Why not?”, frowned Donny confused as Shadow came to stand next to Trickster.

The black stallion pushed his head affectionately against his mate's, Trickster obviously also pleased to have the black beauty back with him. This would be the first quest Trickster would attend where he actually got to enjoy his mate too. And Shadow looked really eager and excited about it too.

“Trend's afraid of horses since he nearly got trampled by one when an empousa scared it to throw him off ten years ago”, replied Sam as though that was public knowledge.

“If you won't take a pegasus for yourself, climb onto one of ours”, grunted Sander and rolled his eyes. “You have someone to hold onto and we _trust_ our companions. You can trust us.”

The blonde gritted his teeth annoyed, staring at the four other campers and their horses. He hated horses. They were creepy and you can't trust them. Huffing loudly, he stalked over to the dark brown horse and climbed onto its back. Once seated on the horseback, he wrapped his arms very tightly around Sam's waist until he was flushed against the younger boy's back.

“If that monster throws me off, I will break your arms”, warned Trend irritated.

“If you call my gorgeous lady a monster again, _I_ will throw you off”, grunted Sam annoyed.

The blonde didn't answer that, instead just grunting to himself, tightening his grip some more as the four pegasi descended into the air. The uncertain movement of the flying horse was driving Trend crazy. His grip tightened some more and he pulled the mohawked boy closer until he was sure that Sam could feel Trend's heartbeat against his back. Trend rested his forehead against Sam's shoulder so he wouldn't have to look at the certainly smaller growing world beneath. He needed something else to focus on, before he got a panic attack. The last thing he needed was to look pathetic in front of the others, especially now that he was going to attend a quest. Taking deep, slow breaths, he tried to calm himself. A light scent of honey and milk invaded his nostrils. Grunting slightly, he inhaled again. Milk and honey, sweet and delicious. Sam's body-wash. Shifting some, he rubbed his nose along the shoulder, inhaling deep until he could feel the soft tickle of Sam's hair at the base of the other boy's neck, his nose catching another scent. Coconut. Sam's shampoo. Huffing pleased, he nestled his nose in the point where Sam's hair started growing at his neck. Milk, honey and coconut, all mixed together with that slightest hint of something Trend could only describe as purely Sam. It was slowly making him hungry for dessert. His hands around Sam's waist could feel the other boy's muscles beneath the tight camp shirt. Absentmindedly tracing the six-pack, Trend pulled the smaller boy some closer until he could feel his own thighs being pushed beneath Sam's.

“If you're trying to suffocate me, you're doing a pretty good job of it”, huffed the son of Ares annoyed, craning his neck. “And are you _sniffing_ my hair, you weirdo?”

“Fuck you, Raser”, muttered Trend irritated, gritting his teeth. “You smell like a girl.”

“Witty comeback”, glared Sam, flipping him the bird. “I like my body hygiene, okay? You got to do something to look and be as hot as I am. And I happen to like the smell of milk and honey, you dick-face. How do you even know what girls smell like?”

“Where are we going and when will we get there?”, growled Trend loudly. “Disney Princess?”

Donny was nearly too busy grinning to notice that he had been talked to. From his point of view, flying next to Fighter, the two looked way too cute. Trend was _terrified_ by the looks of it, he was clinging to Sam as though the son of Ares was the only thing keeping him safe and alive. Sam however was horribly flustered, his face brightly red as he was sitting on Trend's lap. The way Donny saw it, the two would make a fine couple. Camping in the woods would certainly provide enough opportunities to get those two together. Being friends with Sam had given Donny a worldview he never had before. Sure, his parents were gay and Sander and his baby brother Thess too, but there were things a son just didn't want to talk about with his parents, things that were nothing to be discussed with a little brother and the boy he was in love with was certainly the last one he would ever consider talking to about these matters. Now he had a gay best friend. Now he had someone he could actually talk to about gay sex in a more graphic way (and damn, had that been a conversation!), someone who understood completely what being in love with a friend of the same gender meant. Seeing the way Sam was so miserable and so much in denial about his feelings for Trend hurt Donny somehow. If there was one thing a child of Percy and Nico di Angelo learned, it was to never be ashamed of who you are. But in a way, hiding what he was feeling was also hiding who he was, wasn't it? Donny would never want to spend that much time in denial, all on his own, building masks to hide from others, to ensure that no one would ever learn of his true feelings. No. Donny wouldn't let it come to that. He would rather risk making a fool of himself by confessing his feelings to Sander than lose himself to this fear. He just hoped that the walls Sam had build around himself weren't too high and thick to be torn down just yet...

“Don? Donny? Are you even listening?”, called Sander over, concern laced into his voice.

Shaking his head, Donny first turned to look at Sander and then over to Trend, who was by now looking overly sore and a little green. “Sorry. I zoomed out...”

“Great thing to do as the leader...”, muttered Trend, hiding his face between Sam's shoulder-blades.

“Don't take him serious, Donny”, called Sam with a broad grin. “He's just horse-sick.”

“I... we're going to Alaska, to the biggest national park in the US”, called Donny out. “It's the summer residence of Teardrop, you could say. He always waits there until summer passes and grandma returns to grandpa. We'll start there, ask around if someone has seen something.”

“By someone, you mean...”, started Sam unsure, raising one eyebrow.

“His... uh... royal court? He's kind of like the king of insects, I guess”, nodded Donny slowly. “We'll camp there once we reach it. We'll have to show them that we mean no harm before they will even show themselves. We're going to stay at least a day there before we can even ask...”

“So basically we're going camping, eh?”, chuckled Sam amused. “Sounds like fun.”

“I don't like nature”, whined Thea miserably.

Donny grinned over at his female best friend. She was a lover of books and technology, of big cities and their architecture. Raw, untouched nature was her greatest nightmare. Humming softly, Donny ran his fingers through Shadow's mane as the duo led the other three pegasi. Trickster and Sander were the closest to them, the white stallion being very protective of his mate. Nightowl and Thea were on Donny and Shadow's other side. And Fighter was the taillight, maybe because of the additional weight he was carrying, but Donny was pretty sure it was because of Sam. The son of Ares went slower than the others to not shake Trend up as much. That was so sweet of Sam.

“ _Are you and Trick's rider mated yet?_ ”, asked Shadow curiously.

“No, not yet”, whispered Donny into his ear. “But if Sander would try to court me...”

“ _But you're already prepared to mate with him_ ”, whined Shadow confused. “ _When we started the journey and you were standing next to Trick's rider, you smelt like you always do! Like you're ready to reproduce with him... I don't understand you humans! Why doesn't he smell it? Why doesn't he just mount you and mate you? You humans are so confusing..._ ”

“I know we are”, smiled Donny softly. “But if you're talking so much about mounting and mating and reproducing, why don't you and Trickster have a foal yet? Eh?”

“ _I'm too young_ ”, whined Shadow, sounding very much as though he was pouting. “ _I'll only reach my mating age next spring... But Trick promised. We'll have many pretty foals! If you and Trick's rider have foals, they could be companions! Like you and me!_ ”

“Yeah...”, smiled Donny with a far-off look in his eyes. “That would be great...”

 

/break\

 

It took them a couple of hours – torturous hours for Trend – to reach the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. It was a good thing the mist was working for them, it made it easier to enter the park in secret. The moon was already shining bright, the night dark. Landing on a clearing between the tall trees, they dismounted. The first to be on the ground was Trend, going into his knees and saying grateful prayers as he was finally not flying anymore. Sam came after him and grinned teasingly as he patted the blonde's back. Thea's feet carried her over to the best spot to set the tent before she waved Sander over. The son of Clarisse was the one with the tent so he obeyed her.

“Once you're finished with fainting like a little girl, you could help me set the tent, Trend.”

Flipping him the finger, the son of Athena straightened again and walked over to them. Donny sat down on the grass with his legs crossed and his head tilted curiously. The pegasi walked over to a little stream to drink and rest. Donny found himself joined by Thea all too soon, the native American stretching her legs and sighing heavenly as she finally had a flat surface beneath her.

“So... We'll camp here. For over a day. Praying no monster will snack on us?”, grunted Sam as he collapsed on Donny's other side. “Me and Sander have been on enough quests to know that that is bullshit. You said there are insects, huh? Certainly also monster insects who want to kill us.”

“Right. Sorry, I forgot to say it”, grinned Donny sheepishly, but he got interrupted.

Sander had placed a small cube on the grass and was pushing the button on it. The cube unfolded itself, expanding to a tent that was bigger than average but still would be rather crowded with five people. Trend and Sander entered it to set it, place the last rods where they belonged, check if everything was intact, get the pillows and blankets inside set. A tent that expanded like that, one of the best things that could have happened to campers on quest. Nico had crafted it, together with Joe.

“What was it you wanted to say? Before you got distracted by Sander's arms again”, sighed Sam.

“Right”, nodded Donny and blushed brightly. “Sorry. Grandma gave me those...”

Trend and Sander joined them again as they finished. All four others were staring curiously down at Donny as the boy fidgeted with a little leather bag, taking a single seed out. Securing the bag at his pants again, he dug a little hole and set the seed into it. Covering it with the earth again, he pressed his hand on top of it. Closing his eyes in concentration, his nails dug into the ground.

“Is he... really growing flowers?”, grunted Trend in disbelief. “Why? To make it more homey?”

“It's a special flower”, huffed Donny annoyed. “It has a very strong scent. Strong enough to mask the scent of demigodly blood. Grandma created it after she had first heard my mom's story...”

“Story?”, frowned Sam confused, cocking his head. “What story?”

The teens were staring at the little green thing that slowly grew into a bush. “My grandma, mortal grandma that is, she raised my mom in the mortal world. To mask the scent of a child of the Big Three, she married a man. A horrible man. A horribly smelly man. For years, he covered my mom's scent, gave him a certain safety for a certain time. When grandma first heard the story from my dad, she thought that there should be a sweeter way. It shouldn't have to be a horrible stench, it should be something nice. This flower, it has such a strong scent that it confuses monsters. They won't smell our camp side. Consider this our very own protective pine tree.”

The bush had grown and sprouted beautiful brightly blue flowers. Smiling softly, Thea cupped a blossom to feel its velvety petals. Sam leaned in to sniff the flowers, frowning confused.

“They don't smell that strong...”, noted the son of Ares. “But good. They smell like sea water.”

“It's called the Jackson Rose”, grinned Donny broadly. “And yes, to demigods and mortals, it smells only faintly. But a monster's enhanced senses are driven crazy by it.”

“I take everything back that I said about you”, nodded Trend impressed. “You sure are handy.”

“Thanks”, laughed Donny, elbowing the blonde. “But I only have three of those seeds. They're very hard to come by and to maintain. Grandma gives them to those who choose to live with their mortal parents or to those who choose to live alone in the mortal world, to grow the flower in their homes.”

“Three seeds. Three safe camp sides”, frowned Sander a little displeased. “This one down, makes it two... We don't have much room to speculate then...”

“We can be glad that we have those at all”, huffed Sam with a shrug. “With Donny to help them grow, we at least have safety at all. Without him, we'd have to keep night guard and stay on alert all the time. Be grateful instead of already seeing the bad side, you dick-head.”

“I for my part want to see the bed side”, yawned Thea and stretched some. “I'm tired. Achelous' horn is in my bag, if one of you gets hungry. I for my part will go to bed now.”

“It's already late and we ate earlier during a stop”, frowned Sander with a shrug. “I'd say we should rest too. Let's see what tomorrow brings. Aside from... waiting.”

“We need to gather information”, nodded Trend with a frown of his own. “The laptop.”

“Also in my bag”, nodded Thea and headed inside, followed by the boys.

Once inside, she opened her bra beneath the shirt and pulled it out of her sleeves, throwing it carelessly into the general direction of her bag, soon followed by her jeans. Then she collapsed face-first on the plenty cushions, pillows and blankets covering the whole tent. Donny shed all his clothes aside from his boxershorts before laying down next to Thea and cuddling up to his best friend. She only patted his head absentmindedly. The others stood a little clueless around.

“You need to lay down to sleep”, yawned Donny, sitting up some to grab Sander's pants' legs to tug.

The older boy gulped hard, his heart beating way too fast as he stared down at the half-naked Donny who was currently beckoning him to lay down beside him. He had never undressed faster. Only in his jack-o-lantern boxershorts, he hastily yet reluctantly sat down beside Donny. His Disney Princess gave him one of those soft, innocent smiles as he laid down again and pulled Sander with him. Wrapping his arms around Thea's waist and snuggling up to her long curls, he effectively pulled Sander along because he was holding the older boy's hand. Sander blushed furiously as he found himself pressed against Donny's back all of a sudden. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to hide his flustered face in Donny's soft curls. This was not good. So not good. How was he supposed to not have his morning wood poking Donny's ass if Donny's ass was that close to it? Physically impossible. Come tomorrow morning, Sander would be the most humiliated. For now, he tried to focus on the tickle of Donny's hair, the flowery smell of Donny's shampoo and the soft skin beneath his fingertips. Right now, this felt perfect. He was holding his Donny, so close.

“Are you going to stand there all night, Raser?”, grunted Trend as he snuggled under the blankets.

He had his sister's head bedded on his left shoulder, one arm loosely around her waist. Technically speaking, Thea would probably be his niece, because she was the daughter of a daughter of Athena, but she was a member of the Athena cabin, a comrade in battle. The Athena cabin were siblings, the end. Thea hummed contently as she was abusing Trend's shoulder as pillow and Donny as a blanket. She was pretty sure Herc would be freaking out if not for the fact that all four boys were gay.

“Go to bed. And turn the lights off, Sam”, murmured Donny, already half-asleep.

Sam stared at them ridiculed. The four of them looked like they were cuddling after an orgy, what with them all being somewhat half-naked. Sander was laying on the outer right, with Donny in his arms, Donny was pressed against Thea, who was laying half on top of Trend. Which left only the spot left of Trend empty. Gritting his teeth, Sam walked over to the pole in the middle of the tent where a lamp was hanging off the tent's ceiling. Turning the light off, he slowly made his way over to Trend before he got out of his pants and shirt. Ruffling his mohawk uncertain, he laid down.

“You couldn't possibly lay farther away from me, dumbass”, grunted the son of Athena.

Rolling his eyes, Trend reached out with his right arm and wrapped it around Sam's waist to pull the son of Ares close. Sam went rigid as he found himself resting with his head on Trend's strong, muscular chest, the very prominent six-pack beneath his hand as it was just laying there on Trend's torso. He could feel the blonde's hand on his lower back and he was pretty sure Trend was sniffing his hair again. Weirdo. Turning some, he glared up at the son of Athena.

“What is this snuggle-party?”, grunted Sam with one cocked eyebrow.

“The nights out in the wilderness can get very, very cold. Blankets won't do much”, replied Thea next to him, staring at him. “Body heat is the best way to keep warm. You really should know that.”

“Now shut the fuck up and sleep, will you, Sammy?”, huffed Trend with a yawn.

“Don't call me Sammy, you dick-face”, growled Sam annoyed, burying his head in Trend's chest.

The last thing he felt before falling asleep was Trend's hand running along his side.


	24. Lake Baths and Bacon Feasts

24\. Lake Baths and Bacon Feasts

 

The scent of coconuts and milk with honey was the first thing Trend's mind registered as he woke up in the morning. Smiling lazily, he blinked his eyes open to look down at the son of Ares in his arms. Sam looked peaceful and content when he was sleeping. No sneer or frown on his face, no curses and insults on the tip of his tongue. Sighing softly, Trend started to caress Sam's side with the tips of his fingers, feeling the muscles beneath the sun-kissed skin. Sam was good like this, he was real. Trend knew that Sam was hiding, even from himself. Behind every sneer and insult and every picked fight, Trend could see that slight sliver of insecurity in those forest green eyes, the faintest tint of red on his sun-kissed cheeks, the hitch of his breath for the break of a second. The son of Ares was good at covering it up, but Trend saw through it. Whenever something got to Sam, when a situation became uncomfortable for him or embarrassing, he tried to act tough. Tried everything to make others and himself believe that he was stronger than that and invincible.

There was no point in chasing after someone who couldn't even admit to himself what he liked or wanted. That was a heartache that didn't need to happen. No, Trend rather took the easy ones. Not necessarily the sluts – though he didn't quite push them off the bed either – but those that knew what they wanted and who they were. The ones easily impressed by Trend's muscles and more than willing to spread their legs for Trend. And there were plenty of those, so Trend was fine. Really. He didn't need to wait for Sam to realize who he was, he didn't need to chase after him. So he didn't.

Burying his nose in the longish hair running along the middle of Sam's skull, he inhaled the fresh scent of coconuts deeply, his fingers tracing the rim of Sam's boxershorts. Trend wasn't hopelessly chasing after a closet case, he had sworn to himself to never be that guy. He just wished Sam wouldn't make this whole not-chasing so hard for him, because whenever Sam wasn't spurting insults at everybody's heads or picking unnecessary fights, the son of Ares was fantastic.

“Stop sniffing my hair, weirdo”, muttered a tired voice next to him. “Why are you even doing it...”

“I like coconuts”, huffed Trend annoyed as Sam untangled himself from him.

“Well, I guess this means getting up. If you decide to have conversations now”, grunted Thea on his other side as she sat up and poked Donny awake. “Oi, wake up. You guys can go and get washed up in the lake while I'll set the table and make breakfast. I like you, but I'm not bathing with you.”

All four boys gave her tired and somehow awkward-slash-embarrassed looks. Boys were so complicated. Rolling her eyes, she ushered them outside before straightening the makeshift bed.

 

/break\

 

Sander was not staring. Or at least he was trying very hard not to stare. But Donny was naked and so close and his behind was too alluringly perfect to be ignored. The grandson of Poseidon looked completely content and at ease as he was standing in the shallow water, barely reaching the middle of his thighs. A broad, happy grin was attached to his rosy, kissable lips as he was splashing water at Sam. The two friends were battling, a very unfair battle seeing as Donny could control the water, but both looked as though they were having the time of their lives. Sander tried to memorize every little detail of Donny's body, taking every shade of olive skin in. Donny was perfection, his lithe frame, the long, lean legs and perky, pink nipples. Biting his lips hard, he tried to keep himself from pushing Donny down onto the ground, going down on him and fingering him properly so he could finally take Donny and make him Sander's fully.

“Start thinking of your grandma's underwear before Donny gets a heart attack because of your boner”, advised Trend nonchalantly as the two of them were standing a bit farther away from the two playing boys. “Then again, perhaps that would be the solution to your problem.”

“Shut up”, huffed Sander and turned to glare at Trend. “And stop staring at Donny so hungrily. He's _mine_. I don't want you to leer at him like that, you horny dick.”

“Why?”, smirked the son of Athena confidently. “Think he would chose me over you if he'd take a closer look and... compare, eh little one?”

Sander punched Trend's arm, sneaking a look at Trend's equipment. Damn. Sam really had taste when it came to size. He snickered slightly as he pictured how Sam would be limping around once he'd lose his virginity to  _that_ . That would be so much teasing material. He just wanted to open his mouth to say something to Trend as a wave of icy cold water hit him. Sander and Trend, both looking like wet dogs, stared over at the laughing duo of Sam and Donny. The son of Ares had one arm wrapped around Donny's shoulders in support as he doubled over in laughter.

“Good one, Disney Princess”, grinned Sam cheekily.

“Thank you, my trustworthy sidekick”, snickered Donny, high-fiving with Sam.

Handing Sam the coconut shampoo from the shore, Donny turned so he could subtly stare at Sander. It looked nice how the water was running down the muscular torso, caressing the sixpack and following the happy trail of dark brown hair to what looked like a very nice cock. By now, Donny knew such things. He had spend quite some hours watching porn with Sam and googling dicks, which really was a fun thing to do if he had a friend to share it with. Judging by what he had seen and what Sam had told him and explained to him, Sander was nicely sized. Donny really wanted to see it hard, to taste it on the tip of his tongue, to feel it within himself...

Gulping slightly, he grabbed his own rose-scented shampoo to get this over with. If he spend much more time naked and close to an equally naked Sander, he was going to jump the other boy.

Curiosity made him also sneak a look at Trend though. He turned back so hastily that he nearly fell over, his eyes wide in shock. He did not want that. Not the least bit. It probably wasn't even physically possible to fit that thing in! It was a monster. That thing would frighten him off.

“You're _crazy_ , Sam”, hissed Donny in a hushed voice. “Trend is-- He's... gigantic!”

“So what?”, grunted Sam back, blushing a little as the two friends turned their backs on Trend and Sander while getting cleaned. “I'm not a pussy. If I'd bottom, I'd only bottom for something worth bottoming for and not for something average or shit. Not saying that I ever would.”

While the two of them were whispering, Sander and Trend were equally busy staring at their asses. Sander had his head tilted some as he watched the curve leading down to those two sweet, round cheeks, the olive-skin so tempting that Sander just wanted to reach out and touch. Shaking himself out of his Donny-induced stupor, Sander started to get soaped up himself, glaring over at Trend to chastise him once more, just to notice that Trend's storm-gray eyes weren't fixed on Donny's ass, but rather on Sam's. Trend next to him had his head tilted too, observing the flexing of Sam's back as the boy was shampooing his hair, the soap running down the muscular back to in the end caress the firm ass. The halfling blinked a couple of times stunned, absentmindedly shampooing his hair.

“Are... Are you staring at _Sam_ 's ass?”, hissed Sander wide-eyed. “Fuck. You _are_ staring at Sam's ass! But he isn't even your type! How are you staring at Sam's ass?!”

“Is it fun to repeat yourself?”, grunted Trend with a glare, elbowing Sander hard in the ribs. “Let me appreciate a nice sight when it's that close, will you? Besides, a 'type' is a dumb thing, you know that, right? You like a _person_ , not a hair color or body height.”

“So you're not just appreciating a nice sight, you _like_ Sam?”, smirked Sander teasingly.

“Fuck off”, huffed the blonde, turning to ignore Sander.

Once the four of them climbed out of the lake again, the boys looked around a little awkwardly, Sam being the first one to state the obvious. “Did any of you think of packing towels...?”

“I already brought the tent!”, huffed Sander, ruffling his hair a little embarrassed.

“Mom always said that men suck at packing”, grinned Donny amused. “But we don't need towels.”

“Why wouldn't we? It's fucking freezing! I need to get dried up”, frowned Sam displeased.

Donny grinned at him with a tilted head, laying his hand on Sam's neck and slowly running it down the brunette's shoulder to his elbow. “A little trick my mom taught me. Dry-willing.”

Sam stared down himself as he was suddenly dry as though he had never even entered the lake. Grinning broadly, he grabbed the fresh set of clothes he had brought with him and started getting dressed while Donny busied himself with dry-willing the other two boys.

“Okay, now that that's taken care of...”, drawled Sander, staring at Donny's hand still resting on his upper arm. “Does any of you know how to properly wash our clothes...? Because I have no idea. Dad takes care of that stuff at home, my dirty clothes always just disappear and reappear clean...”

“Mine do too”, grinned Donny sheepishly. “Percy and Thess are responsible for washing and folding clothes at home. My chores are more in the kitchen department...”

“I'll take care of it”, sighed Trend. “You, get back to Thea and tell her she can go and wash up too.”

With Donny and Sander already thinking that they had no idea and couldn't do it, there was no way they would actually manage. And Sam? The son of Ares was way too macho to even admit he could take care of such a thing, though Trend suspected he had never done it anyway.

“I'll help you. We'll be faster if we do it together and then we can finally have breakfast.”

Storm-gray eyes turned to stare very surprised over at Sam. The son of Ares was running his fingers through his mohawk as he walked over to Trend, scooping the heap of dirty clothes up in his arms. Donny and Sander took the chance to flee before they would have to help too. At first, Trend and Sam went to work in silence, using their body-washes and shampoos to clean the clothes.

“I... wouldn't have thought you'd offer your help”, murmured Trend softly after a while.

He looked over at Sam, expecting the other boy to bolt away or punch him, but instead Sam just shrugged slowly. “Grandpa is not the youngest anymore and whenever I'm home, I do most chores around the house so he doesn't have to. It'd be shitty to let you do it on your own.”

Home. Trend frowned a little at that. Even though he had been living in New Athens for years, even though he had been to plenty places in the US with his mother, he still saw Dublin as his home?

“Do you miss it? Ireland, I mean?”, asked the son of Athena curiously.

“Sometimes, I guess”, shrugged Sam, staring into the water beneath them. “When I'm stuck in New Athens, I miss Dublin. When I'm outside the city, I sometimes miss the Highlands... My uncle used to take me onto long rides where we would just camp somewhere and enjoy the landscape...”

The son of Athena nodded slowly, smiling a bit to himself. It was rare to unheard of that Sam would talk about personal stuff, normally he would get defensive and exclaim that he wasn't a girl and didn't need to talk about emotional shit like that. This was progress, big progress.

 

/break\

 

Donny had a slightly stupid grin attached to his lips as he was setting the table, well the blanket on the ground, for breakfast. Him and Sander were a great team, the way they worked with each other without words. They didn't need words, they each saw what was still missing and helped each other. It reminded Donny of how his mom and dad set the table on Sundays when the whole di Angelo family would come together to have a big breakfast and discuss everything important that had happened in the past week to each of them. A fleeting thought passed Donny's mind – would he have something like that with Sander one day? Could he? Because he really wanted it.

“Are you alright, Don?”, asked Sander softly, worry laced into his voice.

“Mh? Sure. Why shouldn't I?”, frowned Donny confused and cocked his head to the side.

“It's just... You've never even been on a quest before and now you're the leader of such an important quest”, sighed Sander, giving Donny the puppy eyes. “I just don't want you to feel pressured or anything, okay? I need you to know that I'm here to help you. And so are the others, right?”

Smiling slightly, Donny leaned over to place a chaste kiss on Sander's cheek. “You're sweet, thanks. But I'm fine. Mom and dad are great heroes, it was going to happen eventually that I would have to go on a quest too. And so far, it actually has been fun, I'd say.”

“Yeah”, laughed Sander and sat down with Donny as they finished their work. “But normally quests don't consist of so much camping and fun, you know...”

“I know”, sighed Donny, slowly leaning against Sander's shoulder. “But I still know it'll be fine. Because I have you with me. Together, we'll manage, right?”

“Right”, nodded Sander with a dopey grin and a slight blush as he looked down at Donny.

 

/break\

 

Half an hour later had all five teens sitting together on the picknick blanket and having breakfast. The horn of Achelous was pretty handy for such quests. Enjoying his carrot sticks, Donny took a look around. The park was eerily silent. No animal could be heard. Most likely because Teardrop was gone. They were wary of strangers trespassing, even more so than normally.

“Okay, so... Do we have a plan? Anything at all?”, asked Sam between bites of bacon.

“That's disgusting, Sam”, huffed Donny, wiggling his nose. “If you have to eat animals, can't you at least close your mouth while chewing? Please? And yes, we do have a plan. Kind of.”

“Please explain 'kind of'”, grunted Trend, not liking the sound of that.

“Well, I already told you yesterday that we'll have to wait here until the animals accept us and notice that we're not a threat. We won't get much information from them otherwise”, replied Donny. “And then it depends on what they're telling us and who is telling us what. Some don't like humans. Others just don't like demigods. Some will be inclined to tell us more, because they know I'm Persephone's champion. We can only hope to meet some of Persephone's followers who know me. And then we'll see. But you need to watch out.”

“Watch out for what?”, frowned Sander, nudging Donny slightly.

The two of them were still sitting shoulder on shoulder, their fingers brushing against each other. Thea rolled her eyes at them, instead focusing on Daedalus' laptop while chewing her bread. If Donny would enlighten them what kind of monsters would await them here, she wanted to check them right away. And since Donny and Sander were too busy making googly eyes at each other, it was probably up to her anyway. Especially with Trend being so busy staring at Sam thoughtful. There was another thing she needed to get checked, because she was pretty sure he had been sniffing Sam's hair repeatedly last night. Which was a very weird thing to do for friends. Even more so considering that Trend was eating coconut slices for breakfast now and drinking milk with honey, which was the combination of scents she had smelt last night coming off Sam too.

“The animals we are looking for are the fireflies”, said Donny slowly.

“Fireflies? In the snowy mountains of Alaska? Am I the only one who thinks that's weird?”, frowned Sam with one raised eyebrow. “And why fireflies anyway?”

“They are Teardrop's companions”, replied Donny, rolling his eyes as though that had been completely obvious. “They light him the way through the dark night when he has to start spring and end summer. If someone knows what happened to Teardrop, it's them.”

“So, basically, this quest means we're chasing fireflies, yeah?”, huffed Sam a bit disappointed.

“They are not the only animals in this park”, warned Donny with a slight glare. “Aside from the average monsters, there are creatures here you haven't met yet.”

“Like...?”, inquired Trend with one cocked eyebrow, stealing some of Sam's bacon.

“Fuck you, that's mine!”, grunted Sam irritated, biting the half off that was hanging out of Trend's mouth. “Prick. Don't touch my bacon, you dick-head.”

Trend blinked surprised, narrowing his eyes down at the bitten off end of the bacon between his lips. Sucking it in and chewing it, he continued to stare at Sam, noting the slight blush.

“Jackalopes”, answered Donny, ignoring the two sons of war.

“What the fuck is that?”, frowned Sam confused.

“A mix between a jackrabbit and an antelope, hence the name. Though, to be more precisely it's a rabbit with the horns of a deer and also with fangs and the wings of a summer bird. The epitome of spring. Persephone claimed them to be hers when Olympus had been in Germany”, explained Donny. “They're tricksters and cunning thieves. They're not really dangerous, but they enjoy tricking people, mostly into their demise. You should stay away from them.”

“Okay, bunnies bad”, nodded Sam, arching one eyebrow. “Anything else?”

“Well, aside from the usual monsters?”, chuckled Donny. “Try not to touch the dragonflies.”

“Okay, now I start thinking that you're messing with us”, snorted Trend skeptically. “We're here because a butterfly went missing and we need the help of... fireflies. But bunnies are evil and we're not supposed to touch dragonflies? Really?”

“They're... different”, sighed Donny, a little annoyed by their skepticism. “They're not real dragonflies. Some people call them faeries. They're magical creatures. The Mist makes them look like dragonflies though. They are the last remains of Kronos. They control time and can send you back and forth between different points in time. So just don't touch them or follow them anywhere, I don't need you ending up in the wrong era.”

“Time traveling dragonflies...”, muttered Sam and shook his head. “Fuck this. Can't we just slay some evil monsters and conquer this quest like any _regular_ quest before...? I'm also not the most patient person, so I really hate the idea of sitting here and waiting, by the way.”

“I don't like that idea either”, sighed Thea with a pout, typing away on her laptop with one hand.

“How are we going at this tomorrow anyway?”, asked Trend, stealing more of Sam's bacon.

This time, the son of Ares attacked him, pinning the blonde to the ground and straddling Trend's hips, much to Trend's surprise. Glaring down at the son of Athena, holding the blonde's wrists down with his hands and taking the bacon back with his teeth, he pulled on it and growled slightly.

“Let go”, muttered Sam between his mouth full of bacon.

“They kind of look like an aggressive version of the Lady and the Tramp...”, hummed Donny thoughtful and cocked his head. “How am I the only one who gets called a Disney Princess while Thea literally looks like one of the Disney Princesses and everybody behaves like Disney characters from time to time. That's just mean.”

“It's just for fun”, smiled Sander softly, caressing Donny's hair tenderly. “We don't mean it as an insult or anything. Disney Princesses are clever, independent and pretty. Total compliment. And, well, they talk to animals and are compassionate, just like you too.”

“You... just called me pretty...”, mumbled Donny and blushed brightly, staring wide-eyed.

Sam groaned annoyed from where he was still half laying on top of Trend, turning to glare at the other two boys. “For fuck's sake, can't you two just shag it out already? Literally everybody knows that you have the hots for each other! I swear, you're driving me completely nuts!”

It came out a little muffled, because he was still having half of the bacon in his mouth. As he turned his head back to glare at Trend some more and demand his bacon back, he calculated the distance a little wrong and smashed his lips straight against Trend's, lingering there in shock for a second.

“Now it _really_ looks like a violent version of the Lady and the Tramp”, commented Donny.

“F—Fuck you”, spat Sam wide-eyed as he jumped up and ran off.

Trend stayed right where he was, blinking a little surprised and licking his lips a couple of times. Sitting up, he stared after Sam, who was heading over into the general direction where the pegasi were resting. It would probably be better to let him cool off for now anyway.

“So... Are we talking about what Sam just said, or will we ignore it?”, asked Donny slowly.

“Uhm... How... How about we go for a... walk and... talk... alone...?”, mumbled Sander flustered.

Thea grinned as she watched the two leave. “I should have brought a camera for this quest.”


	25. The Kiss

25\. The Kiss

 

They had been walking for hours now, just aimlessly wandering the beautiful park. Without saying a single word. Whenever Donny turned to look at Sander, the brunette was busy staring into the distance, with a very prominent blush and while fidgeting with his hands. Even the sun was already very slowly setting. Donny was slowly getting sick and tired of waiting. And walking.

“Sander”, started Donny softly yet firmly.

“Y—Yes?”, yelped the brunette surprised at the sudden interruption of the silence.

“You suggested we take a walk to talk. So far all we did was walking”, pointed Donny out kindly.

“I—I... I know”, sighed Sander embarrassed and ran his hands over his head. “Damn you, Raser. This was not how I had wanted to approach this topic. That _asshole_. I should just walk up to Trend and tell him about Sam's feelings, just to get even...”

“Wait. How do you know about Sam's feelings for Trend?”, asked Donny surprised. “It took me so long to get anything out of him, but he's still not admitting that he loves Trend! All the work I put into this and he just goes and tells _you_? How is that fair?”

“He didn't want to tell me!”, exclaimed Sander, lifting his hands in surrender. “I think he only told me about it to make me calm down again because I was really short of hitting him square in the face after he made me believe that he dated the love of my life and I guess he just felt as though he needed to make it up to me by telling me about the love of his life!”

Donny froze, pretty sure that his heart had stopped. Staring with wide, sea-green eyes over at Sander seemed to do the trick, because suddenly, Sander was freezing too and all color drained from his face, his eyes wide as saucers. Donny was pretty sure that Sander was having a heart-attack. That did not stop him from rubbing it in though.

“Did you just... call me the love of your life...?”, whispered Donny doe-eyed.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck”, chanted Sander frantically, clawing his fingers into his hair. “I didn't... I shouldn't have said that! I mean, not that I shouldn't have said _it_ , because I mean it, but I shouldn't have said it like that! Fuck. This is not how I had pictured doing this. Fuck.”

“How about you try with less cursing and with more explaining?”, blinked Donny.

He crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight as he stood in front of Sander. The older boy looked uncomfortable and panicked and completely desperate. It was kind of adorable.

“I... love you”, said Sander softly, staring intensely into Donny's eyes, slowly grabbing Donny's hands to hold them. “I love you so very, very much. I've loved you for such a long time now. You _are_ the love of my life. I don't ever want anyone else aside from you. I just want you, Donny.”

“H—How long is a long time...?”, asked Donny slowly, stepping up to Sander.

“Since forever”, mumbled the brunette awkwardly. “About... ten years now, I guess. Well, that I realized it. I think I've always loved you, ever since we were small. You always had that charming smile, those sparkling eyes, you've always been adorable and I always wanted to protect you..”

“Why... have you never told me before...?”, frowned Donny a little upset.

“Because I never thought I would be good enough for you”, confessed Sander and averted his eyes. “You're the son of two of the greatest heroes of our time, heck your mom is the greatest hero ever. Your legacy alone... and your _powers_. All I am is a third generation trickster. Everything I did, I did to impress you, to maybe become someone worthy of you. I've fought hard to gain the recognition I now have, I had to train harder than others because I don't hold Ares' legacy. I trained to become stronger, to be a hero, to be... worthy of you. But you never... noticed me. So I started to think that maybe I should give up. I tried... uh... others. But I never found love, because all I ever could think of was you and being with you. Heck, at the beginning of this summer, I've gathered all my courage and even told you what I think about you, how beautiful you are and how much your ass would be worth going through Tartarus for, but you haven't reacted at all, given me no sign that you'd return my feelings. And when you started showing interest in sex, I grew hopeful, but also afraid because I thought you had found someone else. And then... Sam... I really thought you were with him, all your interest came from wanting to be with him. It made me _so_ jealous. But when you said you're not with him yesterday, I grew so hopeful. I thought if you can just... go on dates and try without it ruining the friendship, then maybe I should ask you out. But the quest interrupted my plan. I wanted to tell you during the quest, really. But Sam just... beat me to the punch.”

“You... became the greatest hero of our generation because you wanted to impress me?”

Donny blinked with wide, stunned eyes and blushing slightly. How could that be possible? Sander had done all of that for him? The irony was nearly painful and made him laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”, frowned Sander upset.

“Oh, I'm not laughing at you!”, assured Donny wide-eyed and grabbed Sander's face. “I just... I started to train, to learn how to control my powers, to be... interested in such things, all because of you. Because you're the great hero and I'm just a brat who was too ignorant to know his own power. I thought you would never be interested in someone as weak as me. I wasted the whole last month worrying about nothing because you've loved me the whole time? T—That's just...”

“I don't think you wasted that month”, murmured Sander, resting his right hand on top of Donny's. “You've grown more confident, you're not hiding anymore. You make _friends_ , you never even tried making friends at camp. You can defend yourself now. You don't take shit from anyone anymore. I fell in love with you because you were cute, adorable and needed protection. But now I love that you can watch out for yourself too. I won't have to constantly worry about your safety anymore and I can even fight at your side, something I am very much looking forward to.”

“Guess you're right”, grinned Donny and slowly leaned forward more and more.

Sander gulped as Donny's face came closer and closer, the sea-green eyes sparkling with so much tenderness that it made Sander's heart flutter. “S—So... you... like me back then...?”

“No”, huffed Donny as their lips were barely half an inch apart. “I _love_ you back.”

Sander was aware that the dark night around them seemed to light up as greenish stars started to sparkle all around them and soft tunes chimed in, as though the forest only just came alive. These things hardly mattered anymore when he felt the soft warmth of Donny's lips upon his own. A surprised and pleased grunt escaped his throat and he wrapped his arms hastily around Donny as though he was afraid the younger boy may bolt. But Donny didn't seem to plan on doing that because his hands slid from Sander's cheeks around his neck to hold the brunette close. Sander slowly closed his eyes, relishing in the unique taste of salty sea-water and pomegranates and the weight and warmth of Donny's body being pressed against him. It was the most tender and loving touch Sander had ever experienced, Donny's lips were so soft against his and the unique mixture of sea and underworld was a sweet yet spicy temptation, just like Donny himself. The boy seemed to practically melt into Sander's touch and it felt so good and right as though they were one.

“I love you”, murmured Sander against Donny's lips as they parted. “I really, really love you.”

“Please keep saying that”, grinned Donny, brushing his lips against Sander's for a short moment.

“Believe me, I will”, smiled Sander, kissing Donny's nose. “I love everything about you.”

“Does that... Does that mean you're mine now...?”, whispered Donny softly, resting his head in the crook on Sander's neck. “And I'm yours? Are we... boyfriends now?”

“You're so sweet”, laughed Sander, kissing the shell of Donny's ear. “Yes. A hundred times yes, if I could have you as my boyfriend, I would be the happiest possible. You're the love of my life. I never want to be apart from you, Donny. I want to fight at your side on this quest, I want to travel with you, I want to go on dates with you without the girls interrupting us.”

“Oh my grandpas, that was a _date_!”, yelped Donny flustered.

“Well, it was supposed to be a date, but then Nico, Thea and Rainbow dropped by”, frowned Sander annoyed. “I thought that was a sign from the fates or something...”

“I think it was a test”, grinned Donny and shrugged. “And I think we passed.”

Sighing softly, Donny snuggled more into Sander's strong chest, enjoying the feeling of those muscular arms around his waist, drawing circles on his lower back. This was what he had wanted all summer long. Sander. It send a jolt of pain through his body to think that Sander had waited for this for so much longer. Leaning up some, he placed a chaste, apologetic kiss on Sander's lips.

“What was that for?”, grunted Sander surprised.

“Because I made you wait for so long...”, murmured Donny with guilt in his eyes.

“Believe me, you are worth waiting for”, grinned Sander and kissed Donny again.

“That is so sickeningly sweet, ah think I'm gonna puke, mate. Yer two pansies, aren't ya?”

Sander and Donny jumped slightly in surprise, but instead of bolting apart, they even tightened their grips on each other. Frantically looking around for the source of the voice, Donny noticed the change in scenery. Glowing fireflies were surrounding them, framing them in a heart-shape, while crickets and young song birds of various kinds had gathered in the trees and grass below to sing them a soft tune. Never before had he felt more like a Disney Princess in his whole life and one Halloween, his big sister had actually made him dress up as Snow White. Blushing brightly, he hid his face in Sander's chest, his eyes still looking for the one with the Australian accent.

“Is that... one of these jack-things you've been warning us about?”, whispered Sander.

The brunette nudged Donny's cheek to direct his focus to a black and white dwarf lop with pointy antlers, sharp teeth, bright eyes and the wings of a snow owl. He was giving Donny and Sander a nasty glare as he hopped over to them.

“A jackalope, mate! S not that hard to remember, don't ya think?”, huffed the be-winged bunny. “Name's Captain, if ya need ta know. A little more respect, ya dango. We're practically related. Yer grandpa has fathered the first of ma kind in the form of an antelope, shagging a jackrabbit.”

“Things I did not need to picture in my head”, muttered Sander and shuddered.

“Captain?”, repeated Donny cautiously, grabbing Sander's hand as the grandson of Hermes wanted to reach for his weapon. “I've heard of you before. Leader of the North American jackalopes.”

“Atta, kiddo”, nodded Captain pleased. “Yer grandma did somethin' right there. So, tell me what cha want in ma forest and why the dango is thinking he could outsmart the master trickster.”

Sander glared before turning his attention to his hand that was held by Donny and so short of grabbing his... carrot? Turning back to the jackalope, he saw the bunny smirk wickedly, holding Sander's sword in one paw leisurely. If not for Donny's grip on him, Sander would have skinned the bloody bunny. A trickster like him did not enjoy being tricked himself.

“We pose no threat and mean no harm”, stated Donny softly.

“And yet the dango's carrying a weapon, eh?”, sneered the jackalope.

“Only for defense measures, I assure you. Let us return to our campsite together and we may explain our quest to you”, offered Donny kindly. “We have the cornucopia. A luscious dinner?”

The bunny's nose wiggled as his fangs chewed on the sword – and darn it all, Sander started to hate that cheeky ball of fluff. The little thing looked intrigued until he finally nodded.

 

/break\

 

Trend was busy cursing beneath his breath as he cut his path through the wilderness with his celestial bronze sword. He had been hiking for hours now, searching for Sam. After the stubborn son of Ares hadn't returned within two hours, Thea had asked him kindly to go and look for Sam while she would continue their researches on the animals Donny had warned them about in the morning. Now Trend had been looking all over the place for the son of Ares, but he couldn't find him. Climbing higher, he followed the sound of a stream. He grew thirsty and he hadn't packed provision for himself, being foolish enough to believe he would get to return soon enough. If he found that stubborn brat, he would beat some sense into him!

Before another curse could pass through his mind, he reached a clearing and stopped dead in his tracks. There was a waterfall and at its foot stood a naked Sam, patting the muzzles of the hippocampi foals swimming around him. They shimmered in all colors of the rainbow in the dim light of hundreds of fireflies surrounding them. A serene and honest smile laid on Sam's lips, the rarest of its kind. Victorious smiles, yes. Arrogant smirks, plenty of those. But these soft and pure smiles were the ones that made Trend's heart sped up for they were _true_. Sadly enough, they were the ones Sam only had to offer to his mother or to horses, something Trend could not relate to for he hated horses with a passion. To Sam though, they seemed to be companions. Perhaps because he didn't have to prove himself and his strength to them?

“Raser!”, called Trend out after a couple of minutes of watching. “Get your ass over here!”

The son of Ares frowned as he turned to stare at Trend, the smile gone as the hippocampi scattered with whines and the fireflies disappeared into the night sky. Sam was grunting something beneath his breath, most likely insults aimed at Trend. The blonde rolled his eyes annoyed by this, at least until Sam came to stand in front of him, glaring up at Trend with those forest dark eyes.

“You dick”, grunted Sam irritated. “I spend hours trying to coax the hippocampi out of their hiding! Donny said we won't be getting far with this quest if we don't gain the trust of the animals here. And you just destroyed hours of freezing in that stupid lake with one dumb shout, you twat!”

“Oh?”, grunted Trend unimpressed and raised one eyebrow. “So that's where you've been the whole day? Luring sea-horses out. Not pouting then? Because to me, it looked like pouting.”

“Why should I be pouting?”, snarled Sam as he grabbed his clothes from the nearby stone where he had put them earlier. “I'm not a little princess. I don't _pout_. I'm just shit at sitting and waiting.”

“Right”, snorted Trend, watching disappointed how the boxershorts and jeans slid over Sam's legs. “So you didn't run off because you were ashamed by that little accidental kiss between us?”

Sam, just in the middle of closing his jeans, froze up and stared at him surprised. “You call that a kiss? That was shit, utter bullshit. That was not a kiss. If that is what you picture kissing me is like, then you have no fucking idea about me, dick-head.”

The zipper went up and Sam straightened again. His eyes were angry and challenging, as they practically always were. Trend braced himself for the hit he would receive. Suggesting that Sam ran from something? The last time someone had done that, they had ended up with a broken nose and three broken ribs. And if anything could make Sam run then it was facing his true feelings. This not-kiss had come closer to that than anything ever before, so Trend speculated on a broken jaw.

What happened was not what Trend was anticipating for though. The shaking hands of Sam, not shaking for a hit, grabbed Trend's shirt hard and pulled the blonde down until their lips crashed against each other once more, though this time not by accident and certainly not for short. Sam's lips were rough in their movement, harsh and violent. And as Trend failed to respond, too shocked to react at all actually, Sam didn't pull away, he did the Sam-thing to do and bit Trend's lower lip hard, so hard he drew blood. But it was effective, because Trend woke from his stupor and obeyed, opening his mouth. Sam's tongue was sharp as always and as demanding as his lips. The kiss was like their fights, they took turns dominating it, they were not cheap on cheating as they bit and sucked and growled, they were violent and passionate. It was nothing like any kiss Trend had ever experienced and he found himself quite enjoying it. It was a nice change to the normally so submissively obedient partners he enjoyed, who were quite like dead fish when kissing, expecting him to dominate them and lead the kiss. Sam was not having anyone lead him. His hands were still clinging to Trend, keeping him in place. Trend decided to do the same, his hands coming to rest on the still wet and bare hips, grabbing them in a bruising manner. The son of Athena only just managed to make Sam lean into the kiss and relax a little when the brunette ended it.

“ _This_ is how I kiss, just so you know”, growled the son of Ares, his cheeks flushed, his lips swollen and red. “I don't do shitty Disney lovey-dovey kisses. I don't do feather light and playful kissing. I kiss like I fight. Not that this means anything, dick-face. J—Just so you know, I'm not a pansy.”

Sam pushed Trend off so hard, the blonde nearly lost balance. The way Sam said it, the tone of his voice, he made it sound as though it was something bad, as though Trend should be disgusted by the very notion and revolted by the suggestion of non-puppy-love kisses. Still busy trying to comprehend that very mind-blowing kiss, Trend found himself staring after the slowly retreating son of Ares. Sometimes he wondered if he'd ever understand what Sam Raser was thinking, because as far as Trend was concerned, this had been the most amazing kiss possible. Fuck it, he had a fucking hard-on _after a kiss_. That had never happened before. He did need some more than just a kiss. Licking his lips, he could taste the copper of his own blood and that notion of purely Sam that he enjoyed so much. Absentmindedly grabbing Sam's shirt, which the brunette had forgotten in his hasty retreat, Trend started to follow Sam slowly. Taking deep breaths, Trend tried to will his erection down. Mostly so, because it was practically screaming into his ear to pin Sam down and fuck the other boy's brains out. The rational part of his brain, the one not steered by his dick, told him that that was an incredibly stupid idea. Sam was being defensive and he was still pulling back. He wasn't ready for such a thing yet. But fuck, after that kiss, Trend was ready to drag Sam out of his self-chosen closet by his feet. He knew Sam wasn't really in the closet, the boy had never made it a secret that he was gay (aside from when it came to his grandpa, but that had religious motives). Still, even while being openly gay, Sam managed to hide his true feelings and mask them. Trend knew that, because he knew Sam better than anyone else (aside from Jolene Raser, probably). The blonde had known that Sam was in love with him for four years now, but Sam was so afraid of admitting what he wanted that he hid it behind layers of masks, a tough macho act to make others believe that this was his true self, because he feared what they would think of the strong hero and son of war if he'd admit to what he truly desired. Sam's defenses and fears were so strong that the boy wasn't even ready to admit anything to himself, much less to someone else. But these days, Trend had the impression that maybe, those defenses were slowly melting away. He also had a suspicion on who was to be blamed for this. Ever since Sam had started to hang out with Donny di Angelo, the son of Ares was slightly easier to be around and just the tiniest bit more open. The kiss alone was proof enough of that. Sam was too much of a believer that friends shouldn't fool around with each other to just kiss someone to prove a point. Still, he used excuses to cover it up, so the brunette still had a long way to go, sadly enough. Because Trend had never wanted Sam more than after this kiss. This wasn't just tearing down Sam's defenses, it was also tearing down Trend's resolution. He had sworn to himself to not yearn after someone who couldn't even admit to himself who he loved and what he wanted. That oath seemed less and less important these days though.

“For fuck's sake can you go any slower, Ignatius?”, groaned Sam in front of him annoyed.

Trend stiffened and glared as he jumped over a ledge to catch up with a highly irritated son of Ares. It was the worst insult Sam had for Trend, because he knew how much the blonde hated his middle name. Sometimes the son of Athena wondered why he had told him anyway. Then he remembered those inquisitive, forest-green eyes all those years ago after Trend had learned of Sam's full name and the son of Ares had prompted Trend if he had an embarrassing middle name too.

“Do not ever call me that again, or I swear you will regret it, Sammy”, huffed Trend.

The nickname always earned him the faintest hint of a blush on sun-kissed cheeks. It was a cute name and Sam hated everything cute, so it was the best way to annoy the son of Ares. How someone as cute as Sam could hate cute things was beyond Trend though. Not that he would ever tell Sam that he thought the brunette was cute, because if other things were sentenced with broken bones, calling him cute was probably sentenced with death. Sam wasn't Care Bear cute, he was ruffianly cute, dangerous yet adorable without even realizing it. The bane of Trend's existence.


	26. Obtaining Information (While Being Awkward)

26\. Obtaining Information (While Being Awkward)

 

“I kissed Trend!”

That was not the kind of greeting Donny had expected upon returning to their campsite. Him, Sander and Captain had just emerged from the woods when Sam practically tackled him, grabbed his upper arm and pulled him away from the others and back into the woods. Donny threw a last confused glance at his boyfriend – his boyfriend! - who looked a little desperate and miffed upon being left alone with the jackalope. But Sam's grip was strong.

“Wait, what did you just say?”, asked Donny surprised as the words registered on his mind.

The son of Ares looked around a little paranoid before turning his attention to him, his dark eyes wide as he frowned very annoyed. “I said that I fucking kissed Trend. Fuck.”

“H—How? Why? When? What did he say?”, spurted Donny out surprised.

“I don't fucking know!”, groaned Sam irritated, running his fingers through his mohawk as he always did when he was insecure. “He was teasing me about this morning, saying that had been a kiss. That was shit, that wasn't a kiss. That was stupid crappy Disney kissing, shit he may have done with his stupid little boyfriends, sharing food and sneaking shitty little brushes of the lips in. I don't do shit like that! A—And I felt challenged, so I acted on... uh... battle instincts, kind of. I just kissed him. On the mouth. Hard. I mean... I split his fucking lip. Fuck.”

“I... honestly have no idea how to respond to that...”, whispered Donny wide-eyed and stared up at the son of Ares. “How did _he_ respond to it? Did he kiss you back? Did you-”

“No. I mean, uh, he kissed me back, after I split his lip”, huffed Sam, clawing his nails into his scalp. “Because I demanded it. That was the dumbest thing I ever did. But I just... felt like... I needed to prove it to him. That I'm not one of his cute little boyfriends, that I'll never be like that.”

“You're so scared of your own feelings that you rather try to chase him away than giving this a chance”, translated Donny and heaved a sad sigh. “Sam-”

“No”, growled Sam, now angered. “I don't want to hear shit about my undying love for him or crap like that. I didn't mean to kiss him. It was the battle instinct, I tell you. He challenged me, my brain supplied me with the comeback. The comeback was stupid. What I want from you is to tell me what to do now! H—How am I supposed to act now? It didn't mean anything, so should I just act like it didn't happen? Or play it down some? Joke about it to show him that it didn't mean anything?”

The son of Ares talked so fast and rushed and looked so completely lost and desperate that it broke Donny's heart. Why was Sam so afraid to admit what he was feeling, what he wanted? There needed to be a reason for it and Donny was dieing to learn it. Sighing softly, Donny wrapped his arms around Sam to pull him into a tight hug. Sam remained stiff in the embrace for a moment, but he also didn't push him away. In the end, Sam gave up and leaned into the hug.

“Don't joke about it”, advised Donny in a soft voice. “If you have to, then act as if it didn't happen.”

What he really wanted was for Sam to  _confront_ Trend, but judging by the desperate look in his forest-green eyes, Sam was really not ready for that yet. Donny wished he'd knew why...

 

/break\

 

Trend gritted his teeth as he poked the fire with a stick. After they had returned to the campsite, Trend had first excused himself to go and take a bath. To jerk off. He had never jerked off while thinking about a kiss, but if that was what Sam kissed like, then Trend could only imagine what Sam would be like in bed. A challenge. A real conquest. Absolutely amazing.

Sam was being so stubborn and defensive about it though and it was driving Trend completely insane. Why couldn't the son of Ares just say what he wanted and stay true to himself instead of hiding behind cheap excuses and more insults? Trend was honestly tired of enduring that. But fuck, that boy could kiss. Maybe he could endure it just a little longer? Hope Sam would finally come to terms with his deepest desires? Fuck. He was hopelessly in love with the most stubborn bastard.

“Wow. You look like someone kicked you in the balls and then stole your favorite toy.”

That was actually a pretty good description of his day, because being kissed like that and then denied anything more had felt like getting kicked in the balls and by acting all distanced and defensive once more, Sam _had_ stolen Trend's favorite toy. Lifting his eyes off the fire, he turned to glare at Sander, who was returning his glare with a very annoyed edge to it.

“You caught dinner?”, asked the son of Athena wryly.

“Ah hope the brat's not talking 'bout me or yer all in trouble, wankers”, warned the flying bunny.

Trend was not impressed by the flying bunny. He had seen the passionate side of Sam today, so some weird winged bunny with antlers was really not that impressing or surprising in comparison.

“That's... Captain. We're not eating him for dinner. Sadly enough”, replied Sander annoyed as he sat down next to Trend. “Captain, that's Trend, son of Athena. And that's Thea, granddaughter of Athena. Captain is here to... not help us. He wants to know what we want.”

“A jackalope?”, hummed Thea curiously, studying the animal's movements in fascination while typing away on her laptop. “Where are Sam and Donny?”

“We're here!”, called Donny as he ran up to them, followed by Sam.

Once with the others, Donny sat down next to Sander, much to the brunette's delight. A dopey grin laid on Sander's lips as Donny grabbed his hand, his thumb caressing the back of Sander's hand. Sam sat down on Donny's other side, which made Sander raise one confused eyebrow. Normally, the son of Ares always preferred to sit closer to Trend (something Sander fully understood now that he knew of Sam's feelings for Trend). This started to feel a little awkward.

“Are you two holding hands?”, asked Thea slowly.

This started to feel very awkward. Blushing slightly, Sander looked over at Donny, unsure what to say. What would Donny want him to say now? Was the green-eyed boy ready to tell their friends? Was it too early? Did he want to try first and see where this was going before telling?

“Yes. He's my boyfriend now”, declared Donny with the broadest grin possible.

“You're so wonderfully simple, Disney Princess”, snorted Trend and shook his head. “Congrats.”

Sam averted his eyes to stare into the fire. Wonderfully simple, eh? That was something Sam couldn't offer. Just like cute or adorable. Trend would be happy with someone like Donny. Just like the boyfriends he had before. All those cute, kind of defenseless pretty boys. Not like him.

“Are you guys always havin' such a tension between yerselves?”, grunted Captain skeptically.

“No, it's normally not that bad”, replied Thea thoughtful. “Today is just a little weird...”

Shivering slightly, Donny snuggled up to Sander until he was leaning against the brunette's chest, with the strong arms wrapped around his waist. His heart was fluttering at this new sensation. He wasn't just leaning against his friend, he was cuddled up against his boyfriend. His Sander. The thought made thousand butterflies flutter in his stomach.

“I love you”, whispered Sander in a barely audible, hushed voice.

Donny was only able to catch it because it was whispered into his ear. Blushing brightly, Donny leaned up some to place a chaste kiss on Sander's jaw. It seemed Sander really planned on repeating it often. And Donny surely enjoyed it. This quest was already paying off.

“So, what ya wankers planin' to do in ma forest?”, growled Captain annoyed, tapping his foot.

“Right”, nodded Donny and blushed slightly, turning his attention away from Sander and over to the impatient jackalope. “We're here on Lady Persephone's behalf. We're searching for Teardrop, because he went missing. We had hoped for the guidance of the fireflies, though...”

“Well, nothin' crawling 'round here without ma allowance. I'm here to restore the order, keep everyone in line so Teary doesn't have to do it all the time”, huffed Captain with a glare.

“But 'Teary' is missing”, pointed Sam out, glaring irritated at the bunny.

“Yeah, ah noticed...”, muttered Captain, his ears hanging low, chewing on a carrot stick slowly.

“He's your friend, right?”, asked Thea softly. “We want to find him and bring him back. Will you help us on our quest? We need more information to find him.”

“Ah don't trust humans...”, hissed Captain and gritted his teeth. “But I'll tell the critters they're allowed to talk to ya. If they think ya can be trusted, that is. I'm not helping ya though.”

“So we have to make the animals trust us? You can't just help with that?”, grunted Sander.

He was annoyed. As nice as camping with his friends was, this _was_ a quest. An important quest. They had no time to waste and this annoying buck could speed this up, but he was too stubborn.

“That's not going to be that hard”, smiled Donny reassuringly, turning those big, hopeful, sea-green eyes on Sander that suddenly made everything look brighter. “It's the first step, after all.”

“Yeah”, agreed Captain with another glare. “Ah could as well say nope an' tell the others to stay away from ya! Be grateful for ma help, ya dango! Ah really don't like that one.”

Gritting his teeth, Sander was ready to skin that stupid animal, but right on time, Donny placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “I like him very much though, so please be nice to him.”

“Okay, okay, princess”, huffed Captain, scratching his chin. “I'll be gone after dinner anyway, no need to concern maself with you kids anyway. Go solve yer own problems.”

 

/break\

 

Two hours later had the five teens back in their tent, with the jackalope finally gone. This time around, going to sleep proved to be more complicated though. Sander was laying awkwardly around, only wearing his boxershorts, waiting for Donny to lay down. Would he get cuddles again or was sleeping together a no-no now that they were dating? Thea was already laying in the middle of the tent, all sprawled over Trend and half-asleep. Sam and Donny had only just entered the tent after they had taken to cleaning the plates. Donny wasted no time snuggling up between Thea and Sander again, grabbing Sander's arm to lay it around his waist. Sander's heart sped up.

“But no funny business. I'm your chaperone for this trip”, murmured Thea sleepily. “If I can't get laid because Herc isn't with me, then you won't get laid either. Especially not while I'm sleeping next to you. So that hand remains above the waistline, mister. Or I'll rattle you out to uncle Nico.”

“Yes, ma'am”, muttered Sander and hid his face in Donny's curls.

Forest-green eyes stared a little wistfully at Sander and Donny. The couple was blushing so furiously but at the same time, they looked so content and happy together. Was it really that easy? Why was it that easy for them? Shaking his head and running his right hand over his mohawk, he went to lay down next to Trend. Biting his lower lip hard, Sam tried to focus on the tattoo on Trend's chest, right above his heart, staring at the picture instead of the muscles. It was an owl, very detailed and very beautifully done. Resting his hand on the tattoo, he absentmindedly traced the owl's outlines. The symbol of Athena. Sam wasn't sure how long he laid awake, but the others already dozed off and he was still staring at the tattoo. What he noticed was that it grew colder and colder. Drawing the blankets closer to himself, he snuggled up to Trend more, feeling the sleeping blonde's arm sneak around his waist and pull him closer. Blushing slightly, Sam rubbed his nose against Trend's chest, his hand wandering lower to the hard sixpack. Why was this so hard? Why did he want this? Why did he want Trend, of all people? Why did he want him _like that_?

 

/break\

 

Gulping hard, Donny slowly opened his eyes. This was a very interesting way of getting woken up. Craning his neck, he stared at his obviously still sleeping boyfriend (he loved saying that). The boyfriend whose morning wood was poking him in the ass at the moment.

“I said no funny business, so stop shifting around, Hades Poseidon”, warned Thea and yawned.

“You're a cock-blocker, Chase”, chuckled Trend amused as he ran his fingers through her hair.

He was glad that, unlike Sander, he had a little more control over his body and could keep himself from waking up with an erection, or otherwise Sam would have had an heart-attack yesterday already. Gray eyes stared at the son of Ares curiously, who was laying half on top of him.

“We'll spend the day gaining the trust of the animals”, declared Donny, surprisingly firm.

“How, oh great leader?”, questioned the son of Athena with one raised eyebrow.

“Don't mock my boyfriend”, growled the sleepy voice of Sander protectively.

The brunette glared over at Trend from where he was burying his nose in Donny's neck and enjoying the softness of his skin. His lips brushed over Donny's shoulder tenderly as he enjoyed the feeling of his Donny's body against his, the way Donny was leaning into his touch.

“Morning”, smiled Donny softly, turning enough to look at Sander properly.

There was a shadow over his sea-green eyes, one that looked quite like lust and went straight to Sander's groin. Which was the point where Sander noticed that he was hard. His eyes widened in panic and his cheeks flushed brightly. Groaning embarrassed, he hid his face between Donny's shoulder-blades. Donny in his arms giggled amused and turned around, nudging Sander's face with his own until the brunette was looking at him. Giving him a soft smile, Donny leaned in for a kiss.

“Don't worry about it”, whispered Donny tenderly. “It's only natural. I don't blame you.”

He said that, but his eyes were still dark like a stormy sea. It was fascinating and reminded him of the name of Donny's sword. The Dark Sea. But it wasn't just a name, Donny _was_ the Dark Sea.

“You're just too good”, sighed Sander, kissing the tip of Donny's nose. “I love you, my Dark Sea.”

Blood flooded Donny's cheeks as he giggled slightly at the name, rubbing his cheek against Sander's chest. “Is that a thing now? A nickname?”

“I can't call you a Disney Princess. Everybody calls you that”, muttered Sander upset. “I need something special, something only I will be calling you. You're my beautiful Dark Sea.”

“Okay, okay, I give up. Let's get to work. If I have to listen to those two being lovey-dovey any longer, I will puke all over the place!”, groaned Sam irritated and threw a pillow at them.

The son of Ares shifted enough to sit up and grab his clothes from his bag next to him. Shivering, he got dressed. Last night had been freezing and he was truly grateful for Trend's body-heat. Then again, he somehow also hated that. He had spend the whole night snuggling with Trend.

“Where do we start though? This park is so... big...”, sighed Thea annoyed, putting her hair up.

“Well, Sam had a pretty good start yesterday”, hummed Trend thoughtful. “He's been luring a couple of sea-horses out of a lake. And there were fireflies. That's the ones we are looking for, right, Disney Princess? Maybe we should head to that lake, see if they answer his call again...”

“You... managed to make contact with the animals...?”, asked Donny slowly, surprised.

“Horses like me”, shrugged Sam awkwardly, running his free hand over his mohawk as he grabbed an apple with the other. “Besides, it's not like I skipped through the water whilst singing a merry tune and they joined in. I nearly froze my fucking balls off while waiting in that fucking lake for them to come out. Until Trend, that useless prick, chased them away again!”

“Yes, yes, I know. I'm sorry, whatever”, huffed Trend and stood, groaning irritated. “Now let's get this over with. Why does it have to be horses? Again. Why not something else? Something nice?”

 

/break\

 

The five teens had been hiking for an hour now, gladly enough Sam showed them a short cut and not the route Trend had taken the day before while looking for the son of Ares. Storm-gray eyes stared curiously at the two in the lead. Sam and Donny were joking around and judging by the blush on Donny's cheeks, Sam was teasing the boy mercilessly about his very new relationship-status. Sander was walking slightly behind them, giving the two friends enough space to have privacy for their conversation, but being close enough to protect his boyfriend if the need arose. It was adorable, really. Even if Donny wouldn't be able to protect himself – and by now Trend was pretty sure that Donny was quite capable of that – there was still the Sam-factor walking right next to him. But still, Sander wanted to make sure that _he_ would be there to protect what was his.

“I'm glad they finally figured it out”, murmured Thea next to Trend softly.

“Yeah. Their sexual tension was driving everyone crazy”, grunted the son of Athena.

“They're not the only ones with that”, hummed Thea sharply, nudging him. “What's going on with you and Sam? Because there is something weird going on. I'm just trying to figure out what.”

“If you figure it out, please tell me and explain it to me”, sighed Trend exhausted.

“He's complicated, eh?”, chuckled Thea and cocked her head. “Makes him more interesting.”

“Makes him more complicated”, muttered Trend with a glare. “Little fucker...”

“Point taken”, smiled Thea amused. “Then what is it that makes him interesting?”

“He's... I want to know what makes him tick”, confessed Trend softly. “There is something good he's covering up. As though he's scared... And I don't understand that, but...”

“Not understanding makes us feel inferior. Fatal flaw”, nodded Thea in understanding.

“It's not just that”, objected Trend and shook his head. “He's not just a riddle I want to solve. I can see that he's afraid to admit that he isn't invincible. I want to be that one person he knows he can trust and lean against. I want him to know that not being invincible doesn't make him weak. I want him to know that he doesn't have to be strong all the time. I want to be strong for him.”

“I wouldn't have thought you're such a romantic”, grinned Thea softly, ruffling his hair.

“Fuck off...”, muttered Trend with the slightest pout, elbowing her. “You know you're not allowed to talk to anyone about this, right? Swear it. Promise me, sis.”

“I swear it on the River Styx, no word will leave my lips”, agreed Thea with a slow nod. “But why? I mean, why don't you just go to him and tell him all of that. Then he would know.”

“Like you said earlier, he's complicated”, started Trend to explain. “He's afraid to admit his own weaknesses. Even to himself. You know him a bit too. He doesn't like being told stuff. And you know everyone who's ever dared to suggest he may have a weakness ended up in the infirmary. He needs to figure it out for himself, to face this first. Only when he's ready to realize what he wants and that he wants it, only then I can offer him help. But once he's ready, I'll be there.”

“You're such a sweetheart”, laughed Thea and kissed his cheek in a sisterly way.

“You could help me though...”, hummed Trend softly.

“How?”, blinked the native American attentively.

“Today is his birthday...”, started the son of Athena slowly.

“Oh? I didn't know”, muttered Thea wide-eyed. “He didn't say a thing!”

“He's not big on celebrating it”, shrugged Trend, running his fingers through his hair. “Anyway, I figured we could have a real feast tonight, with the horn. Not just sandwiches and stuff like yesterday, real big celebration and all. With many variations of bacon.”

Thea laughed at that and nodded hastily. “Yes. That's a sweet idea.”

“And there is something else”, added the son of Athena. “I want to give him something. A present. Something special. But I need your help to get this right. You going to help me?”

“In any way I can”, nodded Thea with a soft smile, nudging him again. “You really like him a lot.”

“You could... say that”, nodded Trend, kicking a stone out of his way. “He's been the first friend I made at camp, I only cared about books back then. We've been through a lot together, trained a lot together. I think without each other, we both wouldn't be who we are now. We improved each other. And I think that is how we work. We make each other better. And... that's what I want, I want to be the one to make him better. And I want him to be the one to make me better.”


	27. Critters, Colds and Cock-blockers

27\. Critters, Colds and Cock-blockers

 

The lake-water was cold, freezing cold so. Sam shuddered slightly and rubbed his arms. It had been cold yesterday, but now it felt even cooler. Then again, he had been feeling cold ever since yesterday. Not that it surprised him. He had spend half a day in freezing water yesterday, it would have been a miracle if he hadn't caught a cold. Right now, he regretted that he had torn all the sleeves off his camp shirts because that made them more bad-ass and showed his upper arms off nicely. Stepping deeper into the water, he reached the waterfall.

“This is very beautiful”, marveled Thea in awe as the other four caught up with him.

“Yeah. How did you find it? It's like a little piece of paradise”, agreed Donny.

“I don't know”, shrugged Sam, his shoulders nearly up to his ears as he shuddered. “Just got lucky, I guess. Stumbled in on the clearing and saw a couple of hippocampi play together. They scattered and disappeared when they noticed me and I spend the next couple of hours gaining their trust.”

“Well, being the grandson of Poseidon, I may speed this whole thing up a bit”, grinned Donny.

“Then hurry. I'm fucking freezing here”, grunted Sam with clattering teeth.

“Why didn't you pack warm clothes?”, snorted Donny, pulling his own black leather trenchcoat closer around himself as he rested one hand on the surface of the water. “Of course you're cold.”

“You could have mentioned that we're going to fucking Alaska, you wanker”, muttered Sam.

“Oh... uh, you're right”, mumbled Donny and blushed. “Sorry.”

“Whatever”, sighed Sam, ruffling Donny's curls. “Not your fault, Disney Princess.”

He froze – not from the cold – when suddenly two hands rested on his shoulders. Turning slightly, he stared up at Trend, who was placing his dark gray jacket on Sam's shoulders. The son of Athena was wearing a sweatshirt over his camp shirt too, additional to the jacket he had just given Sam. Glaring annoyed, Sam made a move to shrug it off, but Trend held his shoulders in an iron grip.

“Don't be a moron, Raser”, muttered Trend with a glare. “You're shivering. Just take the fucking jacket, okay? I don't want to sit beside your bedside and nurse you back to health. We're on a quest here, no time for your pride. We'll fetch you some warm clothes in the next city we see.”

Storm-gray eyes stared Sam down until the son of Ares admitted defeat and put the jacket on. The sleeves covered his thumbs, which made Sam glare in annoyance and Trend grin just the slightest bit. He wouldn't mind sitting at Sam's bedside, but he would mind for Sam to get sick. If the son of Ares was too stubborn to take a simple jacket, then it would be a fight without comparison to try and get Sam to stay in bed and let others take care of him. But the jacket looked good on him.

“Note to self; stop in the next city for clothes shopping once we get to leave this park”, chuckled Thea amused as she observed Trend and Sam. “Sounds like fun. Oh! I want to do a make-over!”

“You're not coming close to me, woman”, spat Sam irritated, pulling the zipper up.

His nose disappeared beneath the high collar of the gray jacket and he inhaled deeply. It smelt like earth and pine-trees and old books and musk, that combination that meant purely Trend to him.

“Would you guys mind shutting up? I'm trying to channel the hippocampi here!”

Trend, Sam, Thea and Sander turned blinking eyes on the irritated glaring Sea Prince. Blushing slightly, Sander leaned in to kiss Donny's cheek. The boy was hot when he was angry.

“Sorry, love”, grinned Sander sheepishly, before whispering into Donny's ear. “You're so hot when you're angry. I think I need to find ways to anger you more often, Donny.”

“Don't distract him with dirty thoughts, Rodriguez”, warned Thea sharply.

“I don't know. That seems to do the trick for our perverted little Disney Princess”, snickered Sam.

A whining sound seemed to agree with the son of Ares. Blinking his eyes open slowly, Donny looked around. Four hippocampi foals were swimming around him, nudging him curiously. They were beautiful. He had seen hippocampi before, in his grandpa's palace. Patting a curious muzzle, he smiled down at the young sea-horses. One of them seemed more interested in Sam though.

“ _Young prince! Young prince! We smelt you on the nice war boy yesterday_ ”, exclaimed the hippocampus nudging his hand. “ _We've heard so much of you! This is so exciting!_ ”

“The nice war boy is a friend of mine”, smiled Donny and ran his hand through the mane.

“Nice war boy?”, huffed Sam with a grimace. “What kind of name is that?”

“Say, do you know where we can find the fireflies?”, asked Donny in a soft voice, ignoring Sam.

He knew it wouldn't do much to ask the little ones about Teardrop. Children never paid attention to politics. But sparkling fireflies? They surely must know where the teens could look for them.

“ _Yes, yes!_ ”, yelped another hippocampus, pushing his sister out of the way. “ _They are in the forest, deep forest! Need to look for them there! Yes, yes! They're with flowers and with faeries!_ ”

“Thank you”, nodded Donny, kissing the top of the foal's head.

“ _Nice war boy! Nice war boy, come play with us again_ ”, whined the filly that was circling Sam.

“You're a cutie”, grinned Sam as he watched the foal, caressing her muzzle. “What's her name?”

“ _Bow! Bow, Bow, Bow!_ ”, yelped the filly, excited that he was talking to her.

“Her name is Bow”, translated Donny amused. “How do you know she's a girl?”

“You see that. You can tell human boys from girls too. Same thing”, shrugged Sam annoyed before turning back to the foal with a smile. “Hello, Bow. Nice to formally meet you. I'm Sam.”

“ _Sam? Sam, Sam, Sam!_ ”, nodded Bow curiously, rubbing her multi-colored muzzle against his hand. “ _Bow likes Sam. Bow wants to keep Sam. Can Bow keep Sam?_ ”

The filly turned wide eyes on Donny, asking for his permission. The other teens stared confused as Donny started laughing loudly and nearly doubled over, holding onto Sander for support.

“What? What did she say?”, asked Thea curiously, always eager to learn more.

“She asked me if she can keep Sam”, laughed Donny amused.

The others chuckled slightly as they turned curious eyes on Sam. The son of Ares glared at them annoyed before he got into his knees to face Bow on eye-level, resting his hands on her head.

“I feel honored, Bow”, grinned Sam amused. “But I already have a very good companion. Besides, you're still a filly. You need to spend more time with your siblings before you seek a companion.”

Gritting his teeth, Trend observed them. Was he really being jealous of a freaking horse?! Then again, Sam was being so tender and friendly with those stupid, stupid animals. It was unfair.

“Well, enough of that. Come on”, urged Trend on. “What did they say, Disney Princess?”

“We have to go into the forest. Deep into the forest. They haven't been more specific, so I guess we should probably split up to look for them?”, suggested Donny slowly.

“Don't make it sound like a question, di Angelo”, chided Trend and straightened his back. “You're the leader of this quest. Be in charge. Take responsibility.”

Donny blushed slightly and nodded. “Okay. We _will_ go into the woods. And split up, to get everything done faster. Everyone covering another direction, not too far apart though. Follow me.”

Trend smirked slightly and nodded. The boy needed to grow more confident in his role as a leader. He had started training, yes. But there was a difference between starting and finishing. He still had a long way to go. Making a mental note to train with Donny later on, he followed the boy out of the water, together with the others. His eyes trailed over to Sam, who was suspiciously snuggled into the jacket. The boy must really be freezing. Cursing himself, he crossed his arms over his chest. He should have figured that out earlier. Sam had been running around only dressed in his sleeveless camp shirts since this quest had started, of course that stubborn bastard wouldn't admit that he was freezing. There was a redness to Sam's cheeks far stronger than anything Trend had ever seen before. If he was embarrassed, there would only be the faintest hint of a blush on his cheeks, but now Sam was quite a dark shade of red, more prominent because the boy looked rather pale right now. It intrigued Trend in a way that it really shouldn't, because it meant that Sam was getting sick.

“Okay. Feels like very deep in the forest”, muttered Thea after half an hour of walking. “And now?”

“Now we split up”, declared Donny simply. “Cover all directions. Half an hour and then we will meet back here. Only go straight, don't stray off your chosen path. If one of us is not to return within the set time, the others know where to search then. If you find them, stay where you are.”

“Hold on, I'm not leaving your side”, grunted Sander displeased.

“Yes, you will, you dick-head”, muttered Sam with a glare. “You heard him. It's his call, his quest. He can manage on his own, for now. You don't have to always shadow him. Give him a chance to fight for himself, you wanker. Now shut up and do as he said. Don't be a twat.”

Sander gritted his teeth at that and returned Sam's glare. He knew he was being ridiculously possessive, but he had only just gotten Donny. If some monster was to attack him, hurt him, while Sander couldn't even protect him, then he would never be able to forgive himself. On the other hand, he was aware that Donny wanted to become a hero too, that he had trained for this and that this was his quest. Denying him the chance to fight would be unfair and Sander didn't want to be such a boyfriend. He won't cut Donny's wings and put him into a golden cage.

“Half an hour”, nodded Sander, his eyes hard. “Don't be late, not without a good reason.”

 

/break\

 

The shadows were so long and deep that Sander feared Nico would be jumping out of them any second now just to scare him (uncle Nico had done that plenty of times when they had been children, to scare them). It was only noon, but the trees were so tall and close that they cut off the sun. It was a little creepy and even Sander felt the chill running down his spine at the eerie silence of the forest. He knew forests, like the one behind camp, they were supposed to be lively, with animals and insects and nymphs, but this one was _dead_. All the reason more why he expected Nico to pop up. It seemed either Captain had not told the critters yet, or they were too scared still. Sighing deeply, he was short of giving up when his eyes caught something sparkling. Frowning for a second, he wondered if fireflies were supposed to be pink, but he followed it nonetheless. Only too late did he realize that this sparkling was no firefly. Staring wide-eyed, Sander tried to back off again when he recognized the long body of a dragonfly. But when he looked around, it was already too late for him. The darkness seemed to swirl around him.

“No! No, no, no!”, yelled Sander irritated, hitting the air. “Donny warned us about you! Don't send me through time! No, I don't have time for this! I need to return to Donny!”

The dragonfly didn't exactly talk or have any facial expression, yet somehow Sander felt the chill of a laugh. Shuddering slightly, he whirled around, glaring at the small, pinkish creature. Before he could throw a row of curses at the stupid insect, he felt the gut-twisting sensation of driving a roller-coaster and found himself falling hard onto his ass. Groaning in pain, he slowly gathered himself off the ground and took a look around. The darkness had made way for a landscape he easily recognized, but right now, he wished to have the darkness back. It was Olympus, he had been there before on field trips with Chiron and the other campers. But this was not the glorious and beautiful, awe-inspiring sight he recalled. Everything laid in ashes, the temples seemed to have crumbled under a force too strong to be fought off. There was even still smoke coming off from some crushed temples, lazy and slow as though the fire had been burning for a while but no one had cared or found the time to extinguish it. Dust and smoke gave everything a tint of gray and death. He remembered Olympus as lush and beautiful, with the tallest temples, most colorful flowers and the happy chatter of muses and nymphs. This was not even a shadow of the Olympus he remembered.

“Hey there. I didn't expect to meet anyone here. Huh, I don't think I've ever seen you before... you must be new, mh? Did you come to pay your respect to any fallen siblings?”

Sander jumped about two feet high at the sudden voice. Turning around, he came face to face with... This couldn't be. The boy opposite him looked so much like his Donny, the same cute nose, the same kind smile, the same sea-green eyes. His camp shirt was dirty, his hair was disheveled, but he was easily recognized as Percy di Angelo. The sixteen years old was cradling flowers in his arms.

“I—I... Yes?”, nodded Sander slowly as he recognized where exactly he was.

Chiron had brought them to this side too. A giant, black marble column reached up into the sky, hundreds of names engraved on it. On the base was an ancient Greek engraving explaining what this memorial was. _To the fallen Heroes of the Second Titan War. May They Rest in Elysium._ His mother had told him that this memorial had been put up not even a month after the war had ended. Looking at the giant marble monument, he noticed how new it looked. He remembered it, but it had been, well, older. It had been twenty years old the last time he had seen it, but this looked as though it had only just been finished and put there. Hundreds of flowers and candles stood around it.

“You got that mischief to yourself”, noted Percy curiously as he passed Sander to kneel in front of the monument. “Son of Hermes, I'd guess. Did you... know them? I mean, I don't remember you and I'm pretty sure I know everyone from the Hermes cabin. So... What brings you here?”

Sander was too busy staring at Percy to really register what had been said. Percy was kneeling there, placing his flowers among the heaps of other flowers, one hand tracing a name on the lower rows of the seemingly endless list of deaths. Stepping closer, Sander knelt next to Percy to see whose name seemed so important to the seemingly heartbroken hero. Sure, Percy had a smile on his lips as he was talking to Sander, but the expression in his eyes was dead. He recognized some of the names from stories he had heard from his parents and the history lessons from Chiron at camp – Zoe Nightshade, the one who had died to safe Artemis, Silena Beauregard, the best friend of his mother, Charles Beckendorf right next to her name, the boy who had died during an attack on the enemy's lair, and many, many more. His eyes trailed the rows, for the first time with true awareness. When Chiron had brought them here, he had been too small to really understand. All those who had died to ensure that he and his generation could live in peace. Finally, his eyes caught the name Percy had been tracing. Bianca di Angelo. Sander froze.

“You're not big on the talking, huh?”, chuckled Percy a bit amused, yet his voice was thick with unshed tears as his fingers wandered from that name to others. “My best friend Annabeth likes to say that I'm talking too much sometimes. Well, talking makes this easier, you know?”

“H—How do you cope...?”, whispered Sander after a moment of silence between them.

“Mh?”, grunted Percy confused and looked up at him, his nails nearly clawing at one name.

“W—With the war”, clarified Sander, staring at that name Percy was holding onto – Luke Castellan. “I know who you are. The... the other campers are talking, you know. You're Percy di—Jackson.”

Jackson. Back then he had still been Percy Jackson. A slip like that would not be a good thing.

“Oh...”, mumbled Percy and nodded slowly, turning his attention back to the wall.

Sander knew his mother and father and Percy and Nico and all the others, all his parents' friends, they had all fought. Not just in the Titan War, but also in the Giant War. He knew it, theoretically, but it had never been that close before. He had never really realized what it actually meant. Seeing this destruction and that still fresh and raw hurt in Percy's eyes, it made all of this feel so much realer. Before, it had been more like a brave story. Like the heroic tales of the past. But all of this had only happened twenty years ago, not even a lifetime had passed since then and yet, the heroes of these wars had not just been victorious, they had also done everything to make the lives of demigods better. And they were still doing it. Nico's, Lou's and Piper's Demigod Protective Services, Clarisse's and Percy's dojo where they trained the campers outside of camp-time, Annabeth, who was still putting up with being mayor of New Athens to keep everything going.

“It's hard”, shrugged Percy after a while. “I guess... my friends. Those... Those who died, because I don't want their sacrifices to be futile. And also those who live, because we hold each other upright and we keep each other going. It's... all that really matters. All we've been fighting for.”

“And love?”, asked Sander, without thinking. “I—I mean, you said you fought for your friends...?”

“Isn't that the same?”, asked Percy with a small smile, his eyes sparkling. “Friendship, family, romance. Aren't they all different shades of love? You shouldn't lose focus of the big picture. Romantic love may be important, but there are so many aspects that make up a life. It's what kept me alive during the war. All the beautiful things, the wonderful people... The... future...”

“The future will be worth it”, whispered Sander determined.

“You sound so sure about that”, chuckled Percy darkly. “I haven't heard that much confidence in a while... Looking around, most lost hope for a bright and nice future...”

“No”, grunted Sander and shook his head. “I know it. I know that the future will be bright and beautiful and it will be thanks to you. You and everyone else who has fought this war.”

“I like the notion of that”, hummed Percy softly and nodded. “A future we made possible...”

Looking up, Sander caught the glimmer of the pink dragonfly and stood hastily. “I—I have to go...”

“Oh”, nodded Percy and too stood. “It was nice meeting you... You didn't even tell me your name!”

“It doesn't matter”, smiled Sander and started to walk backwards. “But believe me, it's an honor meeting you. I can't wait to see you again. Take good care.”

“Uh... sure...?”, nodded Percy slowly, obviously confused, waving him.

Sander disappeared along the road, following the dragonfly. His heart was heavy as the dragonfly led him into a swirl of darkness again. He had known about the war, but he had never thought about the conditions his parents and their friends had put up with. He recalled what his mother had told him about camp, camp before Percy and the others had revolutionized it. The Hermes cabin bursting with all unclaimed campers and the children of minor gods, not even Hades having a cabin, those whose parents had passed away or who couldn't return home had actually _lived_ in such conditions. Sander shuddered. Sleeping on the floor of a cabin he had to share with twenty others? And that all over the year? And what about school? All the things his mom and the others had done to make life for all of them better. It overwhelmed Sander a bit. They were more than just heroes.

“What are you? Why did you bring me here?”, asked Sander as he found himself back in the forest.

“ _We rule over time and we are ancient. We guard. But when we encounter demigods, we like to show them their heart's deepest desires, or what time may teach them about those._ ”

The voice sounded surreal, not male or female and it seemed to echo from everywhere, making Sander shudder. The pink faery was flying right in front of him, staring at him intensely. Sander grabbed his sword out of intuition. He didn't trust the insect.

“How is the destruction of Olympus my deepest desire?”, snarled Sander ridiculed.

“ _Not the destruction, young hero. The hope that lingered after it. The power to change a society that had been like this for too long. To be a hero who prevails throughout history. But you have never seen the downside of being a hero. Now tell me, what is your heart's deepest desire?_ ”

“I still want to be a hero”, declared Sander and straightened. “I... All the good things they have done for us, if I can change the world to be a better place for my future children and the future children of my friends in the same ways as my parents and their friends had changed the world for me and my friends, then I am ready to face every dark side it has to offer. Living isn't about the past, it's about the future and I want to be part of it, I want to create the future.”

“ _You're a good one_ ”, chuckled the voice, the dragonfly. “ _You pass your test. If your companions too pass, then we may send our cousins, the bringers of light, to you._ ”

Why didn't it surprise him that they were cousins? Fireflies and dragonflies. He frowned slightly. He needed to check in with Thea and Trend about what they had found. Sure, Donny had said that the fireflies were the light guides of Teardrop, but where did they come from? What were they, exactly? For now though, he needed to return, to check on Donny. If one of those stupid little faeries had taken his Donny with it, then Sander would be ripping out wings! Stalking over to the clearing where the friends had parted, he only found a wide-eyed Thea staring at him.

“I—I saw... Tartarus. And mom and uncle Percy _kissing_ ”, whined Thea miserably and disgusted.


	28. Where Past and Future Meet

28\. Where Past and Future Meet

 

Donny cursed beneath his breath, which in itself was not a very Donny-thing to do. But he really should have known better. He had, after all, warned his friends about it. What kind of a leader was he to fall for the trick he had warned the others about? The worst part? He had no idea where he was. It looked like a hotel, a bit. Very pompous and big and loud. Things he didn't like. There were people all around him, but they were really weird. It looked a bit as though dragonflies just kept dumping people from all different periods of time here. Realization dawned on him and his eyes widened. No, that wasn't it. This was the place where people got lost and lived forever, the ever-lasting palace of the Lotus Eaters. Looking around with sharp eyes, he now noticed them, with their trays of lotus flowers. He could not eat anything here, or he was stuck. But why would the dragonfly bring him to a place where time didn't even matter? This didn't make sense. Or... did the dragonfly want to get rid of him? Hope he'd eat the lotus flowers and be stuck here? No, that couldn't be it. He knew about the faeries, they weren't evil, they helped princesses and princes. His parents had told him so before. Heaving a sigh, Donny started to explore the place a bit. What was it that the faery could possibly want to show him here? There was nothing that special about this place, his parents had told him. Well, as much as they remembered, because the Lotus Hotel had a memory-numbing effect on its visitors. Wait. Donny froze. Both his parents had been stuck here before. Was one of them here now? He started to sprint, looking around frantically. The sound of a bright laugh interrupted his search. He would recognize his mother's laugh everywhere. Following the sound, Donny came face to face with his parents. _Both his parents_. In one of the hotel rooms were Nico and Percy, sitting on a bed together, giggling loudly. Nico was about ten, the age he had been when he had been stuck in the hotel, olive skin, bright, sparkling eyes, wild curls and the broadest smile possible on his lips as he very animatedly explained something to a maybe two years older Percy, whose eyes sparkled just as much as he stared at Nico in awe and grinned.

“Hey. What are you doing, lingering around in front of our room?”, chided a voice from behind.

Donny nearly had a heart-attack when he turned around. The girl behind him looked exactly like his big sister, right down to the pitch-black, chiding eyes. Donny's mouth went dry when he realized who she was. His aunt. Nico's sister. The first Bianca di Angelo.

“I—I... I'm new here, I've just been looking around. And they looked like they were having fun and the door was open”, stuttered Donny nervously. “I'm sorry.”

“Oh! Bianca! You're back!”, called Nico from inside, laughing happily. “Look! Look what I found! I found our Percy again! But he's older... I don't like that he's older. But I'm teaching him Mythomagic! Do you want to play with us? Who is your friend? Does he want to play too?”

Percy looked completely content where he was laying snuggled up to Nico. Bianca was still looking at Donny critically, but she went inside to join the boys. Donny's heart sank before it sped up and a smile spread over his lips that easily matched Nico's. He knew, knew everything about his parents' relationship. They had told him the story of their encounter with the faery too, how Percy had traveled back through time and met the di Angelos in the 30s and how Percy had, after seven years given up and forgotten about the encounter, thinking it was a dream, while Nico and Bianca had forgotten everything after their release from the Lotus Hotel. But right now, right here, when Nico and Bianca still had been stuck in the hotel and Percy had gotten stuck there during his search for the Master Bolt, they remembered each other. Or at least the di Angelos still remembered Percy and must have reminded him. The urge to go inside and sit down together with his mother, father and aunt was so overwhelming that he had to pull himself out of this. He needed to focus. If he went inside now, he would be stuck in the Lotus Hotel just like his family was. But he needed to return to his quest. And he needed to give his mom and dad this. Once he had closed the door, he caught sight of the dragonfly again. Smiling brightly, he followed the insect back into the vortex.

“Thank you”, whispered Donny softly and cocked his head.

“ _Your parents are... quite fascinating. Whatever happened, they found each other again, over and over again. Even through time. It's your heart's deepest desire too. A love that conquers all. It exists. Your parents share such a love and if you set your mind on it, you can have that too._ ”

Nodding slowly, Donny followed the dragonfly back into the forest. He made his way back to the meeting place they had agreed on. A depressed Thea and a determined Sander were already waiting there. His female best friend was an odd shade of green. Smiling softly, Donny grabbed Sander's hands and pulled him down into a soft kiss.

“So... You followed one too, eh?”, grunted Sander amused and wrapped his arms around him.

“Yeah”, smiled Donny happily. “It showed me something very beautiful.”

“Lucky you”, muttered Thea, running her hands through her hair.

“Why?”, asked Donny confused. “What did you see?”

“You do not want to know”, groaned Thea, shuddering. “I still don't know which one was worse.”

“Well, now we're only waiting for Trend and Sam”, sighed Sander, burying his nose in Donny's hair.

 

/break\

 

Sam swore to himself that he would never doubt the Disney Princess again. Because thanks to his recklessness he was now stuck in the different time. In the future, to be more precise. He even knew the exact address of the place he was stuck. It was a living room, the living room of a house in New Athens. A house he was frequently visiting, just to make sure no one would buy it, because the first time he had walked the streets of New Athens, he had instantly fallen in love with this house and knew one day, he wanted to live there. So he spend most his time scaring potential buyer off, because he was still sixteen and really didn't have the money to buy a house. It was old and in dire need of renovation, which helped n this mission because it made it look spooky. At least the version of their time did. This one however was pretty much amazing, beautiful and cozy. There was definitely a family living here. So... had that stupid sparkly shit brought him here to taunt him? To show him that nope, he wouldn't be getting the house of his dreams? Sighing annoyed, Sam sat down on the couch. There must be a reason why he was there.

“Yes, yes, yes! I want cake!”, screamed two loud and excited voices.

Sam jumped slightly as the door opened and two children came running in, both perhaps four years old. The two giddy children nearly fell over as they suddenly stopped to stare at him wide-eyed, most likely not expecting a stranger to sit in their living room. Frowning surprised, Sam tilted his head. A girl and a boy. The girl with mischievous, brown eyes, olive-skin and a pigtail of black curls, the boy with light brown hair, sun-kissed skin and sparkling, sea-green eyes. They reminded him of someone. They were like a mixture of... Sander and Donny. Oh.

“Soul! Sand! I told you not to run around!”, called a dark, deep voice after them. “Children... The death of me. How am I always stuck babysitting you little rascals? How is that fair?”

“Sorry”, chimed both children at once, still staring at Sam in wonder.

The steps of an adult seemed to follow them as more smaller steps disappeared into the direction of the stairs – yes, Sam knew his way around this house, he had been visiting this house so often that he had memorized every turn and corner by now. The adult following the children was a little more unexpected though, because it was neither Donny nor Sander. It was him. Or at least a ten years older version of him. Wearing a black suit with a dark green tie. His mohawk was gone, his shoulder-long, wavy hair tied together in his neck. The adult froze and stared.

“Oh? Is it that day already?”, hummed the older Sam curiously. “Soul, Sand, go get your cake.”

“Okay, uncle Sam”, nodded the twins at once (it started to freak Sam out that they did this).

The two children ran out of the room, leaving both Sams on their own. The adult slowly walked over to Sam to sit down next to him, looking him up and down curiously, just as he did.

“You look like a fucking penguin”, huffed Sam defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Language”, grunted the older Sam, also crossing his arms over his chest. “There are children close by. So... You're sixteen, you're on your mission to save Teardrop and you're wondering what I'm doing here, with the kids, if I remember that correctly.”

“With a few choice-words mixed in, but yeah”, agreed the teen. “They're Sander's and Donny's?”

“Chrysoula and Chrysanthos di Angelo”, nodded the adult, opening his hair to run his fingers through it in exhaustion. “Annoying little buggers. But what can I say? I'm stuck, being their godfather and all. Not that I ever learned to deny Donny and his begging eyes...”

“Shit”, huffed the younger Sam frustrated. “I had hoped I'd learn to resist those... So, what are you doing here? And why do you look like a penguin? Not questioning the kids, because I can so see that one happening. The names though... well, still better than Hades Poseidon, I guess.”

“True”, agreed the older Sam amused, tilting his head. “What I'm doing here should be obvious. This is my house. So, congrats on that. Us being so persistent on chasing others away will pay off. So don't stop, this house will one day be yours. And I'm not looking like a penguin, I'm looking like a lawyer, you little bastard. So, congrats on that too. We're working for Nico in the DPS, representing demigods who need legal help in the mortal world, to get out of mental institutions when someone didn't believe them or to get them away from abusive homes and such.”

The teen straightened some, a slight grin tugging on his lips. So he would be getting the house after all? Damn, how did he get enough money to buy himself a house, all alone? _And_ he'd actually become a lawyer? That was more like a stupid thing he sometimes thought about when not with his grandpa and ma, because when he was with them, he felt obliged to join the army in some way. Something broke in the kitchen and two voices yelped. The older Sam scolded.

“Kids!”, screamed the adult annoyed. “Get back here! You know what, all of you! I don't trust you on your own up there, boys! You're plotting something again, aren't you? Get down here!”

The twins returned, both looking kind of guilty. The older Sam patted their hair to let them know that he wasn't angry with them before they sat down on the ground to play with the toys scattered all over the floor. Someone ran down the stairs and within seconds, two more children were standing in the living room. One looked an awful lot like a miniature version of Donny, maybe six years old, so Sam guessed he was another di Angelo. Figured that Donny would be reproducing just like his mother. Poor Sander. The other child however caught Sam off-guard. The small boy, five years he'd guess, had his forest-green eyes and the same stupid wavy hair that was the reason why Sam always cut them to a mohawk so no one would see the wave in them.

“Calogero, go and get your siblings their cake. They managed to break something _again_ so watch out”, ordered the older Sam before beckoning the other child over to the couch, spreading his arms. “Come here, Eli. I want you to meet someone. Don't be so shy, he's a friend.”

“Uh... Hello...”, started teenage-Sam awkwardly, staring at the small child that was now standing in front of him and looking at him with those large, forest-green eyes. “Nice to meet you, Eli.”

“Is not my name”, mumbled the boy softly, reaching his hand out politely. “Papa always says you have to introduce your right name. Hello, sir. I'm Samuel Elijah James Raser the Fourth.”

“Urgh, your papa and his obsession over manners”, muttered the older Sam, lifting the boy up onto his lap. “ _I_ told you that it is perfectly fine if you introduce yourself as Eli, kiddo.”

“B—But I like my name!”, pouted Eli wide-eyed. “It's your name, daddy! And great-grandpa's!”

“Yes, yes, blasted family traditions”, huffed the older Sam, kissing the boy's hair, smiling slightly.

A hundred different questions were running through Sam's mind as he stared at the content, older version of himself, who was hugging _his son_ tightly. More than two third of his questions involved the child. How was he possible? Who was his mother? No, more important; Who was his 'papa'?

“I know you're having many questions”, interrupted the older Sam a little amused, running his fingers through Eli's hair as the child curled together against his chest. “And I'm sorry, I'm very, very sorry. But I can't answer them. I can't tell you anything. You're allowed to meet us, to see this, to see that all of this will be yours one day, but I'm not allowed to tell you how or when.”

Sam nodded numbly, staring at the happy boy in his older self's arms. Eli hummed softly and snuggled closer to his dad, playing curiously with his dad's hair. The boy was a bit scrawny and obviously rather shy, but he looked happy and Sam guessed that was what mattered. Closing his eyes for a second, he tried to focus. But when he opened them again, he was back in the forest, with the stupid, sparkling thing buzzing in front of him. Batting it away, he jumped up from where he was sitting on a lodge and ran back to their meeting point as fast as possible before that blasted thing would show him more stuff he didn't have now and doubted he would be getting. As he reached the clearing, he saw Thea, Sander and Donny getting ready to leave.

“Sam! Oh, I'm glad you're here!”, grinned Donny and jumped him. “Neither you nor Trend had returned on time, we didn't know where to start. Now come! Trend is long overdue too!”

Sam nodded slowly, hugging the Sea Prince who was hanging off his neck. Together, the four teens made their way into the direction Trend had chosen as his path. Donny, Thea and Sander were happily chatting about what they had seen – something about a Lotus Hotel and Tartarus and the Titan War, which all together sounded like gibberish. They reached another clearing and he saw a highly annoyed Trend standing amidst the soft, greenish glow of hundreds of fireflies.

“Finally”, huffed the son of Athena. “I started to think you ditched me.”

“Sorry, we got caught up with some... time-travel”, grinned Donny sheepishly.

“Even you? As the leader?”, grunted Trend unimpressed and gave the others a hard glare. “Well, look what not getting caught up with time-travel brought me. Fireflies.”

Trend was feeling a little bad when he saw the guilt in Donny's eyes, but if the boy was to lead them then he should not be the one to walk straight into a trap. Looking the others up and down, he figured they must have seen different times. Thea looked miserable, Sander looked surprisingly determined and confident and Sam looked... upset. Trend frowned curiously.

“Hello”, started Donny as he stepped up to the fireflies, his back straight. “I'm Hades Poseidon di Angelo, champion of Lady Persephone. I'm here on my mission to return Teardrop. You are the closest ranks he has around him. Tell me what happened to him. Where did he go?”

“ _We have no knowledge of his whereabouts_ ”, chorused an echo of hundreds of voices all around Donny, making him feel a little insecure. “ _The enemy of spring took him. We are many but we are weak. We could not defend our leader. It is your duty to save him._ ”

“Okay”, nodded Donny slowly, stepping back a bit as the intensity of their voices intimidated him. “But tell me how I can find him. If not even you know where he is.”

“ _He had been seen by our cousins on the other side of the great water, where the ancient lands lay._ ”

“You mean... Europe...?”, muttered Donny wide-eyed. “We need to go to Europe...?”

“ _It is all we can tell you, young prince. We hope you will live so we can meet again._ ”

As if on cue did the fireflies vanish. Donny shifted slightly as the others turned inquisitive eyes on him. Still, the sounds from the depth of the forest made him quicken his steps and leave. He had the others hot on his heels as he led the way back into the direction of their campsite.

“The insects are not the only ones starting to stir”, muttered Donny in explaining.

“Yes. I hear the monsters closing in on us too”, nodded Sander, his sword drawn. “Better hurry.”

The teens remained silent as they hurried to get back to safety, no word spoken to not attract the monsters that came closer and closer. A collective relieved gasp escaped their throats as they stumbled into the safety of their tent. Once inside, they got more comfortable, sitting together.

“Well? What is it they said?”, wanted Thea to know, glasses up and laptop open already.

“That the... enemy of spring took Teardrop and that they don't know where exactly he is, but that he had last been seen overseas, where the ancient lands are located. Europe”, explained Donny.

“How the fuck are we supposed to get to Europe?”, groaned Sam annoyed and fell back onto the pillows behind him. “Trend is getting horse-sick after just a few hours of flying and I doubt our pegasi would be able to carry us over the ocean, not even Fighter can carry two people that far...”

“How about”, interrupted Trend softly. “We think about that in the morning, perhaps we will come up with an idea over night. And we focus on something good for now.”

“Yes! Great idea”, nodded Donny with a smile, disliking the gloomy atmosphere those news had brought to them. “Say, how come you didn't travel through time, Trend? I mean, we others did.”

“I seem to have more common sense than you do”, snorted Trend and rolled his eyes. “But tell me, what did you see? What kind of past have you encountered? Great heroes of the past?”

“You could say that”, laughed Sander and stretched out comfortably. “I met Percy Jackson, after the Titan War. He was... really impressive. It was... strange, somehow...”

“I met my parents!”, grinned Donny happily as he curled together next to Sander, resting his head on the brunette's arm. “They... always find each other. It's reassuring, how strong their love is.”

“I will be having nightmares for days and days to come”, muttered Thea as she stood to get the cornucopia. “I saw... mom and uncle Percy, when they were in Tartarus... They were so strong. Their friendship conquered all, even the depth of the darkest chasm. Still... I also saw them kiss...”

“Ew”, yelped Donny and wiggled his nose, turning to Sam. “You didn't tell us what you saw yet!”

“Yeah, well...”, shrugged Sam and ran one hand through his mohawk. “I... didn't exactly visit the past, I went to the future. I... met myself and my son. Well, and your son...s and daughter.”

“Mine?”, yelped Donny wide-eyed and sat up, staring at him curiously.

“No. Yours”, corrected Sam, pointing at Sander and Donny. “Little bundles of joy and mischief.”

Trend frowned curiously while Sander and Donny were busy blushing and staring at each other. Sam's son? Sam was gay. Was he going to get together with a fire-bender or a water-bender to have a child of his own? Was it a surrogate mother? Magic? Who was he sharing his family with...?

“Now! To get to the something good Trend was aiming for earlier!”, exclaimed Thea loudly.

 

/back|to|the|future\

 

“Why's the boy gone? Where did he go?”, asked Eli in a soft voice, staring at his dad.

“He had to return to his own time and place”, chuckled Sam wistfully.

The clicking of the lock interrupted his thoughts as the frontdoor opened. “Honey, I'm home!”

“Don't call me 'honey', you wan-”, started Sam before biting his tongue. “--derer...”

How much he missed his curses. A rich chuckle sounded from the hall, soon followed by a tall blonde who entered the living room with one cocked eyebrow, dark, gray eyes staring at him.

“You know the rules, Sammy. Naughty words in front of the kids are put onto the naughty list.”

“It was only half a naughty word”, huffed Sam and released Eli so the boy could run up to his papa. “What are you doing here anyway? Your shift doesn't end for another three hours.”

“Papa! Papa! Papa! I missed you! I love you!”, exclaimed Eli, throwing himself at the blonde.

The three di Angelos looked up from where they were playing, grinning. “Hello, uncle Trend!”

“I love you too, Elijah. Hey there, you little imps of mischief. Well, you sounded annoyed on the phone earlier”, replied the blonde as he lifted Eli up into his arms and walked over to Sam. “I figured I could call in a favor and leave the hospital early to come and aid you help.”

“Help?”, grunted Sam, taking Eli from him. “Well, the twins broke something in the kitchen. _Again_. You can go and clean that mess up if you're so adamant on helping me, dick..y-bird.”

Trend smirked and leaned in for a kiss before whispering. “That's another one for the naughty list. You're out of shape today, Sammy. And so _nice_ again. Sometimes I wonder why I married you.”

“Liar”, snorted Sam, throwing a pillow after him. “You married me because I'm awesome.”


	29. Bacon Cake and Birthday Celebrations

29\. Bacon Cake and Birthday Celebrations

 

Donny grinned broadly and happily from where he was seated on Sander's lap, Thea on one side of them and Trend on the other. Between the four stood a cake, or at least something formed like a cake, because it was completely made of bacon, with three eggs sunny-side up on top of it and seventeen burning candles. All around the bacon cake were other delicious things – rump-steak with green beans, cauliflowers and broccoli, prosciutto with melon, spaghetti with tomato sauce, lush salad with sun-flower seeds, salmon with horseradish, pizza with pineapples. It was a real feast. Thea was still holding the cornucopia and grinning.

“What?”, frowned Sam confused from where he was sitting opposite them.

“Happy birthday”, chorused the other four teens with broad grins.

It took the son of Ares a moment to understand. “Oh fuck. I forgot my own birthday...”

“It's a good thing I remembered for you then, eh?”, chuckled Trend amused.

Before Sam had the chance to be embarrassed or annoyed, he had a heap of four bodies on top of him, hugging the air out of him. He hated celebrating his birthday, at least while he was at camp, because it just reminded him of how long he hadn't seen his mom. His friends took turns hugging him and Donny was about the most persistent, the boy was a real cuddler.

“Why didn't you tell me that your birthday was coming up?”, chided Donny with a glare.

“Cause I don't like making a big deal out of it”, shrugged Sam, turning to the food. “And you _are_ making a big deal out of it. What's all this supposed to be, you wankers?”

“Tonight, we feast like kings”, smirked Trend, handing out plates. “And tomorrow we will ride into battle like knights. Well, without the whole... riding, hopefully.”

“That's about all my favorite favorite food put together”, hummed Sam and licked his lips.

“Well, Trend told me what to summon”, grinned Thea sheepishly.

“I... thanks”, nodded Sam slowly, looking over at the blonde boy.

Sander grinned amused and ruffled Sam's mohawk before grabbing a glass of coke. “Well then, blow the candles, Raser. To the birthday boy, I'd say. Because I for my part am starving.”

“To the birthday boy”, chimed the others in, glasses clinging as Sam blew the candles out.

Enjoying the fresh salad, Donny observed his friends. A little celebration would do good to lift their spirits, it had thrown them all off their game to learn that their journey was far from ending. All of them had hoped they would find Teardrop in this park, or at least close by. But Europe? Leaving North America was rare for a quest, this was becoming bigger by the minute. They couldn't head to Europe on their pegasi, they were still too young, their wings not strong enough to carry such weight for such a long period of time. The fact aside that Trend would be turning his insides out if he'd have to spend that much time on a horseback. They needed another way to get there...

“Mh... Oh fuck, this is delicious”, moaned Sam blissfully, licking his lips to catch the juice of the melon running down his chin. “Fuck, I love this stupid horn. Best magic on this planet!”

Trend stared a little too mesmerized at Sam's tongue, slowly grabbing a slice of pineapple pizza. Thea had moved next to him so she could nudge him better. Rolling his eyes, he tried to ignore her.

“So... What are you normally doing for your birthday, if you don't like to make a big deal out of it?”, asked Donny, chewing his salad and leaning against his boyfriend's chest.

Cocking his head curiously, Donny observed his friend. He had started to consider Sam his male best friend, but when Thea and Trend had approached him earlier and told him that today was Sam's birthday, he started to wonder what he even knew about the other boy. Barely a thing was what his mind supplied him with and that made him kind of sad. He wanted to learn more about his friend.

“It _is_ a big deal, when I'm at home”, shrugged Sam, picking some bacon out of the cake. “My ma always throws a big party, invites the whole family, decorates the whole mansion...”

“Did the brat just say mansion?”, interrupted Sander and blinked a couple of times.

“Uh... Yeah...”, shrugged Sam, nestling his fingers in his mohawk for a moment. “My grandpa always said that my family goes back to the round table and stuff, knights to the king and soldiers to the kingdom. Samuel Raser was always loyal to the throne, is what they say about us.”

“Samuel Raser? So you're not the only Sam Raser?”, asked Thea curiously.

She always loved genealogy, her parents had a long and very detailed and calligraphic family tree in the living room, tracing back all the McLeans and Chases. If Sam had a family history worth investigating, she may find something new to do in her free time. Sam glared at her, at least until Donny turned those curious, inquisitive and begging eyes on him. He could so see his future self being annoyed and still unable to deny those eyes. That little fucker.

“I'm the third, at least the third Samuel Elijah James Raser”, muttered Sam embarrassed. “The family adds one name like every ten generations or so to make the number behind the name smaller? It's family tradition that the first born son bears that name.”

“So that uncle you mentioned before, he's sharing your name?”, asked Trend interested.

The salmon was delicious and the horseradish was heavenly, so Sander was quite content at the moment. That and the fact that he had his cute little boyfriend sitting on his lap. So far, this evening was good for Sander. They were all sitting together and listening to Sam, it reminded Sander of how their family sometimes sat together and traded stories. This was good, good for them as a team. To build trust. Sam and Sander had shared many missions, they trusted each other with their lives. Sander and Donny had their own brand of trust, because they shared their love. Thea and Donny were inseparable best friends since their earliest childhood. But there were links that still needed to be formed or at least strengthened. Thea and Trend hadn't spend too much time with each other, they hadn't shared friends or anything with each other beforehand. Trend and Sam were friends, but there were obstacles that made their relationship a bit more rocky than Sander would like. Donny and Trend had absolutely nothing to do with each other and Sander wasn't sure if the two different boys would manage to get along. Sam and Thea too shared no similarities or connections. If they learned to trust each other, they would work better as a team and teamwork was their only way to conquer this quest, Sander knew that. That aside, he barely knew a thing about Sam either and was curious himself. Their trust was based on how they fought together, but Sam scarcely shared a thing about his personal life or gods forbid his feelings, because that was too girly for him.

“Uncle Liam is not my uncle. I mean, he is my uncle, but not by blood. He's the husband of my mom's sister”, replied Sam after a short moment, a strange frown on his face.

“What's... What's it like? I mean, growing up outside of New Athens”, asked Thea, greedy for more information, inching closer. “I can't imagine it. Living without the safety of the magical borders?”

“You should see my grandpa with a sword”, laughed Sam, grabbing a slice of pizza himself. “He can see through the Mist, thinks the monsters came to get their revenge on our family after we slew the dragons of old England. Our mansion is farther off from the next village. Makes going shopping harder, but it keeps the mortals safe from the monsters that trailed me. Back in the old days, it had been build so far away to make it the first line of defense.”

“You would be such a cool knight”, grinned Donny in awe.

“And you would be such a cool maiden-princess”, snickered Sam, ruffling Donny's curls.

“Wait a moment”, grunted Sander confused, staring at his pizza. “Aren't you from Dublin?”

“My family is old, but they didn't live in Ireland all the time”, answered Sam. “We came a far way, Vikings at first, then over to England and then to Ireland, in the end when my grandparents got divorces, my grandma moved to San Diego and raised my mom and my aunt there... We have a mansion outside the city, but my grandpa also has a small apartment in Dublin. Makes it easier for an old man whose living on his own most of the times. The mansion is more for family gatherings.”

“It sounds so... different...”, hummed Thea intrigued. “But... don't you miss them? Your family? I can't even imagine not seeing my siblings and mothers all the time.”

“I don't have any siblings”, shrugged Sam indifferently. “And my ma is... she's stationed overseas, most of the time. She's scarcely at home. I normally spend time with my grandpa then, because my aunt had moved back to Dublin too, so whenever my ma was gone, I went home. I know it's safer for them that I'm living in New Athens now and I'm visiting them often enough still.”

“So you don't miss them?”, frowned Thea confused, pushing the last plate away from her.

The others were lingering around too, full and satisfied. Grinning slightly, she decided that it was time for the real present. She could see the giddiness in Trend's eyes, that he was eager to give it to Sam and see the other boy's reaction. Slowly opening Daedalus' laptop, she looked at the boys.

“Fuck off, Chase”, muttered Sam with a glare, gritting his teeth.

“Language, young man!”

The son of Ares froze, which was a very amusing thing to watch. Thea smiled softly. She knew he didn't mean it, he was always more on the crude side when it came to language. Her smile grew into a giddy grin as she turned her laptop around so the screen was facing Sam. This was the most adorable and romantic thing she had ever witnessed, or helped with. Trend was such a sweetheart. All four of them hurried to get beside Sam, Trend on one side of the son of Ares, with Thea next to him, Donny on Trend's other side, with Sander attached to his waist.

“M—Ma...?”, gasped Sam surprised, staring at the open Skype window.

The woman on the screen smiled, forming slight wrinkles on her sun-kissed cheeks, forest-green eyes staring at Sam with tender love, wavy, brown hair barely reaching her uniform at the shoulders. She waved into the camera, causing Sam to wave back. The woman was very beautiful and it was easy to see the family resemblance between them, mused Thea.

“Hello, my boy”, smiled the woman softly. “Happy birthday.”

“But...”, started Sam and turned wide eyes on Thea.

“I only provided the laptop”, grinned Thea, lifting her hands to show her innocence. “Trend did the rest, finding your mom's unit and getting the connection. He's a pretty neat hacker.”

Sam wanted to dwell on that for a bit longer, staring at Trend, but the sound of his mother's voice demanded his full attention. “You don't look good, Samuel! You're so pale. Are you sick?”

“I—I'm fine, ma”, huffed Sam, ruffling his mohawk embarrassed.

He knew he wasn't fine. All that running around through the forest today had really knocked him off his feet and he was actually pretty glad that they were finally sitting down. He was feeling ridiculously hot at the moment and his head hurt, but that really didn't matter at the moment.

“How are you?”, asked the son of Ares softly. “And the others?”

“The others?”, grinned his mother and leaned out of the picture for a moment.

The next moment and about half a dozen of soldiers tried to squeeze in with her before they all started to sing the most horrible version of _Happy Birthday_ together. It made Sam laugh.

“Happy birthday, kiddo”, grinned the soldiers before leaving mother and son alone again.

“So, I guess everyone is alright then, yeah?”, chuckled Sam amused.

“Yes”, nodded his mother. “Everyone is alright. What about you? You're on a mission of your own. Is everything going well so far? Are you alright?”

“Of course I'm alright, ma”, huffed the son of Ares and rolled his eyes.

“And all those grinning faces. Don't be rude, Samuel. Introduce me. You've never introduced me to any of your friends, I start thinking that you're ashamed of me”, smiled the soldier teasingly.

“Never”, said Sam so hastily and with so much honesty in his voice, it made her smile. “Guys, this is my ma, Lieutenant Jolene Raser. Ma, those are my friends. And _this_ is Sander.”

“Uh... nice meeting you, ma'am”, nodded Sander nervously.

“Believe me, the honor is all mine”, said Jolene and saluted the boy, which made the brunette blush and shift some more. “I know how often you've had my son's back during your missions and I'm grateful to know that he has such a good friend and comrade at his side.”

“It's... good to know him beside me too”, grinned Sander, patting Sam's back.

“Yes, yes, enough you sap”, huffed Sam embarrassed, pulling Donny close. “That's-”

“The adorable one!”, interrupted his mother delighted.

“The what now?”, blinked Donny, sea-green eyes wide and cheeks flushed.

“The adorable one”, smiled Jolene. “Sam has been writing about you in his last letter. Donny was it, wasn't it? My, he was right. You're really hard to resist. I just want to cuddle you.”

“That is what you think about me?”, huffed Donny flustered, staring at Sam.

Rolling his eyes, Sam shrugged and turned away from Donny. This was more than just embarrassing and also the reason why he had never introduced any of his friends to his mother, because he told his mother everything, especially the things he didn't like talking about. Like feelings and stuff. He wasn't one to admit that he loved his friends or what he thought about them, but his mom knew. The annoying Disney Princess kept grinning at him knowingly.

“It's an honor meeting you, Lieutenant Raser”, interrupted Trend their silent conversation.

“Trend Austin”, nodded Jolene with a knowing smile. “ _You_ don't need introductions.”

“I don't?”, asked the son of Athena surprised, his heart speeding up.

“Sam has shown me plenty of pictures of you, Derek, Sander, Marshall and Sara. I feel like I already know you kids”, chuckled Jolene softly. “It's good to finally meet you, after all the stories.”

Trend nodded numbly. Just for a split second, he had grown hopeful, but that was ridiculous. Sam wasn't even ready to admit to himself that he was in love with Trend, why should he have told his mother? Scooting over a bit, he made room for Thea so the girl could wave at Jolene.

“Hello, ma'am, I'm Thea Chase”, grinned the girl delighted.

“A girl!”, gasped Jolene excitedly. “Oh, that is so good! He has too much testosterone around him, he needs a level-headed female to keep him anchored in the real world too!”

“Mother!”, whined Sam embarrassed, hiding his face between his hands.

“What?”, laughed Jolene, mirth sparkling in her eyes. “My boy, I'm your mother. It is my motherly duty to embarrass you in front of your friends. Oh! You children need to come over some time. When... we're all not on a mission, mh? A great dinner at our place.”

“That sounds nice”, agreed Thea with a smile, the others beside her nodding.

There was a moment of silent, slightly awkward silence. Thea, Donny and Sander were feeling as though they were intruding on a very private moment. All of them had their mothers around them all the time, even when they were at camp, they could visit their parents in less than fifteen minutes. To imagine that they would only get to hug their moms every couple months was horrible. As glad as they were that they had made this conversation between mother and son possible, as wrong did they feel sitting there and watching now. They made some room, returning to their original seats across from Sam, observing him with tender eyes. Donny smiled softly, taking this quite different version of Sam in. The son of Ares was focused on the screen, his eyes unusual soft, his face open.

“I... I miss you, ma”, whispered Sam softly, his hand resting on the screen.

Shaking his head, Trend averted his eyes. He knew the others were already feeling like intruders, he could see it in their body-language and the glances they stole at Sam. But right now, even he was feeling like an intruder. He had never heard Sam speak in such a tender voice, laced with so many emotions, so much love. It was raw and pure and honest, mirroring all the pain and loneliness.

“Oh, I miss you too, my precious, little boy...”, replied Jolene pained. “I... I'm sorry, but our time is up, I really have to go again. I'll be anxiously waiting for your next letter, Sam. I love you, so very much, my little boy. I wish you luck on your quest. All of you, children!”

“I love you too, ma”, said Sam as the connection broke. “So very much...”

He slowly closed the laptop and pushed it over to Thea. The girl took it to pack it back into her bag, just as Donny and Sander started to slowly clean the remains of their meal. A slightly uneasy tension laid between the teens as no one knew what to say now, or how to approach the topic, or any topic at all. They moved slow, trying to waste enough time. Trend remained seated against the pole in the middle of the tend, observing Thea amused as the girl put her laptop away in slow motion. Those teens were so awkward, it was amusing. His attention sprang over to Sam the moment the son of Ares stood up. The tension in the tent seemed to shift with his movement, the others peering over at him curiously as they pretended to still be focused on their task of cleaning. Trend knew, they would be the worst spies ever. He cocked one eyebrow curiously as the son of Ares sat down next to him, facing him. Sam stared at him with guarded eyes, back straight as he took a deep breath. Gray eyes widened in surprise the moment Sam wrapped his arms around Trend's shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug, resting his forehead against Trend's neck. Trend wrapped his arms around Sam's waist, using this opportunity and pulling the brunette closer.

“Thank you...”, mumbled Sam so softly that even Trend only barely caught it. “This was... nice of you. Don't be nice to me, you wanker. You know I'm shit at _this_.”

“I'd say you're doing it pretty well”, chuckled Trend, resting one hand Sam's neck.

They remained like this for what felt like minutes, which was a pleasant surprise to Trend. Still, it was unusual behavior for Sam and thus, it was concerning. Frowning down at the brunette in his arms, Trend expected the son of Ares to pull back any moment now.

“Stop staring at me like that, creep”, huffed Sam softly, yet also annoyed. “Just another moment, okay? I don't... want the others to see me cry... All your fault, dick-head...”

Trend nodded slowly, tenderly caressing Sam's neck. “How long haven't you seen her?”

“Uh... January, I think”, replied the son of Ares softly, shrugging slightly, rubbing his face against Trend's neck. “It's... hard to get in touch with her... She's... busy... Her mission is important.”

Noticing the moment Trend and Sam were having, Sander pulled the other two close and dimmed the light. The night's chill made him shudder as he got out of his shirt. Thea grinned at him as she dimmed the light some more before resting her head on his chest, opposite Donny, who yawned widely and smiled at her. Sander pulled the blankets up over their shoulders, for additional warmth. He was glad once they got to leave Alaska again, because it was way too cold. Although it was a nice excuse to cuddle his cute boyfriend, who was currently pressed against his side as though they were one. Even Thea seemed to find that adorable, because she kept poking Donny's nose.

“Let him sleep”, chided Sander, kissing the top of Donny's head. “We'll figure everything out in the morning. For now, rest. You've been great today, as a leader. I'm... really proud of you.”

But the Sea Prince was already asleep, snuggled against the warmth and protection of his boyfriend. The whole time travel had drained them and the good, rich meal had tired them. Trend stared over at the sleeping trio, still cradling Sam close. Shifting slowly, Trend turned off the light and laid down. He still held Sam close, feeling the wetness on his shoulder where Sam had just cried into.

“Fuck you...”, mumbled Sam, sounding very much like a pouting brat.

“You're welcome”, chuckled Trend softly, running his fingers through Sam's mohawk.

Sam freed himself from the embrace, glaring half-heartedly down at him. He hated showing his emotions so openly, but this had caught him by surprise. Huffing embarrassed by this display, he shed Trend's jacket and his shirt, watching out of the corner of his eyes how Trend got undressed too. He couldn't spend another night cuddling with the blonde bastard. He just couldn't.

“Don't be a stubborn brat now. Your mom is right, you're not well”, pointed Trend out. “You're sick and feverish. Let me keep you warm so it doesn't get worse, yes? We need you with a clear mind.”

“Yes. You're right”, nodded Sam and heaved a sigh. “It's just... I _hate_ feeling like this. It makes me feel weak and like a fucking victim and that's not who I am, not what I am and I fucking hate it.”

Trend nodded slowly and wrapped his arms around Sam's waist, pulling him close against his chest. He knew that this was Sam's greatest fear, to feel weak, but he had no idea where these feelings came from. Ever since he had befriended Sam, Sam had always conquered every fight.


	30. Roman Tea Party (Parental Life Part V)

30\. Roman Tea Party (Parental Life Part V)

 

This was horrible. Like some kind of punishment, but he wasn't sure what he had done wrong to deserve it. And it wasn't even the kind of punishment that he enjoyed, the ones at the hands of his beloved, gorgeous husband. Groaning annoyed, Percy turned around in his bed and hid his face beneath the pillow. He was bored out of his mind. He had already cleaned the whole house. Including Jack's overly messy room. He had gone grocery shopping, had cooked enough food for at least a week and put it into the freezer. After he had cleaned the freezer and thrown everything away that looked suspicious. He had polished all their swords. And their silverware. He had done laundry, folded all clothes and then even sorted them by color. In all closets of the house (which, admittedly, was not that hard in James', Persephone's and Nico's cases). There was nothing left to do.

This was not how he had pictured his summer. He had forgotten how boring and calm and silent the house was without little feet running around, siblings quarreling, things breaking. Then again, it was the first summer for Jack, the first time he had legitimately all children out of the house.

For years, he had looked forward to this. To having the house to himself. But 'himself' had long since started meaning _Percy and Nico_. The 'and Nico' part was missing now though. The first summer they had all to themselves and now finally Donny was on a quest, which meant he wouldn't be dropping by all the time again and they wouldn't have to go to camp to train the boy. But of course that had to be the exact moment that Nico had to go on a quest of his own! Just because they were short on agents in the firm, Nico had to take a satyr with him and had to go to collect a demigod. Yes, Percy loved that Nico took care, that Nico had taken on such a social job, but he didn't like that his Ghost King was on a quest. They had agreed after the birth of Bianca Maria that neither would take any quests anymore. Quests could mean dead. And dead could mean single parenting for the other and half-orphans. They didn't want to risk their family. Nico was strong, yes. And Nico wasn't alone, true too. Still, Percy was worried. And he was bored.

Nico was the boss, he led and bossed around, he didn't collect demigods himself. It was an office job, nice and safe, on a seven to three base with the weekends off. They had both been looking forward to this summer, to having the house to themselves and enjoying each other on every flat surface available. Now Nico was on a quest and Percy was all alone in the too big house.

“That's it. I'm done sitting here and moping around!”, declared the son of Poseidon and sat up.

He had already done every task possible in and around the house and he had bugged Annabeth so much that Piper had forbade him from calling for the rest of the weekend (maybe he had overdone it by calling every two hours... even at night). Time to bug a little firebug. Grinning broadly, he got dressed and left the house through the backdoor, not without grabbing an apple from the kitchen counter though. Once in the garden, he whistled loudly. Waiting in giddy anticipation, he bounced on the balls of his feet and stared into the sky.

“ _Hey boss, where's your mate?_ ”, whined a voice he knew all too well.

“Hey Blackjack”, smiled Percy softly and wrapped his arms around the stallion's broad neck. “Nico has to work. That's why I called you. What do you say? A little adventure? You and me?”

“ _Yes!_ ”, exclaimed Blackjack eagerly. “ _We haven't gone anywhere together in so long! Where to?_ ”

“How about we visit the Romans?”, grinned Percy, handing Blackjack the apple. “I miss Leo.”

“ _The flaming one? Yes, yes! He's funny!_ ”, nodded Blackjack, before freezing. “ _No, no. Not the Romans. I really don't want the horny one chasing us again..._ ”

“You don't even know if Arion will be there”, huffed Percy and climbed onto Blackjack's back, leaning in to whisper into his ear with a cheeky grin. “Besides, maybe Tempest will be there too? I'm sure he'd protect your virtue, Blacky, eh?”

“ _You're evil, boss_ ”, pointed Blackjack out as he took off.

“Oh come on”, laughed Percy and ruffled Blackjack's mane. “The last mare you brought home broke your heart. Just like the one before her and the one before her. You and Tempest got along so well during the Giant War, we fought so well together. Aren't you the least bit bi-curious?”

The fact that Blackjack didn't talk to him for the rest of the flight was answer enough.

 

/break\

 

A delighted groan escaped Leo's lips as he turned around on the bed, spreading his arms widely. His ass burned like the fires of Hades, but in the best kind of ways. His husband and wife though had already left. Frowning slightly, he got up to get dressed. He hated how silent his house was without screaming children and his husband's clumsiness. Time to get to the restaurant and watch his husband and wife at work. The shop would be staying closed today anyway, because Leo never opened on the weekends. And Frank and Hazel had the _Happy Dragon_ only open until noon too, only for breakfast and lunch, which meant they mostly had the weekends to themselves and Leo often spend his Saturdays lingering in the _Happy Dragon_ and waiting for his husband and wife.

 

/break\

 

A deep, content sigh came from the very pleased former augur of Camp Jupiter. He had to admit that Hazel Zhang made an excellent Earl Grey. Sipping his tea, he stared over at his companions. The mayor of New Rome had called him early in the morning – those were the times he regretted that he had agreed to become part of Mayor Grace's office – and now he was sitting in the _Happy Dragon_ , together with their mayor and her husband. At least the food was great.

“Well, Reyna, what are we doing here?”, asked Octavian after a while.

“We're here to talk about your daughter”, grunted Reyna, poking her salad.

The Brit lowered his cup slowly and raised one eyebrow curiously. “What about Sedanur?”

She wasn't really his daughter, but after nearly twenty years of taking care of the orphaned daughter of Apollo and teaching her the ways of the augury, he had long since accepted her as his. Needless to say that he was a very proud man ever since she had taken over the position of Camp Jupiter's augur for him. She was off-age and had moved out two years ago, but she still came to him with problems of any kind. What was it Reyna wanted to talk to him about?

“She had been announcing a quest. More or less. She was being very... vague about it”, sighed Reyna and rubbed her temples. “When Thalia Hylla came home yesterday, she had been agitated and told me all about how the campers are bugging her for more information.”

“Sammy dropped by yesterday too, complaining about the same thing”, piped another voice in.

The chair between Octavian and Jason got pulled back and a broadly grinning Latino sat down. Jason ruffled his best friend's hair affectionately and pushed his plate over to him some.

“Hey Leo, came to sneak a quicky in with your husband and wife?”, teased Jason.

“No”, huffed the son of Hephaestus and blushed brightly. “Anyway, Sammy said that all campers want more information on that quest and have been annoying the praetors with it.”

“Yeah”, nodded Jason, turning toward Octavian. “But all your daughter had to offer was a vague 'it will arrive tomorrow'. Not sure how a quest can _arrive_ here.”

“What is it you people want from me?”, grunted Octavian annoyed.

“You have more experience in the augury than her. Check it again”, said Reyna simply.

“No”, was the equally simple answer from a very unimpressed Brit.

“What's no supposed to mean?”, grunted Jason irritated.

“I passed on my position as augur to Sedanur ten years ago now. It's been a peaceful time so far. If this is the first bigger quest she sees, then this is her first big accomplishment. I am not to take that away from her by sticking my nose into her business. If her augury is vague for now, then the sight is clouded. With time, she will see more. She has to gain more confidence and she won't with me constantly looming over her. She's constantly trying to compete with me, trying to impress me. I won't make her think that she disappointed me or that she's not living up to my expectations. You want to lift your kids' ego? Not on the cost of mine”, declared Octavian with a cold glare.

“If someone would have told me twenty-three years ago that Octavian Simmons would turn into an overly protective dad, I would have laughed my ass off”, chuckled Hazel as she approached their table with a plate of fries with barbeque sauce and a glass of coke. “So I did hear right. Hello, love.”

Leo smiled brightly as his wife leaned down and kissed him softly before placing the food and drink in front of him. “Mh, breakfast. Thanks, Haze. You're the best.”

“I owe you after last night”, smirked the daughter of Pluto teasingly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind and resting her head on his. “Mh, it's good to see you, firebug.”

“How can they still be so disgustingly cute and in love? After all these years?”, sighed Octavian.

“Hey, they're at least not as bad as Nico and Percy”, laughed Jason, taking his food back now that Leo had his own (sometimes he thought that Hazel and Frank had a radar to know when their firebug was close). “You know how horrible those two are!”

“So that's what you Romans do when my husband and I aren't around? You sit together and gossip about us?”, chuckled Percy as he entered the restaurant, effectively silencing them.

“Mh, the other cute Greek. My day just got better”, smirked Octavian wickedly.

“I think my brother and I told you often enough to stop leering at what is ours”, growled Hazel.

Her grip on Leo tightened as she glared at the former augur, who just to mock her more winked at Leo. The Latino blushed and tried to hide in his wife's embrace. At least until he remembered why Octavian had started hitting on him to begin with. Jumping off the chair, he ran over to Percy.

“Perce! What are you doing here? Why aren't you home? Where's Nico?”

“Slow down, Leo”, chuckled Percy and hugged the Latino tightly. “Nico is on a quest, they're short on people so he had to jump in for this one... And the house was just too big all on my own.”

“Aw, does the little wife not know what to do without the husband around?”, snorted Octavian with one raised eyebrow, reaching for his tea again. “If you want, I'd... keep you company.”

“He's like the human equivalent to Arion...”, muttered Percy lowly and shook his head in disbelieve.

“Sit down. I'll get you something to eat”, smiled Hazel and pulled a chair up to their table.

“So, is Octavian right?”, smirked Jason teasingly. “You really came here because you don't know what to do without Nico? Isn't that a little sad, Perce?”

“I know what to do without Nico”, protested Percy with a pout and sat down between Leo and Octavian. “But I don't know what to do without Nico _and_ without the kids. We had plans for the weekend, just him and me. But now he's not here and Donny doesn't need me for training because he's gone too and the other kids are actually enjoying camp. Urgh, I wouldn't have thought life changes that much with kids, but it's legitimately the first time in at least ten years that I'm all on my own. I always had either the kids running around me, or Nico, or I could bug Clarisse or Annabeth. But Piper banned me from contacting her for the rest of the weekend because they're just as much enjoying their alone time as Nico and I had planned to... I'm bored and lonely so I figured I could bug the firebug for a bit. Or am I interrupting your alone-time too...?”

Leo winced slightly as those large, begging sea-green eyes turned to him, coupled with that quivering lower lip. How was anyone supposed to say no to that? Frank and Hazel would so punish him for taking their Leo-time away once the weekend was over, but for now he decided to put his lost friend in front of his own carnal pleasure. He too knew how weirdly empty and creepy the house could be without his partners and children.

“Okay, sure. You can stay at our place until Nico returns”, nodded Leo with a small smile.

“So, how did you get here, Percy?”, asked Reyna curiously as Hazel brought his food (and glared at Leo a bit for what he just offered). “Normally you travel by Nico.”

“I took Blackjack”, chuckled Percy amused. “Since Nico Travels is not available for now...”

“And where is he now? Did he take off right away again?”, asked Jason.

“He left for the stables”, shrugged Percy with one raised eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well, Herc is trying to tame Tempest these days and Arion and him keep fighting so the stables may not be the safest place for anyone to be as long as they're not electricity proved”, huffed Jason. “Actually, you know... if you have some time to spare, do you think you could help him? He doesn't want my help, says he can do it on his own. But you speak horse. Maybe you could help him...?”

“I just arrived and I already am supposed to work?”, chuckled Percy with a feigned pout.

“It's very important to him”, shrugged Reyna thoughtful. “Hercules is always trying to follow Jason's footsteps. And taming the storm spirit is on his current agenda...”

“Not before he has eaten!”, warned Hazel with a glare as she brought spaghetti and cherry juice.

“You're such a mother hen, Hazel”, chuckled Percy amused. “Smells delicious. Tell Frank thanks.”

“Will do. And we are _so_ happy to have you around at home”, smiled Hazel softly.

The son of Poseidon laughed slightly at that. He knew she meant it, in a way. She was always happy to have him and Nico around. But she too had plans with her boys and the way she had just said that told Percy that Leo would be the one suffering for this. Not that the Latino minded, Percy knew him better than that. Smirking at the blushing son of Hephaestus, Percy started to eat.

“So, wait...”, hummed Percy and blinked a couple of times. “Hercules is trying to tame Tempest while Arion is around? That will never work, it's a miracle Tempest hasn't torn the city down.”

“Why?”, frowned Hazel confused, her hands on her hips. “What's Arion to do with this?”

“You really don't want to hear that, Haze”, chuckled the son of Poseidon. “Trust me.”

“Oh no”, huffed Hazel and pushed Leo off his chair, which made him yelp (at least until she caught him around the midsection and pulled him onto her lap). “You've always been weird around him. He's the only horse you ever refused to translate for. What kind of problem do you have with him?”

“I don't have a problem with him”, snorted Percy and rolled his eyes. “He's a freaking perv and you were way too young to hear what he has to say.”

“A... perv...?”, blinked Leo stunned. “Really? That's why you never translate for him?”

“Because every chance he has, he tries to convince me to go 'on a ride' with him. And believe me, he is not talking about riding. And that's one of his nicer phrasings”, muttered Percy.

“But what does that have to do with Tempest?”, grunted Jason heavily confused.

“Tempest and Arion never got along, because Arion is hitting on _everyone_. Every mare, every stallion, everyone who speaks horse”, sighed Percy annoyed.

“So Tempest doesn't like that Arion is hitting on him...?”, concluded Reyna, raising one eyebrow.

“No. Tempest doesn't like that Arion is hitting on Blackjack”, corrected Percy. “It's complicated. And kind of like a soap opera. But funny to watch. Makes me want to smash their heads sometimes though. Oh well, I suppose those are things that need to be mend by them, not by others...”

 

/break\

 

Percy had his arms crossed behind his back when he neared the stables, an amused smile painted on his lips. Hercules Grace looked horrible. His clothes were charred and torn, his hair was frizzled, he looked exhausted and spotted a couple of bruises. Still, the blonde held his right hand high, resting it against the muzzle of Tempest, trying to control the temperamental stallion. The storm spirit looked ready to jump and to tear Arion apart, who was whining in a teasing tone of voice as he circled a highly uncomfortable Blackjack. Percy closed in on them silently.

“ _Come on now, we both know you haven't had luck with the mares. Maybe it's time you try being the mare for a change and give a real stallion the chance to show you a good time?_ ”, snickered Arion.

“ _Leave him alone, you blasted, ignorant pervert!_ ”, growled Tempest darkly, bucking up.

“ _Boss_ ”, whined Blackjack as he spotted Percy, descending into the air to land right next to Percy and nudge his muzzle against Percy's arm. “ _Make them stop. Please?_ ”

“Hello, Hercules”, called Percy out, an amused smile on his lips. “You look like you could use some help from a real horse whisperer, hm? Or do you want to risk and have camp burned down?”

“Hello, uncle Percy”, sighed the blonde Roman, a slightly embarrassed blush on his cheeks.

“Hello, Tempest”, smiled Percy as he came to stand next to Hercules. “I brought Blackjack with me, figured that would be... appreciated by you. Or is it not?”

“ _Not while that bastard is around_ ”, growled Tempest, glaring at Arion. “ _And not while the prat thinks he can tame me. I am not having him embarrass me like that in front of Jack._ ”

“Understandable so”, nodded Percy thoughtful and turned to Blackjack. “Blacky, why don't you go and check in with Nico? I'm sure she has plenty of apples for you and she'll keep Arion away.”

The black pegasus looked reluctant for a moment before nodding and storming off. Arion gave it an annoyed huff, as though Percy had just ruined his fun, before he sped off into the other direction, leaving Percy, Herc and Tempest on their own. Hercules sighed exhausted.

“I've tried to tame him for hours now, but all it got me was a fried brain”, muttered Hercules.

“Advise for the future: Don't try to order Tempest around while Arion is there. They don't... get along very well and submitting in front of your enemy is an embarrassing thing to do, especially for a wild spirit like Tempest”, explained Percy softly. “But rather tell me, where does that sudden interest root from? You've always been alright with taking one of the pegasi.”

“It's... Danny, she has seen something in the augury, a quest coming for us”, replied Herc, his voice so serious and dark that it reminded Percy of Jason during the Giant War. “I... know we have many heroes at camp and I know even if there may be a quest coming, it may not be mine, but... I want to be prepared. Tempest channels my energy like no one else. With him at my side, I would be stronger. I want... to make my dad proud. I want to achieve his greatness.”

“Hercules”, whispered Percy firmly, clasping Herc's shoulders and looking the boy in the eyes. “Your father achieved his greatness by battling a titan and fighting off Mother Earth herself. I, along with your parents and our friends, hope and pray every day that our children will never get the _chance_ to achieve this kind of greatness. We don't want you to face these kinds of hardships. Believe me, your parents are both very proud of you as it is.”

“How?”, huffed Hercules stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Both, mom and dad, were praetors once. My _little sister_ is praetor now. I—I'm like that useless brat, the one in between that doesn't achieve a thing. Don't get me wrong, I love Sander like a brother, but even him, a _trickster_ , is a greater hero than I am! How am I making my parents proud...?”

“By doing your best”, smiled Percy, placing a kiss on top of Herc's head before ruffling the blonde mop of hair. “You're honest and hard working. You try everything to protect Camp Jupiter. That is all they ever wished for from their children. Now, don't worry so much and let's get to the taming.”

“Thanks, uncle Percy”, grinned Herc, feeling a little better about himself.

 

/break\

 

Leo whined and squirmed where he was laying on Hazel's lap, all sets of cheeks dark red. The daughter of Pluto smirked as she pulled him into a kiss, an appreciating grunt coming from Frank, who was sitting in the armchair opposite the bed and enjoyed the show.

“Don't get me wrong, my precious, little firebug”, murmured Hazel. “I'm glad to have Percy around. But you know you deserve the punishment for taking our alone-time with you away from us, right?”

“Yes”, nodded the flustered Latino, burying his face in his wife's hair.

“Good”, grunted Frank and stood to join them. “Then let's use the time Percy spends with Herc.”


	31. Leaving Alaska, Continuing to New Rome

31\. Leaving Alaska, Continuing to New Rome

 

The combination of milk, honey and coconut had easily become Trend's favorite scent and he surely could get used to being greeted by it in the morning. Especially combined with the weight of Sam's head on his chest and the tickle of Sam's mohawk under his chin. A shudder ragged Sam's body, causing Trend to tighten his grip on the son of Ares and pull the brunette closer.

“I think he's getting worse”, whispered Thea softly.

The son of Athena started slightly, craning his neck to look over at the girl. It seemed she had already bathed and just returned, her hair was put up with a towel around it and she was just in the middle of putting her body wash back into her bag. Once that was done, she crouched down beside Trend, placing a tender hand on top of Sam's damp forehead.

“Yeah”, grimaced Thea with a short nod. “Definitely worse. Whatever we do next, we need to go to a town or city or something, where we can buy warmer clothes and medicine for him.”

“First we need to figure out what 'whatever' is”, sighed Trend and sat up.

He pulled the blankets closer around Sam's body as the sleeping brunette curled together in Trend's lap. If he was honest with himself, Trend had _often_ fantasized about having Sam curled together in his lap, but not like that. Not with a weak, exhausted and sick Sam. Right now, he would actually prefer the loudmouthed Sam, the one that would throw insults at his head for holding him like that.

“I'll go and wake Sander and Donny”, offered Thea and turned around. “So we can get this sorted.”

As she turned toward the couple, she came face to face with a very much awake Sander. The brunette looked torn between beckoning Thea over and letting Donny sleep. It was a hard decision, after all. Because his already quite adorable boyfriend was worth worshiping when he was curled together on top of Sander's chest like a sleeping cat – Donny even made nearly purring sounds when Sander nestled his fingers in the wild curls. Like the most adorable kitten ever. But Thea and Trend were right, they needed to discuss how to continue, especially so for Sam's sake.

“Donny”, whispered Sander into his boyfriend's ear, pushing a stray lock behind the ear.

“Five more minutes”, mumbled Donny, his voice rough with sleep.

Somehow, that tone of voice went right down to Sander's groin. It wasn't the normal soft and tender voice he was used to from his Donny, it was raw and darker. And the way Donny was shifting around, rubbing his nose against Sander's collarbone, it was not helping him any.

“We don't have five more minutes, my Dark Sea”, whispered Sander, kissing Donny's jaw.

“I like when you call me that”, murmured Donny, looking up at him from beneath his long lashes, his nose still buried in Sander's shirt. “And I like the way you smell. And I like the way your arms feel around my waist. Mh... I think I just like everything about you.”

Donny folded his arms beneath his chin, offering Sander a cheeky and happy grin. It made Sander's heart flutter in that way only Donny could make it do. The green-eyed boy was so bright and happy and carefree, he was like Sander's personal sun, lighting up every day with those smiles. Laying his right hand into Donny's neck, he pulled the boy closer until their lips met in a tender brush.

“I love you”, whispered Sander softly, caressing Donny's neck.

“Can't you say 'good morning' like normal people? What the fuck is wrong with you? How can you be so disgustingly adorable that early? Don't make me want to puke before breakfast, wankers.”

“Good morning, Sam”, chorused Sander and Donny, both rolling their eyes affectionately.

The son of Ares was glaring at the couple, flipping them the finger as he untangled himself from Trend. Waking up to their exchanges of eternal lovey-dovey-ness was really not what he needed, especially not while his head was making those buzzing noises and being all fuzzy.

“Get dressed, boys”, ordered Thea. “I'll get breakfast. But no bacon. Don't look at me like that, Raser. You've had more than enough of that yesterday and it is _not_ healthy.”

“Fuck you”, muttered Sam, sounding a bit pouting while undressing. “I want my bacon.”

Forest-green eyes trailed over to where his three male friends were getting dressed, his own clothes from before already folded, his hand resting unsure on a fresh set as he caught Trend's jacket from the day before laying between their backpacks. Pulling his jeans up, he stared thoughtful over at the heap of clothes Trend had pulled out of his own bag while looking for something to wear for the day. Huffing slightly, Sam put his own shirt on and then reached for Trend's clothes. The blonde raised one eyebrow, but he refrained from saying something, instead silently watching how Sam went through his stuff. His fingers caught what Sam knew to be Trend's favorite hoodie – a light, gray color with a silver owl on the back and pockets in the front.

“Don't say it”, muttered Sam in a low warning. “And wipe that smug grin off your face before I do.”

Blushing slightly in embarrassment, he slipped the hoodie over his shirt, pulling the hood up to cover his mohawk. Upside of being sick? He was probably already so red-faced that his blush would go unnoticed. Hopefully. Stuffing his hands deep into the hoodie's pockets, he buried his nose in the collar, inhaling Trend's scent that lingered on the piece of clothes.

“How are you feeling, Sam?”, asked Donny softly, staring at the brunette with worried eyes.

“What do you think?”, grunted Sam a bit hostile. “Just fucking peachy, that's why I'm stealing Trend's clothes. Because it's so much fun and gray is suddenly my favorite color!”

“ _Sam_ ”, huffed Sander, throwing a warning glare at the other brunette.

“Yeah, yeah, 'don't be mean to my precious little princess'”, huffed Sam, giving a quite bad impression of Sander while rolling his eyes. “I'm fucking freezing, okay? My head hurts like a bitch, I think my nose is short of freezing off, I can barely keep from clattering with my fucking teeth and it actually strikes me as a miracle that I'm up and awake, because I'm dead tired! Is that enough for your highness or shall I get more into the details?”

“Why are you being so... rude about this?”, sighed Thea, honestly annoyed and exhausted by this. “We're just _worried_ for you. There's nothing wrong with that. Just as there's nothing wrong with being sick. Everybody gets sick, it's not a personal offense to your manliness or anything.”

“I _hate_ it”, spat Sam, grabbing Trend's jacket and putting it on on top of the hoodie, obviously trying to glare anywhere but at his friends. “I hate being weak and feeling like a fucking victim!”

There was that word again. Victim. Trend cocked one eyebrow, staring at Sam inquisitively. Where did that association come from? Shaking his head, he grabbed another one of his hoodies and finished getting dressed himself. Donny and Sander too were by now dressed, all of them sitting together in a circle. Sam sat, with his arms crossed and a quite brooding expression on his face, between Donny and Trend, staring quietly down at the ground with half-lid eyes.

“We need to get to Europe”, stated Thea softly, redirecting the attention away from Sam. “How?”

“Not with the pegasi, obviously”, sighed Donny, resting his head against Sam's shoulder.

He snuggled up to the son of Ares in a comforting manner. Somehow, being sick made the brunette even more irritable than he normally was. And Sam also seemed quite upset. Sander's arms were wrapped around Donny's midsection and the son of Clarisse followed tail, getting closer to Sam too.

“The most obvious thing would be to book a flight. If, you know, we had that much spare money and wouldn't risk our lives and the lives of the other passengers”, muttered Thea thoughtful.

“A ship would be a good idea, what with Donny's ocean-powers”, frowned Sander.

“But then we would be stuck in Europe, not knowing how to navigate on the land”, pointed Trend out, cautiously slinging his arms around Sam's waist and pulling the brunette up against his chest.

The son of Ares heaved a sigh in defeat as he leaned against Trend's strong chest, tilting his head enough so he could listen to the blonde's heartbeat. It was good, steady. Better than the thumping in his head. And Trend was so warm, he felt so nice and comfortable at the moment. Humming softly to himself, Sam closed his eyes, shifting enough to rest his hands on Trend's chest too.

“We need a flying ship”, mumbled the son of Ares simply, humming again. “You smell nice...”

“I think this cold broke his brain”, muttered Thea skeptically, before freezing. “But he's right. We need a flying ship. It's the way the last demigods who had to travel to Europe did it. We'll be able to reach Europe and from there on, we can navigate to... wherever we need to go from there. We need to go to New Rome and ask for the Argo II.”

“I'm sure uncle Leo will help”, smiled Donny relieved. “Then we better get packed.”

“I don't wanna leave...”, murmured Sam sleepily, snuggling up to Trend some more. “I'm tired...”

Frowning concerned, Donny reached out to place one hand on Sam's forehead. It was damp with cold sweat, but the son of Ares was practically burning up. Throwing a worried glance at Thea and Sander, he ordered them without words to get everything packed. He too got up to help them, leaving the half-unconscious and delirious son of Ares in Trend's care.

“Sam?”, asked Trend in a soft voice, pulling the hood back so he could run his fingers through the mohawk. “Sammy? Hey, come on. We'll leave. Time to wake up. Sammy?”

“Shut up”, groaned Sam annoyed, hitting Trend's chest. “And don't call me Sammy, you wanker...”

Raising one eyebrow unimpressed at the 'hit', Trend stood and lifted Sam up into his arms. Even the scrawny Sam he had first met all those years ago had hit him harder than that. Cradling the brunette close, he watched how their companions brought the bags outside and turned the tent back to its cube-form. Donny whistled loudly, his backpack on his shoulder. The son of Athena heaved a sigh. Was he supposed to ride that horrible monster now _and_ keep watch over a feverish Sam?

“Okay”, started Donny determined, nodding slowly. “Fighter, you'll go with me this time.”

“ _Why? What about me?_ ”, yelped Shadow wide-eyed.

Donny laid his hands on either side of Shadow's muzzle. “You need to do me a favor. You need to take Trend and Sam with you, through the shadows. Sam is sick, he needs to see a doctor soon. Flying all the way to New Rome will take too long, through the shadows will be faster.”

Trend blinked surprised. That was good thinking from the leader. Nodding in agreement, he went to climb the small, black pegasus' back, handing Sam over to Sander for the climb.

“You need to hold onto Shadow and Sam tightly”, instructed Donny, staring seriously into Trend's eyes. “The shadows can be dangerous. If you lose your grip, or Sam, then that will be a problem.”

“Don't worry, I'll manage”, grunted Trend, pulling Sam close. “We'll see you in New Rome.”

“Be safe and take care of Sam”, nodded Sander, patting Trend's shoulder once.

 

/break\

 

Word traveled fast in New Rome, or so it seemed. Trend had only arrived an hour ago and brought Sam to the hospital right away. And right now, he was being pestered by annoying Romans.

“What do you mean Sam is sick? My brother never gets sick!”

“Stop bothering me, Sara”, sighed Trend exhausted, slumping in his chair.

The daughter of Mars glared down at him accusingly, as though he had somehow magically made Sam sick on purpose. Annoying Romans. Right behind her stood a highly disapproving Loki Murdock and his highly amused girlfriend, Blance Lamour. Bloody annoying Romans. All he wanted was to sit there, relax after this highly exhausting experience of shadow-traveling for the first time and having to explain to the doctors what was wrong with Sam. And talking to doctors was _tiring_. Especially since they kept bugging him while all he wanted was for them to take care of Sam. Now for the last half hour, Trend had been sitting next to Sam's bed, the doctor had left with a comment about him needing rest. Trend wasn't sure if the doctor had been talking about Sam though. Sadly enough, not even five minutes later and the three Romans had attacked. Trend wasn't quite sure what Loki and Blance were doing there, but since Loki was a close friend of Sander and a Roman hero, Sam most likely knew the son of Mercury. Sara was highly appreciated by Trend in a way though, because she did have a sibling-like bond with her Greek half-brother. Heaving a sigh, Trend slowly stood from his chair, running his fingers through Sam's hair a last time.

“You can bring me to the tinkerers”, ordered Trend. “I think it'll save us time if I do some talking first before the others arrive. Do you guys know where the Zhangs are living?”

 

/break\

 

Percy smiled contently as he watched the up and about of the Zhangs. The way those three were in sync with each other was making him feel all warm and fuzzy. It made him happy to know how happy his friends were. The three of them were making lunch together, dancing around each other as they all helped out. They had insisted that Percy should just sit down and let others cook for him for a change (no need to correct them and tell them that Nico and Donny were cooking most of the time). Leo was cooking, Hazel was cutting the ingredients and Frank was setting the table, all three moving around in the same space, but not once being in the way of each other. The ringing of the doorbell disturbed Percy's observations. Seeing as the threesome was so captivated by being with each other that they didn't even notice, Percy went to open the door.

“Hello”, grinned the son of Poseidon in a very appreciating manner.

“Uh... Hello, Mister di Angelo?”, replied the blonde boy and blinked surprised. “I'm... uh, I'm Trend Austin, son of Athena. I'm looking for Mister Zhang. Am I... right here? Sara send me here.”

“Trend, mh? I think I've heard that name before... Huh. Anyway, I'm only visiting, don't worry, you're right here”, chuckled Percy amused. “And _Mister Zhang_ is in the kitchen. Come in.”

Trend nodded slowly and followed Donny's mother inside. Frowning thoughtful, Percy looked the blonde up and down. Where had he heard the name Trend before...? The boy looked a little nervous.

“So, what brings you here?”, asked Percy kindly.

“Our quest. I'm pretty sure Donny and Sam already informed you on that?”

Sam! That was where he had heard the name Trend before. A broad Cheshire grin slid onto his lips. This was Sam's Trend. Oh, this was good. Donny hadn't mentioned who was in on this quest.

“Sam?”, chimed Percy, resting one hand on Trend's shoulder. “How is he? And where is my son?”

“Your son, Thea and Sander will follow”, sighed Trend, looking a little miserable. “I brought Sam here first. He caught a cold and is... feverish. I brought him to the hospital, with the help of Donny's shadow-pegasus. Since the others will take longer, I figured I could... get us a head-start.”

“Mister Zhang! There's a visitor for you”, announced Percy as the two entered the kitchen.

“Who?”, grunted Frank irritated, frowning confused at the boy. “Who are you?”

“I'm Trend Austin, sir”, answered the son of Athena, his back straight. “And I actually wanted to talk to the other Mister Zhang... No offense, sir.”

All eyes turned toward the blissfully oblivious Latino, who was still busy with his cooking. At least until his wife tugged on his shirt and looked at him with one raised eyebrow, causing Leo to blink.

“Who does he want to talk to?”, asked Leo completely confused.

“You, firebug”, laughed Hazel, nudging him.

“Eh? Oh”, muttered Leo and blinked sheepishly. “Right. Mister Zhang. That's me too.”

“He's not used to being called that”, chuckled Hazel, ruffling her husband's curls.

“So... Yeah? You want to talk to me?”, asked Leo and put the pan down.

Frank took his place, observing cautiously how his firebug went to sit down with Percy and Trend. There was a certain spark in Trend's eyes, one of anticipation and expectation. Leo cocked his head.

“My friends and I are on a mission, a quest from Lady Persephone. But... we need to go to Europe. We figured since the last quest that led to Europe used the Argo II to get there, this may be the best course of action for us too”, explained Trend, wringing his hands. “Do you think we can borrow it?”

The son of Hephaestus grew serious as he looked the blonde up and down. “You want to borrow my ship to go to Europe? Do you even know how to navigate a ship?”

“We have Donny?”, shrugged Trend, figuring his ocean-powers may apply.

 

/break\

 

“ _Will my charming, little foal be alright again?_ ”, asked Fighter worried.

“Don't worry”, whispered Donny. “He'll be alright. His... heh, mate will take care of him.”

“ _The blonde human stallion?_ ”, asked the mare skeptically. “ _He better be good to my foal!_ ”

“He will”, reassured Donny with a broad grin and patted her side.

“We should get going too, my Dark Sea”, grunted Sander, shouldering his backpack.

His free hand was resting on Donny's lower back, causing the younger boy to blush brightly. Donny nodded slowly and looked over at his female best friend, Thea already sitting on top of her pegasus.

“Wait up, ya dangos!”, called a loud and obnoxious voice.

Sander's eye twitched when he noticed the flying ball of fluff coming toward them. He had hoped they would be able to leave without another run-in with the annoying jackalope. But his mood evened out a little when he noticed the seven glowing fireflies surrounding the bunny.

“Captain”, acknowledged Donny with a short nod, tilting his head. “What can we do for you?”

“Ah just... don't trust ya humans”, muttered the jackalope, his ears hanging low. “So I figured I'd send someone trustworthy with ya. They're good with leading the way, had helped Lady Demeter through the darkest night when she had been looking for Lady Persephone too.”

“ _We come to help you, young Prince_ ”, chorused the fireflies. “ _We will lead you to our cousins and light your way until our master and leader is found again._ ”

“Thank you”, smiled Donny broadly. “That's very kind of you.”

“What? What did they say?”, asked Thea curiously. “Not everybody speaks insect!”

“They'll help us and guide us to their cousins, the ones that had last seen Teardrop”, translated Donny and climbed onto Fighter's back. “But before we go to Europe, we'll have to go to New Rome. Will you come with us?”

“ _We will follow you, on request of our Queen_ ”, replied the fireflies in an echo of voices.

“Thanks, grandma 'Phone”, whispered Donny softly and smiled to himself.

“Now get outta ma forest, ya useless heroes!”, barked Captain with a glare. “And don't ya dare return without Teardrop or yer ears will be longer than mine!”

“Yes, sir”, chuckled Donny, urging Fighter on to descent.

The three pegasi and the seven fireflies shot into the sky, making their way toward San Francisco.

 

/break\

 

“Now that that's settled, let's get back to Sam”, hummed Percy innocently as Leo went back to cooking once he was satisfied that his baby would be safe with the heroes. “How is he?”

“Feverish”, shrugged Trend awkwardly. “He's rather... out of it.”

“The poor boy”, sighed the son of Poseidon and shook his head, biting his lower lip. “I'm sure you're worried about him too. He's your _friend_ , after all, isn't he?”

The son of Athena stiffened significantly at that. He wasn't sure, but he somehow disliked the way Percy said 'friend'. There was an edge to his voice that was faintly curious and threatening.

“Of course I worry about him”, nodded Trend with a frown. “Sir.”

“It's Percy”, corrected the Sea Prince and sat up some, showing in his proud posture and sparkling eyes the power he held, not fooling Trend with his friendliness. “You're close, yes?”

“We're friends”, agreed the son of Athena, growing more uncomfortable by the second. “On contrary to Sander, who is very much dating your son. So perhaps you should save the Talk to him.”

It was a low blow, but it was effective and distracted Percy, much to Trend's relief.


	32. Mother Lioness Percy

32\. Mother Lioness Percy

 

“Hey, Sam”, whispered Percy softly as he sat down next to the hospital bed.

The boy laying there groaned and curled together in himself, blinking blearily. “Did they bring me back to New Athens? Did they leave without me? What are you doing here? What am I doing here? Where is here? Where are the others? What... happened?”

“Trend said you caught a cold. You had a very high fever, but it went down”, replied Percy kindly, caressing Sam's mohawk in a motherly way. “Don't worry, they didn't abandon you. Trend brought you to the hospital in New Rome with Shadow's help, the others arrived about two hours ago, or so I've heard. How are you feeling now? The doctor did his best, you should soon be better.”

“I actually feel better”, frowned Sam thoughtful and stretched some.

“Children of Apollo have amazing healing abilities”, smiled Percy amused.

“What are you doing here though?”, asked the son of Ares, rubbing his face.

“I came to check on you. I was around anyway, spending the weekend with the Zhangs”, replied the son of Poseidon, leaning forward some. “So... I met Trend. He looks _very_ nice.”

“Don't tease”, moaned Sam frustrated and hid his face under the pillow. “You're like your son!”

“I know! We get that all the time!”, grinned another voice happily.

“So you truly already arrived! Come here, my boy!”, smiled Percy and stood to hug his son.

Sander, Thea and Donny had entered the hospital room, led by Trend. While Percy was busy hugging Donny, Trend took the now vacant chair next to the bed and looked Sam up and down.

“You're awake”, observed the son of Athena, reaching out to check Sam's temperature, caressing Sam's forehead. “And you're not burning up anymore. How are you feeling? We asked Leo Zhang for the Argo II to get to Europe and he agreed. We'll leave as soon as you feel up to it.”

“I'm fine”, grunted Sam and shook Trend's hand off. “We can go. Like, right now.”

“Brilliant!”, exclaimed Thea with a broad smile. “Donny, you'll accompany me and Sam to our shopping trip. Trend and Sander, you'll go and get the ship ready.”

“Shopping trip...?”, frowned the son of Ares, feeling still a little hazy.

“Clothes. We don't know how the weather in Europe will be. So we'll go shopping. And you are not getting out of this”, declared the girl with a nearly creepy smile. “All ready and set?”

“Thea is right, Sam. You need some warm clothes”, declared Trend and stood again, facing Sander. “We'll get everything set and explained by the tinkerers. You three will meet us at the ship?”

“Yep”, nodded Donny and Thea with broad grins while Sam groaned.

Percy smiled softly as he watched how Donny and Thea dragged Sam out of the hospital room. Judging by the cussing coming from the mohawked boy, Sam was already feeling better. Before the other two boys had any chance to leave though, Percy grabbed Sander and Trend at the shoulders. Both boys turned with wide eyes, staring at him like deers at a hunter.

“You two will have a little chat with me”, stated Percy casually. “Don't think I forgot our conversation just because you distracted me, son of Athena. And _you_ , Chrysander...”

Percy never called him that. If possible, Sander's eyes widened some more and he tried to make himself small. Something about this situation scared him. Looking over at Trend, the blonde seemed just as uncomfortable as he felt. Then again, they were facing the strongest hero ever.

“W—Why, Percy?”, asked Sander softly, coughing at the awkward sound of his voice.

“Trend here tells me that you're dating my baby boy”, smiled Percy in such a friendly way that somehow, Sander feared he'd snap Sander's neck any second. “I just want to make sure that you're aware of the rules, my dear boy.”

“Rules...?”, repeated the brunette and gulped.

He wasn't sure if it was a good sign that Percy let go of his shoulder, but it somehow made him feel better. At least until Percy pulled a metal box out of his backpack and shoved it at the brunette. Frowning confused, Sander opened it. The smell of sweet berries and herbs invaded his nostrils.

“If you hurt my son, I will hunt you down and skin you alive before feeding you to the harpies”, stated Percy casually. “I won't welcome any intimacy between the two of you because you're still so young, but I'm not foolish enough to believe that you boys will be able to keep it in your pants until you're married. So make sure that Donny drinks this tea. Because if my son ends up being a teen mom, then nothing will stop my husband from putting you into the fields of punishment. Which brings me to the second rule, aside from _Don't ever hurt Donny_. Don't ever let my husband know that you're doing more than just holding hands, because that may cost you your dick.”

“Y—Yes, sir”, nodded Sander, trying not to think about the contraceptive he had just gotten.

“And _you_ , Trend Austin”, continued Percy, turning his attention onto the blonde.

“I'm not sleeping with Donny and I don't plan on sleeping with him either”, grunted Trend.

“But you plan on sleeping with Sam”, noted Percy with one cocked eyebrow. “You can't fool me. We've been sitting at his bedside for half an hour. I saw the worry and love in your eyes.”

“With all due respect, but that is none of your business”, said Trend firmly.

“You're right”, agreed Percy with soft eyes. “Just... I want you to be patient with him.”

“Patient?”, repeated the son of Athena cautiously.

“He is... deeply hurt”, said Percy, his voice making it obvious that he was choosing his words wisely. “If you truly care about him, then you need to give him time. Which doesn't mean that you can't push him a bit. I think he could need a little nudge now and then. So, enough motherly advice for the day. Off you go, you have to prepare for a quest, boys.”

 

/break\

 

“Where is my girlfriend?”

“I'm happy to see you too, Jerkules”, huffed Sander and rolled his eyes, hugging his best friend. “Your girlfriend is with _my boyfriend_ and Sam on a shopping trip. Did you notice how subtly I just told you that Donny is my boyfriend? Because he _so is_. Mine, that is.”

“It would have been subtle if you hadn't pointed it out”, snorted Hercules amused, patting Sander's back. “But congrats, man. I've been rooting for the two of you. You deserve him.”

“You only say that because you don't have to spend every hour with the two of them while they're busy making googly eyes at each other”, commented Trend with one raised eyebrow.

Herc laughed amused as he went to join the two boys on their way. “What are you doing here anyway? New Rome isn't your usual place to be and I somehow doubt this is just a visit.”

“We're on a quest. Maybe we should get us some shirts”, sighed Trend annoyed.

“A... quest...?”, repeated Hercules slowly, his eyes widening.

“Yeah. That's why we're heading for the Argo II”, nodded Sander, confused by his friend's reaction.

Hercules nodded slowly, his gaze calculating as he contemplated this. Was this the quest Danny had seen in her augury? A quest that would _arrive_. In the form of the Greeks?

 

/break\

 

“This looks so much better than your boring, baggy army clothes!”

“Thea is right! You look amazing!”, agreed Donny with wide, sparkling eyes. “Really hot!”

“I hate you. _Both_ of you”, grunted Sam displeased and turned around in front of the mirror.

They had forced him into about ten different outfits so far. He wasn't sure why they had insisted on getting him jeans too, because his pants weren't that much colder either, but he was currently wearing a relatively tight-fitted pair of dark gray jeans.

“I told you tighter jeans would be better. They're perfect for teasing”, agreed the fourth party.

“I stand corrected. I hate all three of you”, muttered Sam. “Why is your mom here anyway?!”

“Because _someone_ has to pay for this shopping trip”, chuckled Percy from where he sat on the couch between Thea and Donny. “Now be a good boy and get into these jeans.”

He held light gray jeans up and looked at Sam demandingly. The son of Ares groaned and grabbed the even tighter jeans (he saw that in the sparkling of Percy's eyes). Percy grinned broadly. It had been a good idea to follow the kids. Sam's wardrobe really could use a level up. After all, he now knew that Trend had feelings for Sam too. But the blonde seemed to be awfully polite and well-mannered, he was giving Sam all the time the brunette needed to figure himself out. On the one hand, that was nice and good, but on the other, Percy feared that they would keep dancing around each other for years this way, because as much as Sam needed the time to accept who he was and what he wanted, as much could he need a little kick in the butt. So perhaps with some nice new clothes for Sam, Trend would be tempted to at least push the other boy a bit. Onto a mattress.

“Did you frighten Sander off?”, asked Donny worried after a little while. “I mean, when you talked to him. I know you said something to him, but... what was it?”

“I just told him that he'd be in a lot of trouble if he ever hurts you”, replied Percy and ruffled his son's hair. “And I gave him some of Leo's tea. It's not awfully much, but it should last a few weeks.”

“T—Tea?”, stuttered Donny and blushed the most furious red. “I—I... Sander and I don't, we haven't and we don't plan to, at least not now! We only just got together and-”

“I know, I know”, chuckled Percy in a soothing voice, kissing Donny's cheek. “You're a good boy and I know you wouldn't just sleep with him right away. But... love is a thing, especially when you're hormonal teenagers. Even if you'll wait a year before you first have sex, there's still that possibility of a beautiful night, all alone and if that is the case, I want you to be safe, okay? Drink the tea, even if you don't have sex. It'll make me feel better.”

Donny nodded numbly and blushed some more. This was the most awkward conversation he ever had with his mother since the revelation of 'You could get pregnant' two years ago. But his mom was right, of course. He didn't know yet if him and Sander won't have some passionate and heated encounter in a week or so and then he really would be better off being safe.

“Are we done yet? Can we go now? I'm feeling embarrassed enough as it is”, huffed Sam.

The three on the couch turned their attention back to the son of Ares as he emerged from the cabin. He was wearing a jeans that was not overly tight, but fit so perfectly that it hugged his legs and ass in the nicest way. It was a light gray, more white nearly, with purposely torn knees. The shirt he was wearing was blood-red and sleeveless with a deep v-neck with a hood, tight enough to show off his muscular torso, a black stylized owl printed on the front.

“That looks really hot”, frowned Thea surprised. “The red goes perfect with your dark, green eyes. And I wasn't aware that you had such a hot ass. Please turn around again. Oh yes.”

“Thea, stop leering at him, you perv”, chided Donny and blushed.

“I thought we needed some _warm_ clothes for me”, grunted Sam annoyed. “This is not warm.”

“We got you some sweatshirts and a hoodie and a warm jacket and a scarf. Now we're getting you some nice clothes to tease Trend with”, smiled Percy with a wicked edge.

“I don't want to tease Trend”, objected the son of Ares with a dark glare.

“You do”, corrected the son of Poseidon with a grin and leaned back. “Believe me, you do. There's nothing better than being a tease. It's super effective. Just wait and see, Sam.”

 

/break\

 

Hercules was leaning against the rail, watching with thoughtful eyes how Sander and Trend followed all instructions given to them by the Vulcan kids. Well, mostly so by Nico Zhang, but also some of her siblings. The Latina was so excited as she got to explain her mamá's treasure to the two Greeks, Joe Foxx shadowing them to translate all the gibberish Nico spurted. The dark-skinned, broad-shouldered girl with the blue-dyed hair was the child of Vulcan who was the closest to Nico, she was the best at translating Nico's excited rambling into actual words and sentences. Some other kids of Vulcan were busying themselves with maintenance work; the ship hadn't been used in a while and if it was to travel to Europe, it needed thorough checking.

“Herc!”, called a loud and happy voice.

Hercules turned his attention away from the two Greek boys to look over at the trio heading their way. A brilliant smile spread over his lips as he caught sight of his girlfriend, waving at him animatedly. Thea returned the smile, hurrying her steps to climb up the latter and reach her boyfriend. Strong arms welcomed her and pulled her into a tight hug and a tender kiss.

“Urgh, more lovey-dovey shit”, groaned Sam annoyed as he followed her.

Donny grinned and nudged him, shifting the bags in his hands. The new arrivals were soon spotted by the others and Trend, Sander, Nico and Joe joined them. While Sander did the same as Herc and pulled his lover into a soft kiss, Trend was busy appreciating the view. Sam stood with his back to Trend, talking to Hercules (after the Roman had finally let go of Thea). Those jeans were definitely new; Trend knew all of Sam's clothes and he would remember anything that would hug this ass like that. Gulping hard, he tried to shift his attention elsewhere, but... it was so round and firm looking!

“Could you possibly stare any more obvious?”, snorted Sander and nudged him.

Donny had gone and joined Herc and Sam in their conversation, leaving Sander with Trend. The son of Athena gritted his teeth, shoving Sander off some. Loud clapping from Nico got all of their attention and they turned to look at the Latina. Stepping closer, they circled her and Joe.

“Guys! You can gossip all you like once you leave, but for now, pay attention to me, yes?”

“For once, she is actually right”, snorted Joe and crossed her arms. “You kids have no idea about mechanism and maintenance. Or ships, for that matter. And I think Captain Leo will have your hinds if you sink the Argo II in the Atlantic. How about we split this up, Captain Nico?”

“Aye, First Mate”, grinned the Latina with a nod. “Sander and Sam, you'll go with Joe, she'll explain to you how the weapons work. Donny, you'll stick with me and I'll explain to you how to steer this beauty. And Thea and Trend... uh. Leroy? Leroy, come here! You could show them the engine room. I trust the Athena-brats to understand the basic mechanics.”

Donny grinned and nodded obediently as he stood next to his cousin. A broad guy came to join them, giving Trend and Thea a short nod. He seemed to be more on the silent side of things, but someone who looked like that didn't need much talking. Donny stared fascinated, cocking his head as he looked the muscular, tall guy up and down. If he had to describe Leroy, he would call him the illegitimate son of Thor and the Hulk. A strong, blonde hunk with stubbles and shoulder-long hair.

“Sam? Sam. Damn it, Raser. Move your ass”, called Sander loudly.

It startled Donny a bit and made him look over to a slightly annoyed Sander and a... frozen Sam. The son of Ares hadn't moved at all, his eyes fixed on Leroy, his body rigid. Donny frowned confused. He knew Sam's body-language a bit by now and recognized his fighting stance. Sam was seizing the other demigod up as though he was an enemy. No, not just an enemy, more like the most dangerous enemy. But Sander's persistent calling seemed to have gotten his attention, because Sam practically fled the scene and stumbled down below deck. Donny's eyes trailed after him and then after the son of Vulcan, who was leading Thea and Trend off too, until he was alone with Nico.

“Say, who is this guy? Leroy, I mean”, asked Donny softly.

“Really?”, snorted Nico and rolled her eyes. “Now that you have Sander? Believe me, you _really_ should stick with Sander. Leroy is no good. Well, he's a good mechanic, but...”

“But what?”, pressed Donny, following Nico to the control panel.

“He's an asshole”, shrugged Nico. “He's brilliant with machines, but he's shit with people. Always treats his girlfriends or boyfriends like dirt. No respect, especially not for boundaries.”

Donny stared thoughtful at the spot where Sam had stood not a minute ago. There was something he needed to investigate. But for now, he really needed to pay attention to Nico. And then, once the Argo II would leave, he'd need to talk to Sam and ask him about this Leroy. The keen resemblance to Trend had not gone unnoticed by Donny and Nico's words were more than unsettling.

 

/break\

 

Thalia Hylla Grace and Sammy Marie Zhang were not amused. The two praetors sat together with the augur of Camp Jupiter. Exchanging a meaningful look, the girls heaved a sigh the same moment, which caused the augur to glare a bit. The blonde daughter of Apollo straightened her back and smoothed her light blue robes, her chin held high as she regarded the praetors.

“There's nothing else I can tell you”, stated Danny firmly. “The quest has arrived.”

“Yes, we figured as much when five Greeks suddenly dropped by”, grunted Thyl irritated.

“But does that mean we just get to wave them off, or what? I thought it was supposed to be a quest for us, for Romans?”, inquired Sammy with curious eyes.

“It is”, nodded Danny slowly. “But the ship will pick the crew itself. There is no quest to be given.”

“I hate when she does that!”, groaned Thyl and fisted her night-black hair, throwing a desperate glance over at her co-praetor. “Don't you just hate when she gets all riddle-y?”

“There's nothing we can do”, shrugged Sammy, folding her hands in front of her. “I don't like it either, but if that is what the augury reads, then... We will have to wait and see, I suppose.”

“If that's all, I have other duties to attend to”, said Danny and stood.

“Of course, augur”, nodded Thalia Hylla and waved her hand. “You're dismissed...”

The blonde stood and left with haste steps. She hated such things. Meetings. And even more than the meetings, she hated when someone doubted her. Heaving a sigh, she nearly sprinted into the direction of her mentor's home. Without knocking, she unlocked the door and stormed into the living room. Much to her surprise, her father-figure wasn't alone. The former augur looked up surprised from where he was having tea with none other but Percy di Angelo.

“Sedanur. How often do I have to tell you to knock?”, sighed Octavian annoyed. “Impolite brat.”

“Insensitive jerk”, countered Percy and elbowed Octavian before standing. “Hello, Danny. What's wrong? You look bothered, my girl. Come sit, have a tea. It'll calm your nerves.”

While Danny slowly sat down, Octavian leaned over to whisper into Percy's eyes. “You're such a good mom. You know, in some alternate reality, you and me would have raised her.”

“I told you, I'm only staying if you behave yourself”, warned Percy with a bright blush.

“You're only staying because you don't want to listen to Frank and Hazel while they ravish Leo”, snorted Octavian and rolled his eyes. “Besides, we both know that you enjoy it.”

“Your bad flirting?”, snorted Percy while preparing a cup of tea for Danny.

“Being wanted and desired by others aside from your husband”, smirked Octavian accusingly, lifting his hands in surrender as the Sea Prince glared at him. “I'm not saying you'd ever be unfaithful to our _beloved_ Ghost King, I'm just saying that you enjoy that you're still desirable.”

“Excuse me? But do you think you could stop just for a moment and focus on me? Please?”

“Of course, Danny”, nodded Percy with a sheepish grin and a slight blush. “What's wrong?”

The blonde girl threw a grateful smile at her not-really-uncle. Percy had always been there to comfort her, mostly so because Octavian always tried not to get emotionally attached. He had always been a father to Danny, ever since he had taken her in. Even though he tried not to act the part, he had always done so and Danny was grateful for it. But if she needed more personal advise or comfort, she knew to visit the Greeks and talk to the one she considered a mother, the Oracle of Delphi, or with her uncle Percy. So she was glad to find Percy here.


	33. The Second Crew of the Argo II

Once everything was sorted out – new nectar, ambrosia and plenty of medicine in the infirmary, the pegasi in the stables and appeased with apples, their clothes and things in the cabins – the Argo II left Camp Jupiter by night-fall. Thea and Trend had retreated to the dining hall to discuss the best route and further plans while Donny was steering the ship, with Sam in the crow's nest on watch-duty. While Camp Jupiter grew smaller and smaller beneath and behind them, Sander went to the stables to see to the pegasi. He nearly had a heart-attack upon entering the stables, because aside from Shadowchaser, Trickster, Nightowl and Fighter, there were also two quite unexpected guests.

“What are you two doing here?!”, hissed Sander wide-eyed.

“Oh please”, snorted Esperanza and rolled her eyes. “You'd be a hopeless bunch. None of you really know how to repair anything if something happens to this ship. And that would break my mamá's heart. So I thought I'd tag along so you'd have a mechanic at your hands.”

“And what is your excuse?”, sighed Sander, staring at Herc while sitting down with them.

“You're my best friend. Thea is my girlfriend”, shrugged Hercules. “And I... really want this quest. I want to prove myself and I figured, joining a quest with you and Sam would be...”

“It's okay”, nodded Sander in understanding. “But I won't stand to explain anything for you.”

“Yeah, yeah, just join us for a game”, grinned Nico and dealt the cards for the three of them.

 

/break\

 

“Hey, Donny. If you want, I can take over for you.”

Donny yawned widely and turned to look at Thea. He was rather tired after the long flight on Fighter and the shopping trip and now navigating the Argo II. Nodding slowly, he handed the control over to his female best friend, the native American adjusting herself.

“I'll just... go and check in with Sam first”, murmured Donny a little worried.

Thea gave him an inquisitive look as he climbed up into the crow's nest. But Donny _really_ needed to talk to Sam. For the last two hours of navigating, he had observed Sam and the son of Ares hadn't left the crow's nest or spoken a single word to anyone since they had left New Rome.

“Hey”, whispered Donny as he sat down next to Sam. “You alright?”

“Mh?”, grunted the son of Ares and blinked surprised. “What?”

“I asked you if you're alright”, repeated Donny softly. “You looked... winded up when we left.”

“I'm fine”, muttered Sam, lacking any bite or irritation.

“Really? You looked completely overwhelmed and shocked when we ran into Leroy.”

“Shut up”, barked Sam, throwing a nasty glare into Donny's direction before turning away again.

“Sam...”, started Donny in a soft and comforting voice, resting one hand on top of Sam's. “We're friends. I like to consider you my best friend. And I'm just... worried, okay? I've never seen you that serious before. You looked ready to take the guy out, more determined than in any training at camp. So I take it, the two of you don't get along? Come on, talk to me, Sam. Please. You can trust me.”

“You remember how I told you that I was a scrawny brat back when I first arrived at camp...?”

“Yeah”, nodded Donny slowly, staring at his friend a little concerned.

“I started to train, but I never really took it serious at first”, continued Sam, deliberately staring into the starry sky instead of looking at Donny. “It was more for fun, you know. I enjoyed gaming more than real training. I mean, I enjoyed the playful training with Trend when we were stuck with kitchen duty, but once camp time was over, I couldn't care less about training.”

Donny wondered briefly how that was connected to his odd reaction earlier, but he refrained from asking, because he had the feeling that if he interrupted Sam now, the son of Ares would stop talking. There was a far-off look in those dark eyes as though Sam wasn't even really aware that Donny was there at all. As though he was more reciting something to himself.

“During my second summer at camp, I had met Sara. And because I got along with her really well, I agreed to spend my third summer as a claimed demigod at Camp Jupiter with her. She was a lot like your brother Jack, to be honest. Really giddy to show me everything, so I had agreed. While I was with the Romans, I met... Leroy. Tall, strong, handsome, blonde...”

“You fancied him?”, whispered Donny, seeing the connection even more obvious than before.

“I had a crush on him”, admitted Sam and ran both his hands through his mohawk, resting his head on his knees. “It was my first crush. I was really fucking nervous and unsure and it took me by surprise that he actually liked me back. He was my first boyfriend.”

Something within Donny clenched when he remembered Nico's words from earlier – that Leroy never treated his partners good. Scooting a little closer, he cautiously rested one hand on Sam's back, rubbing it tenderly. Sam was very still, but his breathing was loud and arrant.

“I was twelve and it was a big deal for me. I talked to him about everything, I told him everything. Everything I felt and feared and wanted. While I was very content and happy with things as they were, it wasn't enough for him. He was older and more experienced and wanted more from a relationship than just talking and kissing”, whispered Sam, his voice soft and raw. “He said that we were together and that for everything he was putting up for me, I should do something for him too. I told him I wasn't ready for that yet, that I didn't want to, that I felt too young. But he was persistent and he was stronger than me. It wasn't like I could even put up a fight at all.”

Donny choked back a surprised and frightened sob as the most horrible realization dawned on him.

“He broke up with me not long after because I wasn't a satisfying enough lay and I talked too much”, continued Sam, his fingers clawed into his hair. “I figured, for years I figured that... it was some kind of punishment, you know. I mean, that he... did that to me. Because I'm a son of war and supposed to be a fighter and warrior, and those should not submit. That it happened to me for wanting to submit. When I returned to New Athens, I started training. Every day, every way I could. I never stopped. I wanted to be strong, I never wanted to feel so weak and vulnerable and helpless again. I swore to myself that I'd never submit again. Not in battle and certainly not in bed. I never wanted to give anyone that kind of power over me again. I was okay with it, with being strong and not submitting. I figured it was good, the way it was supposed to be. A warrior doesn't submit...” Sam paused for a second and lifted his gaze to stare at Donny pained. “But then _you_ had to come along! You, with your stupid ideas! A—And your mother who told me that it's okay to submit, that there is nothing wrong with being a hero and still wanting someone to take care of me. B—But if that's true, then _why_ , why did that happen to me?! If it wasn't some kind of punishment, why...?”

Slowly leaning in, Donny wrapped both his arms around Sam and pulled the son of Ares into a hug. He had never seen those eyes look that haunted and scared. He could see the way Sam's frame shook in his arms and he could feel the wetness on his shirt spreading. This explained so much that it nearly broke Donny's heart. Why Sam never wanted to talk about his feelings or anything personal, because the last person he had trusted with such things had told him he was too annoying. Why Sam was fighting against his feelings for Trend. Because the last person he had liked in such a way and trusted in such a way had betrayed that trust in the worst possible way. The one person he should have been able to trust completely, to feel safe with – his boyfriend – had _raped_ him.

“Sam”, whispered Donny in the softest and calmest voice. “It wasn't your fault. It wasn't some kind of punishment, Sam. It has _nothing_ to do with your desires. H—He shouldn't have betrayed your trust like that. He was the wrongest guy possible, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't trust-”

“No!”, growled the son of Ares angered. “I can't. I don't want to. I never want to feel that way again. I don't... I don't want to. I can't. I just can't. It's too... I don't want to feel that vulnerable again...”

“I understand”, cooed Donny, hugging Sam closer. “I understand, Sam. But...”

“You can't tell anyone”, interrupted Sam, pushing Donny away enough to stare at him intensely and urgently. “You have to swear on the River Styx that you'll tell no one. I don't want anyone to think that I'm a victim or shit. I can take care of myself. I'm strong. I'm a warrior. I won't let something like that happen again. So don't you dare tell anyone about this, di Angelo.”

“You've... never told anybody?”, whispered Donny shocked, observing how Sam shook his head. “I... I swear, on the River Styx. But you promise me to talk to me, please. You can trust me. I want to be there for you. Talk to me about... about everything, anything you want, okay? Please?”

The son of Ares nodded reluctantly and averted his eyes. “Can you go now? Please.”

This time it was Donny who nodded. Even though the last thing he wanted to do was leave Sam on his own, but he understood that Sam wanted some time alone. If this really had been the first time Sam had admitted to what had happened to him, he surely wanted to sort his thoughts. Reluctantly climbing back down, he left the son of Ares to his thoughts.

 

/break\

 

Sander groaned as he laid in what used to be Hazel's cabin. The different colored gems decorating the walls gave that away. It was very beautiful, but also just as lonely. He felt himself missing the tent and the proximity of his boyfriend and his other companions too. Sure, he had spend the last hour playing poker with Nico and Herc, but then he had send the two off to the sleeping quarters. Herc was rightfully staying in his father's old cabin and Nico had chosen Leo's room, for the feeling of being close to the machines and having some of her mamá's old inventions with her. Sander had decided that they would tell the others in the morning that they had gained two additional crew members. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sander had a feeling that the ship was meant for seven people. Like the Seven of the Great Prophecy. But that thought was only in the back of his mind, because in the front was the memory of Donny's warmth against his body.

“Sander!”

The loud and anguished voice of his boyfriend made him instantly jerk up and grab his sword. But before he could stand and get into a fighting stance, he had a crying Donny in his arms, clinging to him for dear life. Dropping his sword, he wrapped both his arms around his lover.

“What's wrong, my Dark Sea?”, asked Sander softly, caressing the dark curls.

“Just... just hold me and tell me that you love me and that everything is alright”, pleaded Donny.

“I love you, I love you more than anything”, whispered Sander, kissing Donny's forehead and cheeks and nose. “I love you and as long as you're with me, I will make sure that everything will always be as alright as possible. But... What is wrong, Donny? Did something happen?”

“I—I'm... afraid”, confessed Donny, his voice strained with tears.

“Of what?”, asked Sander, his eyes on his sword again, ready to take any enemy down.

“Of myself”, whispered Donny barely audible.

“What?”, blinked Sander surprised. “What does that mean? Why?”

“I—I've never felt that way before”, gasped Donny, staring up at him with wide, teary eyes. “I've never felt the effects of my parents' fatal flaws like that. It's so... overwhelming. The loyalty to my friends, coupled with the urge to hold a grudge. I—I... I want to _kill_ someone. Not just fight, I want to kill him, with my bare hands, I want to see the life drain from his body for what he did. B—But that's not me. I'm not... I'm not cold-blooded. I don't like this, so please... please just hold me before I go and do something irrational that I may... regret later...”

“Okay”, nodded Sander, longing to know who may cause such feelings in his beloved Sea Prince, but at the same time, just wanting to calm his Donny. “I love you. Come, lay with me. I promise, I'll keep you safe and from doing something irrational.”

He cradled the younger boy close to his heart as the two laid down on the bed, Donny still crying tears of despair on Sam's account. He had tried to stay strong while he was with Sam, because the son of Ares had been too down himself. But right now, the knowledge broke him. Someone had dared to rape his best friend, someone Sam should have been able to trust completely. Someone had broken Sam's trust so much that Sam was still not ready to commit, feared to have feelings for anyone because he could be betrayed like that again. Donny's first instinct upon hitting deck was to shadow-travel back to New Rome and make Leroy pay in the most painful way. But that wasn't him, he wasn't a killer and he knew, as satisfying as it would be to know the one dead that had hurt his best friend, he also knew that he would regret taking a life on the long run. But he swore to himself that Leroy would pay dearly for this. That was the last thing passing through his mind before he managed to cry himself to sleep in his boyfriend's arms. His boyfriend, who would do everything to make him feel good and who would never force himself on him, because that was just not what should happen. Not between two people who were supposed to cherish one another. Not between _anyone_ , but even less so between two who should be able to trust each other.

 

/break\

 

Another hour of being on his own in the crow's nest was enough to calm his mind. At least so much that he finally stopped crying. He had never told anyone, because he had always done his best to forget. He actually had, had somehow managed to turn it into a faint memory in the back of his mind like a bad dream, a nightmare that haunted him. He had done his best to build a facade, to be a strong hero, to let no one get close enough, to only occasionally take a lover for a short time so others would back off and not question him. But then Donny had to come along and tear his walls down, make him face how much he longed for Trend, for someone to trust and lean against. He had deliberately not visited New Rome in the past five years, done everything not to think about Leroy or gods forbid to see him again. Now, now that he was facing his feelings for Trend and his desire to just be held and to trust someone, now he had to see _him_ again. All those memories came flooding back, overwhelming him. It felt as though he was back there again, back with Leroy, back to being scrawny and weak and unable to fight his own battles. He was feeling weak and helpless and vulnerable again. All he wanted in that moment was to curl together in his mother's lap like back when he had been a small child and she could protect him from all the monsters under the bed. But feeling protected would only strengthen the feeling of being at someone's mercy. What he truly needed was to feel strong and even while staring at his hands with which he had wrestled the Hydra before, he was feeling like a weak boy again. Defenseless, naive, _weak_. But he wanted to be strong.

“Are you going to just stand there or is there something I can do for you? Because if you just came to watch me sleep, then let me question how you're the one calling _me_ a creep, Sammy.”

Sam blinked surprised and jerked around to face a very sleepy Trend. He was in the cabin with the bookshelves and the chess game set on a table. Annabeth's previous room. Now Trend's. And Trend was currently looking at him as though Sam had just woken him up. His feet must have carried him here without his consent, but somehow it figured. Trend gave him a feeling of being protected and safe, but it was more than that. Trend was the one to always make him feel strong, like he could win every battle, he made Sam feel confident and believe in his own powers, because Trend was the one who had taught him most, the one he had trained with. The one who had turned him from a weak and scrawny kid into a strong and independent hero. The first person Sam had turned to after he had returned from New Rome all those years ago, asking Trend to train him.

“Didn't mean to wake you”, muttered Sam, coughing slightly to cover his tear-strained voice up. “I couldn't... sleep. Figured you may be awake and that I could stay. But... I better leave.”

“Mh?”, grunted Trend, ruffling his blonde, wild hair, cocking his head confused.

He tried to filter through Sam's words while his attention was on the brunette's eyes. They were puffy from crying, that much was obvious. And they were _raw_ , they looked so open, frightened and vulnerable that it made Trend choke. He had seen how Sam faced down the whole Athena cabin on his own, without batting an eyelash, had witnessed how Sam had wrestled the Hydra down with his bare hands, had seen Sam engage in so many battles. But never before had he seen the son of Ares look frightened before. This had him on high-alert and instantly awake. Before Sam had the chance to leave again, Trend grabbed his wrist to stop him. But the way Sam's body went rigid, as though every muscle in his body tightened at once, the wide-eyed stare and the sharp intake of breath made him drop Sam's wrist right away again as though he had burned himself. Something was _wrong_.

“You can stay. If you want. Now I'm awake anyway”, shrugged Trend, trying for casual before sitting down on his bed again and staring at Sam expectantly. “So... How about a game of chess?”

“Right”, snorted Sam, his arms crossed over his chest, a ridiculed look passing over his face.

There was his bite again, making Trend smile slightly. That was his Sam, not the scared and haunted boy. The son of Ares slowly walked over and sat down next to Trend, but with enough space between them to put another person there. He also pulled his legs up and rested his chin on his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs, making him somehow look like a small, scared child.

“Movie, then?”, offered Trend, mirroring Sam's stance to show that it was all right. “But let me warn you, thanks to the Disney Princess, we only have Disney movies. I think he called in a favor with his uncle Leo to make us suffer for always calling him a Disney Princess. No action movies or anything half-decent to be watched here. Disney movies only.”

“Sounds good enough”, shrugged Sam, staring over at the flat-screen opposite the bed. “Mulan?”

Grinning amused, Trend grabbed the remote control and turned the TV on. “Mulan, eh?”

“It's my favorite”, replied the son of Ares. “Mulan is badass and a soldier. And Mushu is awesome.”

“Understandable”, chuckled the blonde, selecting the movie. “I always had the hots for Shang.”

“Really?”, snorted Sam, slowly unfolding himself from his fetal position, relaxing.

“Well, he got half-naked scenes and he's hot”, grinned Trend, scooting a bit closer to Sam. “I always figured that everybody has had a crush on a Disney character at one point. Who was yours?”

“They're fictional characters”, huffed Sam and rolled his eyes, elbowing Trend.

“So what? Doesn't change that they can be hot and cool”, smirked Trend, nudging Sam. “Well?”

“Maybe John Smith. You know, Pocahontas' dude”, shrugged Sam and blushed faintly. “He was hot. And a loyal man to the king, but still with enough brains of his own to know wrong from right.”

The son of Athena grinned as him and Sam sat close enough to have their shoulders touch. The haunted expression in those emeralds slowly melted away as they casually talked. Of course he wanted to know what in the world would ever scare someone like Sam, but he also knew why Sam had chosen to come to him. Because deep down, Sam knew that Trend wouldn't ask questions and accept whatever it was that Sam offered. It reminded him an awful lot of the first time he had fallen in love with Sam, nearly five years ago. When Sam had chosen to stay with the Romans, disappointing Trend who had actually been looking forward to another summer with Sam. And then when Sam had shown up at Trend's doorstep and asked for training. They had practically spend every single day together until the next summer, training until Sam was satisfied. The spark in Sam's eyes when he _really_ learned how to fight, his determination, his strong will, it had made Trend fall so hard for him. But there had been something else too, something haunted. The same as he could see right now. And Trend did not like it. He'd do anything to chase it away again, even if that would mean to spend every single day with Sam for a year; not that he'd mind.

“You know, Mushu somehow reminds me of you”, teased Trend, smirking. “Useless loudmouth.”

“Fuck you”, snorted Sam, elbowing Trend with ease because his head was resting against Trend's shoulder. “If I'm Mushu, then you're Khan. The too serious jerk that always gets teased by Mushu.”

“I'd not be the _horse_ ”, disagreed Trend and made a face. “Though, we do share certain... trades.”

Smirking, he motioned to his crotch. Coupled with his grimace, it made Sam burst into laughter.


	34. Being on a Ship Together

34\. Being on a Ship Together

 

When Sam woke up, he was more well-rested than in a long time. Maybe it was because the fever had finally gone down completely and he actually felt healthy again. Maybe it was because he had entrusted his darkest secret to Donny, had finally shared the one thing he feared the most and received kindness and comfort. Or maybe it was the simple fact that he was laying in Trend's arms, once again. Probably, his mind supplied, it were all these things together. He felt relieved and comforted, he knew that he had Donny at his side and somehow it helped to hear it being said by someone – that it hadn't been his fault. Still, bringing all these memories back had also brought all those horrible feelings back. With Trend, it was okay. They had watched both Mulan movies – the second one more so to mock it and poke fun at it – and they had joked and talked until the sun had started to rise and until, somewhere in the middle of their conversation, they had both fallen asleep together. Now he was awake again, his cheek against Trend's chest, Trend's arms around his waist as he was laying half on top of the blonde. Sam had been pretty adamant on not sleeping after he had faced Leroy again yesterday, but with Trend at his side, he had felt strong and safe enough.

“Khan? Khan, you awake yet?”, mumbled Sam, poking Trend's cheek. “Come on, I need to pee and you're holding me way too tight. I'm not your teddy bear, you know.”

“Shut up, _Mushu_ ”, yawned the son of Athena, shifting some. “We both know that if you really had to pee that urgently, you could free yourself from my grasp without any problems.”

“Maybe I just enjoy annoying you”, grinned Sam and sat up. “See you for breakfast.”

 

/break\

 

When Donny woke up, he felt cranky and exhausted and like he hadn't slept in days. His eyes were heavy and sticky with sleep and tears, his head was buzzing with the aftermaths of nightmares – dark dreams about all the things he wanted to do to Leroy. And his heart was heavy.

“Donny?”, whispered his boyfriend softly, pressing his lips against the top of Donny's head. “Are you awake? You've been trashing all night, my love. I... What happened yesterday?”

“I can't talk about it”, muttered Donny displeased, curling together at Sander's side. “I promised.”

“Did something happen to _you_?”, asked Sander worried, caressing Donny's dark curls.

“No!”, exclaimed Donny and shook his head hastily. “I swear. I'm alright. It's not about me. Nothing happened to me. I just... know of a secret now and it makes my heart feel heavy...”

“Okay”, nodded Sander slowly and relaxed some, pulling Donny closer to himself. “If you can't tell me, then that's that. But I want you to promise me that if something happens, if you don't know how to deal with this anymore, then you'll come to me, okay? Like you did last night. I don't want you burdened with anything on your own. I love you. I want to help you.”

Donny's eyes softened as he looked at his Sander. He knew the brunette would do anything for him, because they shared trust and love. Smiling tenderly, Donny sat up some so he could lean down to kiss Sander. As he sat there, straddling Sander's hips, a bright blush spread over his cheeks.

“It seems you're happy to have me with you”, whispered Donny in a nearly teasing voice.

Sander blushed even darker than Donny and groaned, trying to hide his face behind his hands. It wasn't his fault that Donny was so cute and hot and the curve of his ass had been pressed against Sander's crotch for most of the night. How was he supposed to not have an erection?

“You are _so_ cute”, giggled Donny and kissed Sander's nose. “You don't need to be embarrassed.”

“I think I do”, muttered Sander and glared at the metal box next to his bed. “Your _mom_ gave me a herbal mix to prevent you from getting pregnant. Your mom thinks we'll be having sex during this quest. How am I supposed to not be embarrassed about such things?”

“So... you don't want to have sex with me...?”, drawled Donny, tilting his head curiously.

“What? Of course I want to have sex with you!”, exclaimed Sander, maybe a bit too loud, before continuing in a lower and more embarrassed voice. “But I don't want to rush into things. I'm happy the way things are right now and you're... uh, well... I don't...”

“I'm a virgin. You can say it, San”, laughed Donny, very much amused, before leaning down and pecking Sander's lips. “You're sweet. I love you for that. And you're right. I enjoy just being with you too. I don't... want it to go further just now. I'm content with having you.”

With that said, Donny laid down again, his head resting on Sander's shoulder. The truth was that Donny was actually quite curious about sex, but he was just as afraid. Sander was way more experienced and Donny didn't want to disappoint him. That aside, he also wasn't sure it would be good that early in their relationship. He wanted them to go slow, to thoroughly enjoy every step.

“There's something _I_ need to tell you though”, muttered Sander, sounding a bit more nervous. “When I fed the pegasi last night, I found Nico and Herc lurking in the stables. They decided to come along and I thought I'd wait until morning with telling everyone else because if I had said something right away, Trend would have been too inclined to obey the rules and bring them back.”

“Nico and Herc?”, frowned Donny unsure. “Well, I'm sure we can use the backup. I guess.”

 

/break\

 

Thea stretched sluggishly as the smell of fresh strawberry jam and warm croissants invades her nostrils. Licking her lips, she opened her eyes to face a sheepishly smiling Hercules with a tray of breakfast in his hands and the head of Esperanza poking over his shoulder.

“Morning, sunshine!”, exclaimed the Latina with a broad grin. “We bring breakfast. As a peace offering. Well, and I also brought a Herc. I figured, if breakfast isn't enough, I could sacrifice him.”

“Mh...?”, grunted Thea and stretched some more, turning to look around.

Her ma's old cabin on board the Argo II. Which made her question one thing; What were Nico Zhang and Herc Grace doing here? Giving them a strange look, she stole a croissant and dipped it into the strawberry jam before taking a huge bite. The two Romans looked nervous.

“You decided to attend a quest not even given to you”, pointed Thea out. “You risk your own lives for something that has not even been given to you by the fates. And you may possibly risk _our_ lives too because it is our quest. You know what happened the last time someone decided to poke their heads into a quest that had not been theirs to have? Donny's aunt Bianca died. Challenging the fates and the orders given by gods and oracles is nothing to be taken lightly.”

“We're sorry”, mumbled both of them, suddenly very crestfallen and guilty.

“Now that that's said”, sighed Thea and lifted the cover. “Get in here, Hercules. And keep me warm. This ship is bloody chilly in the morning. You, tinkerer, go and wake the others. Tell them breakfast and plans in half an hour in the mess hall. Get going!”

“Yes, ma'am”, chuckled Nico and fled the room.

 

/break\

 

The scent of milk and honey clung to Trend's favorite hoodie as he put it on. And then he remembered that Sam had been wearing it the past day. Taking another sniff and humming contently, Trend decided to go and check on the son of Ares. He had been odd last night, at least until they were half way through the first Mulan movie, before the worries seemed to slowly melt away from him. And this morning, he had been back to his usual banter, albeit it seemed a little softer. Not a single insult had been thrown at his head so far.

“Sam? Sam, you in there?”, asked Trend as he knocked on the cabin's door.

As he didn't get an answer, he simply opened the door and sneaked inside. What he found was the least worrying possibility. For a second, he had feared Sam had gone back to being depressed like yesterday, but it seemed he had instead taken his normal course of coping. Fighting. A shirtless and sweating son of Ares was doing some minor routines with his celestial bronze and imperial gold sword. It was an impressive sword, two-edged, one side golden and the other bronze, swirling to a beautiful mix in the center. A powerful weapon, given to Sam by his father after the son of Ares had first fulfilled a quest for the War God. Trend remembered the quest three years ago, given to him by Ares and Aphrodite and rewarded by Ares after the Goddess of Love had urged him to. The sword was nice to look at, but its wielder was even nicer to be looked at. Sam was shirtless and sweaty, his strong arms flexing with every move of the sword, little beads of sweat running down his toned stomach. And those jeans again. They surely were magical artifacts because they made the strong legs look longer than Trend remembered them to be and the way they underlined Sam's finest trade – an ass any quarter would bounce off from. He also enjoyed that most of Sam's new jeans were gray in color and not camo colored. Somehow, in a weird way, his favorite color on Sam was like a silent, victorious claim. Trend closed the door behind himself and leaned against it, staring in utter fascination at the disciplined and focused way Sam was fighting his invisible opponent. For all the foolish banter Sam liked to engage in, he was steeled to perfection when fighting.

“Need a sparing partner?”, offered the son of Athena after a couple of minutes.

Sam didn't even jump or show any signs of surprise. He merely glanced Trend's way for a second before nodding and halting, waiting for Trend to unsheathe his own sword. Smirking at the brunette (and watching a little too closely how deliciously the skin glistered with the sheet of sweat covering it), Trend twirled the amulet around his neck and pressed down on the silvery stone in the middle, turning the round talisman with the owl-imprint on the front and the moonstone above it into a long imperial Gold sword. The Owl's Feather. His own pride. His father had told him that it had been the only thing with him when he had found Trend at his doorstep as a baby. A token of Athena's affection for her son, he guessed. He always held it dear, even before he had known of its power.

 

/break\

 

“Urgh, you two really are disgusting. Stop making googly eyes at each other and get dressed. Thea said we're having a meeting in less than half an hour”, commented Nico as she entered Sander's cabin and stared at the snogging couple. “You're horribly sweet, it gives me cavities.”

Donny and Sander had the decency to blush brightly as they looked up at Nico. The Latina rolled her eyes while Donny hastily pulled his hands back from beneath Sander's shirt and Sander's hands flew off Donny's ass as though he had burned himself. Those two were so awkward, they deserved each other. Deciding to give them some more privacy to get sorted out, she left again.

“ _That_ was embarrassing”, muttered Donny, resting his head on Sander's chest.

“Why did she have to interrupt?”, huffed Sander with a pout. “Your hands are _brilliant_.”

“If the sounds you made are anything to go by”, grinned Donny delighted, tracing Sander's sixpack from above the shirt. “Well, we'd have to delay our little... exploring.”

“Donny the Explorer”, chuckled Sander and kissed Donny's nose. “Can't wait for it.”

 

/break\

 

Both of them were sweating and panting, overly exhausted after an hour of dueling. They were both too schooled and knew each other's moves and body language too well to give in easily. In the end, it mostly was exhaustion that made them end their fights. They were both on their knees, grinning at each other satisfied. This was how many of Trend's fantasies had started, to be honest.

“Shower?”, croaked Sam out, coughing as his mouth was dry after the ordeal.

And this was how they normally continued. Trend blinked doe-eyed over at the brunette.

“Water on the ship is limited. Warm water even more so. The engine will take time to heat more up and if we all take our separate long showers, we'll soon run out of fresh water”, noted Sam.

“Wise thinking”, nodded Trend slowly and gulped. “A shower sounds good.”

A shower with Sam truly sounded good. Bathing together in the lake had been one thing, but they had also shared it with Donny and Sander and it was a bigger space. The bathroom in the ship was not at all big and the shower stall even less so. The son of Ares gave him a cheeky grin as he led the way out of the sleeping cabin that had once belonged to Frank.

 

/break\

 

There was a broad and happy smile on Donny's face as he was tugging on the collar of the too big turquoise shirt he had stolen from his boyfriend. After Nico had called for them, Sander had – with bright cheeks – suggested that Donny could get dressed in his room. As in; getting dressed in his clothes. It was adorably possessive of Sander and the happy sparkling of his eyes upon seeing Donny wear his clothes was completely worth the snickering he now received from Thea and Nico. He liked it, liked the way the clothes smelt like Sander.

“Did you two actually do the deed or are you just trading clothes?”, asked Nico curiously.

Her eyes were fixed on the cup of tea in Donny's hands. She knew the smell of her mamá's tea very well by now and she knew of the implication. Still, she wasn't sure if she appreciated that her two cousins were actually being that intimate with each other. Donny was too sweet to be defiled like that. Both boys blushed at her bold question and stared at her wide eyed.

“W—We were just fooling around”, replied Donny. “You know, cuddling. We didn't have sex.”

“Good”, nodded Nico, pleased by the answer. “I doubt uncle Nico would be pleased if he'd learn that an evil and horny trickster had taken his beloved son's virtue like that.”

“You women folk are evil”, pointed Sander out and glared at Nico and Thea.

The two girls grinned broadly and high-fived. Hercules was wise enough not to comment and continued to serve his girlfriend any food or drink she liked – it had been her demand, that he would be her servant while imposing on _her_ quest. And he was fine with it, as long as she didn't send him away and gave him a chance. She smiled charmingly at him and opened her mouth for a strawberry.

“Didn't you go and wake Sam and Trend?”, asked Donny with a frown.

“They were under the shower. My poor eyes suffered enough by watching the two of you groping each other. I don't need to watch two naked boys getting nasty in the shower”, huffed Nico.

“Sam and Trend?”, snorted Herc ridiculed. “They're probably just sharing because of the limited water. And judging by that, they will soon join us anyway.”

 

/break\

 

Trend was just standing there, under the water. He was far too distracted by the nakedness of Sam to shower himself. The way the soap bubbles ran down the sun-kissed skin and hard muscles, the delicious curve of Sam's back and the roundness of his ass. Long legs smooth, just as the rest of his body. The son of Ares had always been quite obsessed with his looks, always kept his body trimmed to perfection and Trend had always been one to appreciate that. His musings on Sam's body were interrupted as he suddenly had a bottle of body wash shoved into his face, staring at it confused.

“You said you like the way I smell”, grunted Sam and rolled his eyes. “Here.”

“I like the way you smell _on you_ ”, huffed Trend in reply and took his own body wash.

“You really are a weirdo”, snorted the son of Ares amused and shampooed his hair.

He turned away from Trend when he felt his cheeks heating up. Trend liked the way _he_ smelt? Not just the scent of his body wash? For a brief second, he wondered why he was there at all, in the shower with Trend. Normally, whenever the nightmares of Leroy would emerge again – and that was sometimes the case – he would lock himself into his room and stay as far away from anybody. But right now, he didn't want to leave Trend's side at all. He had felt good when he had woken up, but after peeing and going to his own cabin, the feeling of loneliness had gripped his heart again.

“What...”, started Trend slowly, as though he was unsure of his next words. “Whatever happened yesterday, you know that _if_ you want to talk about it, I'll be there for you, right?”

Sam froze and turned to look over his shoulder at Trend, who was by now facing the other wall, as though he tried to avoid this inquisitive glare. The son of Athena never inquired and _now_ , of all times he had to offer such a thing? Asking him about _that_ while they were naked in the shower? Not that Sam would _ever_ admit to that. Not in front of anyone who would think him weaker. Donny, he had bared a more vulnerable side to before. But Trend or Sander or Marshall or Sara or Hercules? They were heroes, they knew him strong and proud. What would they think if they knew? That he was some defenseless victim, not capable of protecting himself. Then again, weren't the weaklings the ones Trend liked? The dudes in distress? The thought that _it_ may be what may make Trend see him in a way that could offer them a chance nearly made him laugh harshly and shake his head.

“It was nothing, dick-head”, snarled Sam defensively. “Just a... nightmare. Nothing to talk about.”

 

/break\

 

“So glad you could join us. You've been in there so long, I think you spend all hot water.”

“Well, we seem to suddenly have a tinkerer at our hands to supply us with more hot water”, countered Trend, looking at Nico a little unimpressed. “I knew there was a dangerous spark in your eyes yesterday. I would not have thought you foolish enough to stay on board though.”

“What can I say? Foolishness runs in my family”, grinned the Latina wickedly.

Sam huffed and rolled his eyes, passing Trend to lean against the table – or rather over it – to reach the plate with bacon that Hercules was hogging. Trend was relatively sure that Sam wasn't doing it on purpose, but the way his ass was sticking out was way too tempting and inviting to not be intentional. Shaking his head, the son of Athena walked over to join the others, sitting down next to Sander. Sam, once he had gained the plate of bacon, came to sit next to Trend, grinning victoriously. Trend raised one unimpressed eyebrow as he took the horn and summoned cereals for himself. The son of Ares was still grinning broadly and licking his fingers.

“What? Don't look at me like that, dick-head. I have bacon”, grinned Sam pleased.

“My bacon”, whined Hercules with a pout, glaring at the son of Ares irritated.

“Hush. You're not even supposed to be _here_ ”, snorted Trend. “No right to have bacon.”

“Oh believe me, he knows he doesn't have _any_ rights for now”, smiled Thea gleefully, patting Herc's head as though he was a very obedient puppy. “Still, we need to plan our on going, whether we're five heroes or seven heroes. Where are we to go once we reach Europe? Where _are_ those bloody fireflies that had trailed after us when leaving the park?”

“They're in my cabin”, replied Donny and shrugged. “They were tired after the long flight. Don't forget, their wings are far smaller and more fragile than a pegasus'.”

“Fireflies?”, asked Hercules, completely confused.

“You missed an awful lot of fun”, nodded Sam with his mouth full of bacon.

Trend sighed and summoned fresh and hot bread and eggs sunny-side up, shoving them over to Sam. “You can't only eat grease like that. It's unhealthy.”

The son of Ares huffed, but still he obeyed and took the hot bread while Donny and Sander nearly stumbled over each other, trying to tell the Romans everything about their stay in Alaska.


	35. Meet the Trickster Twins (Camp Life Part I)

35\. Meet the Trickster Twins (Camp Life Part I)

 

“Che rabbia!”, cursed Thess beneath his breath, ducking behind some bushes. “Percy! Sbrigati!” [trans: _What a damned nuisance! Percy! Hurry!_ ]

His twin's head shot around at the command, wild, dark curls flying everywhere at the harsh movement. Persephone too cursed beneath her breath, gathering her hair with her hands to keep it from bothering her as she sprinted over to where her twin was hiding.

“Grazie, mio gemello”, whispered Percy, hastily tying her hair together. “Where's Luke?” [trans: _Thanks, twin brother._ ]

“I don't know”, muttered Thess displeased. “I lost him somewhere along the way... Cazzo...”

He dug his fingers into the dirt and closed his eyes in concentration. The water beneath him felt like a pulsing surge of energy and he followed its lead until he could feel the water in the human bodies close by. He knew the pulsing of Luke's body and easily recognized it again. Leaning down, he started to chant against the surface of the earth, making the water beneath pulse in the rhythm of his words, sending a message toward his boyfriend.

“Veni qui, mio amato”, whispered Thess softly. “Come here, my beloved...”

Thess was more comfortable speaking his father's native tongue, especially when summoning his powers. He was after all only fourteen and still had quite the hard time channeling the water and somehow, his father's native tongue eased his mind and made it easier to use his mother's powers.

“You think that works?”, asked Percy, playing with a ruby she had summoned from the earth.

“Oh, rack off, mia gemella”, spat Thess irritated. “You have no idea. It's enough to let him know that I am calling for him. And he can find me. He always finds me. So shut it, will you?”

The di Angelos were quite talented when it came to languages. Or at least when it came to those they had been raised with. Nico had insisted on teaching them his mother tongue, raising them with the words of his home place. But Italian and English weren't the only languages the di Angelos understood. Percy had developed quite the obsession with Germany, as it had been the place where Nico had first asked for his hand and the place where they had spend their honeymoon, living there for over a month to explore. It had been Percy's greatest wish after the wars, to see the world. And Nico had wished to give his new husband the fairy tale happy ending he deserved, which had led to them traveling through Germany and visiting all the fairy tale castles build by King Ludwig II. Percy, proving not to be the seaweed brain others accused him of being, had done his best to learn the language before their wedding and their honeymoon. Learning languages was probably the most valuable thing to learn so Percy and Nico had made sure right from the start that their children would be fluent in those languages. It came in handy, because most of their family vacations were spend in Germany, so the kids could actually get to use it.

While most children of Percy and Nico were only using Italian when trying to beg their dad for something and German to get that proud grin from their mom, if not in their regular conversations when they would somehow mingle all three languages together, the twins were going at it a little different. It was like their private secret languages, to have their own thing that no one could take away from them. Percy and Thess loved using their father's native tongue, especially when at camp, because then no one understood what they were planning and even more so because it made them feel closer to their parents even when they weren't with them. Their younger siblings Jimmy and Silly on the other hand had taken a stronger affliction to German, even though most their siblings could scarcely spurt a sentence or two, what with English being the dominant language around them and Italian being the one their dad always slipped into and really, learning three languages was incredibly hard, so their focus had been more on English and Italian. But to Jimmy and Silly, German was something special, something that was truly theirs and unlike their siblings, they were as fluent in German as their mother (Nico had never cared to be as fluent as Percy either).

“Thess? Thess!”, hissed a low voice, moments later followed by an irritated Luke. “There you are!”

The blonde grandson of Aphrodite collapsed on the ground next to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Thess' waist and pulling the smaller teen into a kiss. A bright blush lit up Thess' pale cheeks. Luke grinned at his di Angelo, pushing a stray strand of soft, black hair behind Thess' ear, staring deeply into those eyes, so much darker than the deepest chasms under the sea.

“Don't do that again”, growled Luke annoyed, poking Thess' nose. “You know I don't like that pull in my guts I always get when you pull on my water. It's bothersome and always feels as though something happened to you. You know that makes me worry, stupid sea-brat.”

“Sorry”, grinned Thess sheepishly, getting lost in those multi-colored eyes. “I just... worry when you're out of sight during Capture the Flag. I don't want you to get hurt.”

Luke rolled his eyes affectionately, ruffling the shoulder-long hair of his lover. They both knew that Luke was good enough with his charmspeak and with his sword not to need the water-bender's protection, but Thess was a very possessive and worried lover.

“So, how is the game going, Chase?”, asked Percy, perching herself on his shoulder.

“The Enyo cabin is guarding their flag, Marshall is taking one after the other of us out and he has the help of your siblings. And his whole cabin, of course”, muttered Luke irritated.

“Well... we could sit this one out?”, offered Thess, his hand sneaking beneath Luke's shirt.

“No”, objected Percy, elbowing both boys annoyed. “Chase, go and get us a clean path to the flag. Use your voice for something good for a change instead of seducing mio gemello. Thess and I will take care of our siblings and you will take out Marshall.”

“Right”, snorted Luke and rolled his eyes. “How am I supposed to take this three years older guy out who is twice my size and trice my muscles? Not even my charmspeak could convince him of being weaker than me... Good lords, don't look at me like that, Thess. No. Just no.”

“Aw, but we believe in you, mio amato”, grinned Thess and pecked Luke's lips.

 

/break\

 

“Ma—attie, I'm bo—ored”, whined Jack with a pout.

“I know, Jackie”, nodded a very adorable, blonde boy. “You mentioned it before.”

Jack had his elbows resting on his knees, the biggest pout possible on his face, his sea-green eyes wide and attentive, his feet dangling over the tree branch the two boys were sitting on. Matt next to him huffed and rested his head on the younger boy's shoulder, wrapping one arm around the shoulders of his best friend. The youngest di Angelo had befriended two sons of Hermes, the ones that had gotten him involved in the whole prank that had ended with Jack and his parents visiting Chiron. Since Percy and Nico had forbidden him from getting into trouble, he had been avoiding the two tricksters since then. And ever since then, he was whiny. Much to Matt's annoyance.

“Then why don't you do something fun?”, asked a curious voice.

“And what?”, asked Jack, craning his neck to see who was standing below them.

“Well, we _are_ in the middle of Capture the Flag...”, drawled another voice. “Let's steal the flag.”

Two identical brunettes stepped into the open, grinning cheekily up at them. The eight-years old twins whose mother had died two years ago had been raised by the Stoll brothers since then, because Hayden and Hunter Hood had reminded the Stolls of themselves as children. Every single friend of Travis and Connor could only agree with a grave and exhausted nod.

“H—How are we supposed to steal their flag...?”, grunted Matt wide-eyed, glaring at the twins.

“I dunno!”, replied Hunter with a shrug.

“Let's find out”, grinned Hayden, wiggling his nose.

Jack turned to look at Matt with wide, hopeful eyes. “Please?”

The blonde Chase-boy heaved a sigh. How was he supposed to deny those large, sea-green eyes? Glaring at the Hood-brothers for good measure, Matt grabbed Jack's hand and jumped off the tree.

 

/break\

 

Silly and Jimmy were dancing with their older siblings. Because that was more what they were doing than fighting, really. The di Angelos loved one another too much to really try and hurt each other. Silena was taking Persephone on, every hit of their swords spilling gem shards and pearls off as their powers clashed – the riches of the underworld and the riches of the sea. Thess all the while tried to keep Jimmy from shadow-traveling by holding onto his younger brother's water. While Luke was trying to hold his ground against a grumpy son of Enyo.

That was when Matt, Jack, Hayden and Hunter came into the game. Mattie had made a plan, mostly so because he didn't like how Jack always looked at the Hood-twins in awe, he pressed one finger against his lips and motioned for the others to go to the flag. Nodding his head hastily, Jack obeyed his best friend and sneaked past his fighting siblings, with one Hood on either side. Matt all the while threw himself between the di Angelos, crying as though his puppy had just been killed, his multi-colored eyes big and hurt, his cheeks rosy from crying. Where Luke used his powers to convince and to influence with charming words, Matt used his charmspeak in the most cruel way. When he was crying, everyone gathered around him and started to coo and try to cheer him up. He had been using his power like this since he had been a baby, something Piper and Annabeth had noticed with a grimace, because as soon as Mattie cried, everyone close by would suddenly focus on him and obey his will to cheer him up. He had learned to control this power more and more and now that he was seven, he had perfected the art of crying on command.

While the four teens circled Mattie, Hayden and Hunter made sure to keep Marshall and Luke occupied so Jack could sneak past them to get to the flag, a broad and giddy grin on his lips. He tiptoed over to the flag and wrapped his fingers around the pole, pulling it out and yelping loudly.

“I got the flag! I got the flag!”, screamed Jack highly excited and jumped around.

The teenagers still cooing over Matt and those being stuck in the trickster twins' trap turned around to stare at him wide-eyed. Different curses escaped their lips as they noticed that they had been outsmarted by four little children, two of whom were here for their first summer. Hayden and Hunter grinned broadly and hugged Jack from either side.

“Jack!”, screamed Thess, a broad grin on his face as he ran over to his youngest brother and kissed the younger boy's cheek. “Sono orglioso di te, mio tesorino!” [trans: _I'm proud of you, my little darling!_ ]

The youngest di Angelo was practically glowing at the praise. His big brother was proud of him. And Thess normally only kept to his twin and to Donny, he had never really been proud of Jack. That meant Jack had done good. Grinning the broadest grin possible, Jack clutched the flag to his chest as though it was the greatest treasure possible. Percy joined them and placed a kiss on Jack's other cheek, ruffling her younger brother's curls affectionately.

“Ben fatto, mio tesorino”, smiled Percy, still patting his head. [trans: _Well done, my little darling_ ]

That was true, he had done good. Or at least it seemed that way, because Thess even let him ride on the older boy's shoulders. Giggling to himself, he wrapped his arms around Thess' neck. He liked it when they called him tesorino. They only did if he had done something adorable, though mom and dad and Bianca called him that anyway, because he was the little darling of the family. And Jack liked being the little darling of the family. It was way better than seeing that disappointed look in his mommy's eyes when he had to come and talk to Mister Chiron! Oh, he needed to call his mommy tonight and tell him that he had gotten the flag, surely his mommy would be proud too.

“Next time the little bugger is on our team”, declared Jimmy with a glare.

“Yeah. He's our brother too, after all”, huffed Silly and stole Jack from Thess' shoulders, hugging him close to her chest. “Right, Jackie? Next time you'll help us steal the flag.”

“Okay”, agreed Jack happily, enjoying being the center of attention.

Being one of seven children was fun, most of the time, but it also meant he had to share not only his parents' attention all the time, but also his siblings'. But right now everybody was cheering for him and his friends and praising him them doing good. Of course, it would be much better if Bia and Donny would be there too, surely Donny would be very, very proud of him, but it was nice having Percy, Thess, Jimmy and Silly fighting over who got to have him on their team next.

 

/break\

 

Jack's belly was full. He hadn't eaten that much since Christmas at grandma Sally's. But his siblings had kept bringing him more food – especially sweet treats! Because their team had won, all thanks to him and Thess and Percy had kept praising him for it. And Jimmy and Silly kept bribing him to make him join their team for the next game. This was highly exciting. But now his belly hurt from all the food, so he had left campfire to return to the Poseidon cabin. All on his own was boring though, so he turned to the small fountain and summoned a rainbow.

“Mommy, please”, asked the boy softly. “I want to see my mommy.”

The rainbow cleared and showed a highly attentive Percy staring at him. “Jack? Are you alright? Are you hurt? You look like you're in pain! Did something happen? Wait, I'm on my way-”

“Mamma!”, giggled Jack softly and shook his head. “No, I'm alright, I promise. But my belly hurts because I ate too many sweets... I guess you were right, too many sweets aren't good...”

“And still, you never stop”, sighed the son of Poseidon, obviously relieved and shook his head. “Well? What's wrong then? Why did you call, bambino?”

“I won capture the flag!”, exclaimed Jack, clapping his hands twice. “I got the flag!”

“You did?”, grinned Percy proudly. “Good. My precious little boy. I'm very proud of you.”

“That's what Thess said too!”, nodded Jack wildly. “I did good!”

“Yes, you did”, smiled Percy, his eyes shining with pride and joy. “So you like camp then?”

“It's great!”, exclaimed Jack, waving his arms around wildly. “Everybody is really nice and now my siblings are helping me too and Mattie and I are exploring the whole camp and the nymphs are so, so pretty and really, really nice and kind and Hunter and Hayden are awesome and they're really nice when they're not pranking Mattie and I'm not afraid of Mister Chiron anymore, because he patted my head and praised me too when I gave him the flag! But I'm missing Donny! And you and daddy and Bia! Can we have family cuddles when camp is over, please?”

“Of course we can have family cuddles”, agreed Percy and smiled slightly. “I love you, tesorino.”

“I love you too, mamma!”, replied Jack with the broadest grin. “Very, very, very much!”

 

/break\

 

“You know”, mumbled Luke against the skin of Thess' neck. “Wouldn't have thought your little brother would be that handy during the game. I thought the little buggers would only be in the way. Next time I guess I'll have to give our brothers more credit.”

“Can we stop talking about my baby brother while we're making out, yes please?”

Thess had an annoyed look on his face where he was laying beneath Luke on a bed in the Hades cabin. The blonde grinned sheepishly, pecking Thess' lips, one hand sneaking beneath Thess' shirt.

“Sorry, babe”, murmured Luke apologetically, kissing along Thess' jawline.

His fingers found the pink, perky nipples even in the dark by now, Luke had quite the training when it came to that. He twirled them and twisted them, knowing them to be the most sensitive part of Thess' body and he just loved the way his pretty Sea Prince would arch into his touches. But as always, as soon as his free hand tried to open the jeans button, it got caught by Thess' grip. Lifting his gaze from where he was biting and sucking on Thess' collar, Luke stared into the angry, dark eyes. Some would call those eyes mud-brown, but Luke would glare at them until they retreated because those eyes were like the darkest and deepest part of the sea, within their darkness was just the smallest speck of green at the outer rim, making them look more mysterious.

“ _Lucas_ ”, hissed Thess. “You know that you're supposed to keep your hands _above_ the waistline. I'm not that easy. And I don't drink mom's tea and I'm not having sex without proper protection.”

“Then why don't you just start to drink that stupid tea?”, whined Luke, collapsing on the bed.

“Fuck you”, muttered Thess, hitting Luke's chest hard. “That all you want from me?”

“What? No!”, exclaimed the blonde and sat up some. “It's just... We've been dating for _months_ now and we haven't even jerked each other off. I haven't even seen you naked yet! But you're gorgeous and amazing and I love you. You can't hold it against me that I want more...”

Thess frowned, staring at Luke for a moment. “I just... don't trust this. If we are naked together, I don't trust you and me to stop at jerking each other off. And I don't want to risk any heat-of-the-moment stuff without protection. You... understand that, right?”

“Yeah”, nodded Luke slowly, wrapping his arms around Thess' waist. “Of course I do. I mean, I can see how fertile your ma is. I don't want to become a teen-dad at age fifteen either. But I still don't want to live like a priest while having the most beautiful and enchanting being as my boyfriend.”

“You're a charmer”, mumbled Thess, rubbing his nose against Luke's collarbone. “Okay. How about... once summer is over and we return home, _we_ will talk to my parents about... the tea?”

“I think living like a priest sounds like an awesome plan”, muttered Luke with a crestfallen look.

“You didn't think you'd be able to avoid that conversation, did you?”, snorted Thess and hit his boyfriend again. “I am not facing papà alone with this. If you want any of this-” And here, he motioned down his body, pushing his hips out some. “-you'll talk to my father, mio amato.”

“Why are the beautiful ones always cruel?”, whined Luke, hiding between his lover's long hair.

Thess started laughing, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders and pulling him close. “Don't be such a whiny brat. Papà isn't that bad. He's not going to kill you.”

“Oh, you have no idea what kind of things the average human can live through without dieing”, muttered Luke darkly. “But I'm sure your father knows them all. And he's not afraid to use them.”

 

/break\

 

As the night came and camp darkened, every camper laid in their own beds. Silly and Percy were contently sleeping contently, Silly on the upper bunk and Percy on the lower, their respective twins laying in the bunk beds next to theirs. The only di Angelo still awake was Jack, the small child staring wistfully at his siblings. He loved them all, but sometimes they made him feel lonely. Because Silly and Jimmy were twins and Percy and Thess were twins and both sets of twins were practically inseparable and Bia and Donny had been practically glued together too, but Jack was alone and so much younger than the others. Now that Bia had joined the hunt, Jack had hoped he would have Donny all to himself. But Donny was on a quest. So Jack was still the odd one out.

“Jackie? Jackie? You asleep yet?”, whispered a voice from the doorway.

“If so, get out of your bed and come with us! There's something great we have to show you!”

Sitting up some, he stared over at the identical, mischievous faces of the Hood-twins, Hayden beckoning him over as Hunter made shushing motions. A broad, happy grin spread over his lips as he jumped out of his bed and stumbled over to them. It was ironic, what with four of his older siblings being twins themselves and him feeling left out because of that, but maybe it was because his siblings were much older than him. At any rate, the trickster twins made him feel like he was part of them, like he belonged. Two pairs of dark, green eyes stared at him as Hunter grabbed his left hand and Hayden grabbed his right hand, both twins pulling him along, away from the cabin.

“Heist, Hunt! But we're not pranking anyone! I promised mommy!”, whispered Jack worried.


	36. Let's Get Down to Business

36\. Let's Get Down to Business

 

They had mixed feelings about their next destination. _Stonehenge_. An ancient and powerful magical spot. The fireflies had said it would be where they would find their European cousins. Sam was giddy to get to the UK, the closest he was getting to his family for eight months now. Trend felt himself contaminated by Sam's enthusiasm, because it was good to see that slightly dopey, happy grin on Sam's lips again. Donny was giddy and curious and short of bursting from nerves, because all he had ever seen from Europe were Italy – because of his father's origins – and Germany – out of family tradition, though no one wanted to question that. Nico was contently silent, more happy to spend time with Festus than concerning herself with anything that yet laid in the future. Thea was in full-blown planning mood. And Sander and Herc seemed to be the only ones concerned that this would only be the next step on a still rather long way.

To distract themselves, the crew had spread out on deck. Thea sat leaning against the mast, Daedalus' laptop on her lap as she browsed everything about Stonehenge. Nico was steering, her favorite job anyway. Donny and Sam were close by, standing somewhere between Thea and Nico while chatting. By the looks of it, Donny had asked questions about England once Sam had revealed that his home mansion was close to Stonehenge – no coincident, he had assured them as they had given him odd looks. Stonehenge was an ancient point of magic and the Raser family had always allied with magic. Though Sam didn't have Donny's full attention, because the boy's sea-green eyes were fixed on the flexing of Sander's muscles as Sander and Herc trained one on one.

“When you say allied with magic... that is kind of concerning”, noted Donny a little absentminded.

“Knights of the round table”, shrugged Sam, watching Donny amused. “And gods are magic too.”

“This sounds an awful lot like Merlin”, snorted Donny, cocking his head.

His eyes were trained on the steeled body of his boyfriend and the determination in those sparkling brown eyes. Donny had always enjoyed watching Sander during a fight. Even before he had developed any kind of feelings for the other boy. It was just captivating, the concentration and focus an ADHD hero could put into his swordplay. Thea's laugh got Donny's attention.

“Of course. Merlin was the greatest son of Hecate to ever grace the Earth”, grinned Thea amused.

“Really?”, gasped Donny surprised and turned to stare at her, even though it was hard to tear his gaze away from Sander's prone form. “And what about King Arthur?”

“Son of Zeus”, replied another voice from behind. “But now is not the time for history lessons.”

Even Sander and Herc lowered their swords slowly as Trend approached the rest of the crew. He had been the only one to stay below deck when they had agreed to enjoy the sun. They had figured he may not be comfortable with a quest. It wasn't a secret that Trend didn't like quests and teamwork. He liked making plans and keeping to himself and his small circle of friends. Being thrown into this, they had supposed, was not the most welcomed thing for him.

“Why not? I just wanted to tell the story of how Sir Samuel saved King Arthur's life”, whined Sam in mock disappointment and with a teasing pout. “What are you on about anyway, Khan?”

The others could only silently agree. Trend wasn't wearing a shirt, looking as though he had spend the previous hours training on his own and he held his well-trusted blade in one hand. Sam raised one eyebrow, his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the mast. He was pretty sure that Trend was only walking around shirtless to torture him. Those muscles, they were _tempting_.

“You”, grunted Trend, the tip of his blade pointing at Donny. “You may have beaten Derek in a fight, but that doesn't mean a thing. My ex is one of the worst swordsmen camp has. You may have the will and determination, but you are still lacking the training. Your parents may have taught you the basics in the past month, but you still have many lessons to learn. This is _your_ quest and none of us will have the time to spare to save your ass during this. So let's get down to business.”

A bark of laughter escaped Sam's throat, startling most of the others. “Not your line, Khan.”

“W—What do you want, Trend?”, asked Donny a little unsure, his eyes narrowing on the sword.

“Unsheathe your weapon, stop gossiping like a little girl and let me train you.”

Donny looked unsure, his eyes darting around until they settled on his boyfriend. Sander and Herc had decided on a break, Herc rubbing his face with a towel as he plunged down next to Thea, on the other side of the mast than where Sam was standing. Sander had a kind smile on his lips as he passed his boyfriend to stand beside Sam, one hand resting on Donny's shoulder.

“That's an honor, you know”, whispered Sander into his boyfriend's ear. “He's the one who trained me and Sam. Even more so than Chiron and my mom. Most tricks and stuff, we learned by dueling with Trend. He doesn't teach everyone, but those he does...”

“Turn into real heroes?”, supplied Donny, now very nervous.

“No kidding”, snorted Sam amused, nudging Donny. “I've even heard Chiron ask if Trend would like to become camp leader once he's finished high school. What with Mr. D gone because of his shortened sentence after the last war, camp is lacking a director. Balance from the old days, he called it. Two directors to rule the camp. But of course our noble bookworm refused. I suspect it's been the half-horse part of his co-director that made him decline this awesome offer.”

“I enjoy teaching”, grunted Trend, sending Sam a sharp glare. “Those that are willing to be taught. I don't need to have a class of pouty, snotty brats at my hands. I only take the students that I think are actually _worthy_ of being taught a thing. Now, Hades Poseidon, what do you say? Are you worthy?”

Somehow the inquisitive look in those storm-gray eyes was unsettling. Donny had faced his mom and dad in training, had lessons with Clarisse before and knew Chiron, but there was something truly unsettling and determined in Trend's eyes. He had an inkling about fate, something he sometimes got and his dad liked to say that it rooted from his underworldly origins. Some demigods were destined to be heroes, the greatest heroes to ever be born. Like his mother. Others were intended to be trainers to those heroes and when Donny looked into Trend's eyes, he _knew_. Knew that Trend would one day be the trainer of some really great heroes. He couldn't explain it, not how he knew or what it meant or how Trend was supposed to become that, but he was certain of it.

“Well then, make a man out of me”, challenged Donny with a lopsided grin. “I doubt it can be that much harder than turning Mulan into a true warrior... right?”

“We will see about that”, snorted the son of Athena amused, looking at him patiently.

“You are _not_ Shang”, called Sam as he too collapsed on the floor. “Especially not the Shang to Donny's Mulan. That is just _wrong_. On so—o many levels, you sicko.”

“I know”, chuckled Trend. “And how could I? I'm already the Khan to your Mushu, after all.”

Somehow, the way Trend said that made Sam blush slightly. It stroke the possessive streak of Sam's ego in a way that it really shouldn't. So instead of focusing on Trend's words, he rather focused on Trend's body. Those muscles were rather distracting anyway and Sam could not count the times he had pictured licking honey off those abs. That was probably his very most favorite fantasy. Especially when it ended with the honey having an entirely different and very lubricating function.

“What's all the Mulan-referrences about?”, asked Sander, nudging Sam curiously.

“We watched the movies last night”, shrugged the son of Ares. “And we figured some parallels out. Like how Trend is like Khan, overly serious and always kicking Mushu because he has to take his shit. And Trend said I'm like Mushu, because I'm his—uh... an annoying loudmouth.”

“Okay”, nodded Sander, highly amused. “And Donny would be Mulan, eh? I can totally see that. Useless as a fighter and unsure about himself, but then turning into a true hero. But I'm not entirely sure if I want to be Shang. Though with Donny being Mulan, I should be Shang, right?”

“Yeah”, drawled Sam out and nodded slowly. “And Thea would _so_ be Crickey.”

“Thanks for turning me into the insect”, snorted Thea from her spot on Sam's other side.

“The wise, useful insect that gives cautious advice?”, supplied Sander sheepishly.

“Accepted”, nodded Thea slowly, her eyes darting between her laptop and Donny and Trend.

“I do not wish to participate in this craziness”, noted Herc on Thea's other side. “This is what you do on quests? Talk to insects and watch Disney movies? You Greeks are _weird_.”

“Say that again and you're sleeping on the couch”, warned Thea.

“Are you two sharing a cabin?”, accused Trend, blocking an attack from Donny.

“We are not. Yet if I tell him to, he will still sleep on the couch”, smiled Thea delighted.

Sander zoomed out of the conversation as he got to watch his Donny fight. This was easily the hottest thing he could picture. The only thing keeping him from an instant boner was that a sweaty and half-naked Trend was Donny's opponent. Then again, he didn't want to fight against Donny himself. It was kind of confusing, really. On the one hand, he loved seeing Donny like this, but he hated seeing another half-naked guy with Donny. A weight on his head interrupted his thoughts.

“Are you really having a boner over Donny fighting?”, snickered Sam teasingly from where he had his arms wrapped around Sander's shoulders, his head on Sander's. “You horny, sick perv.”

“Shut up”, muttered Sander flustered, trying to push Sam off, before lowering his voice. “Besides, you can't tell me that you're not drooling over Trend. Just confess, you horny, sick perv.”

“Fuck you, sucker”, grunted Sam and leaned over Sander's shoulder to punch his arm.

Sander used the momentum and pulled Sam over his shoulder. The son of Ares crashed into Sander's lap with a grunt, finding himself soon pinned to the boards. Not pleased by this, Sam hooked one leg around Sander's and knocked the other brunette off his knees, whirling them around to change their positions. A victorious grin was spread over Sam's lips as he straddled Sander's hips.

“Raser, get off my man before I go all child of the underworld on your ass.”

A rather undignified yelp escaped Sam when suddenly a Stygian-iron blade was pressed against his neck. Turning slightly, Sam faced a furiously glaring Donny. Behind Donny stood a rather amused Trend, his arms crossed over his chest and one eyebrow cocked. He was amused that Donny was actually capable of being that irritated, but he was just as irritated on the inside. If there was one picture he did not appreciate, it was _his_ Sam straddling another guy's hips. That had been a thing he only did with Trend, when they were having their little quarrels. Trend hadn't been aware that Sander got to enjoy that privilege too. He made a mental note to take Sander on a little harder the next time they would be sparring, just to get rid of some of the steam he was currently building up.

“Aw, wouldn't have thought _you_ would be the jealous type”, snickered Sam as he slowly climbed off Sander, weary of the blade against his neck. “Believe me, I've been _all over your man_ way more often than you, pipsqueak. You have _no idea_ how often I've already straddled his hips.”

“You are _not helping_ ”, hissed Sander embarrassed and panicked.

“I think he actually is helping”, noted Hercules curiously, observing the dark aura around Donny.

A sly smirk laid on Sam's lips as he uncapped his own sword. “Well, Disney Princess?”

The answer was simple. A clash of swords. Trend deliberately took a step back, given the two boys a chance to fight. Donny wasn't bad, he had potential. But he had been too distracted by Sander's eyes on his body. The next time Trend would train with the boy, he would make sure that Sander was occupied by someone else. Not by Sam and certainly not by Sam's ass that close to Sander's dick. But right now, Donny was fueled by a determination that could only be given by jealousy and the urge to protect the one you love (even though Sander didn't need protection and especially not from Sam). He was _focused_ and that was what had been missing before. Still...

“You. Up. _Now_ ”, growled Trend, pointing his sword at Sander.

At first, the brunette blinked confused a couple of times. But it didn't take Sander too long to read that storm brewing up in those gray eyes. Jealousy. He remembered the way Trend had been staring at Sam's ass when they had been in Alaska and the possessive way Trend had always hugged Sam during the nights and the _very_ thoughtful birthday present (and the fact that Trend had known it was Sam's birthday to begin with). Somehow, Sander had the hunch that Sam's feelings weren't as unrequited as the other hero may be thinking. Oh, this could be good. Really good.

 

/break\

 

Three very exhausting hours later had the four boys collapsing on the ground. Donny was panting and wheezing as though he was short of dieing, clutching his heart and throwing his head back in agony. He laid curled together against Sander's side, the brunette having one hand nestled in the dark curls in a comforting and praising manner. Herc and Thea had left the deck about two hours ago, figuring now would be the best time to have some privacy downstairs. Nico though was observing the four with a grin. She had been wise enough to keep out of this mess. And someone had to be a responsible adult, after all. Sam was laying half on top of Donny and Trend, sprawled over them like a lazy cat, poking Donny with his foot while one hand was deliberately laying on Trend's face just to annoy the blonde, his head though was comfortably resting on Trend's chest.

“You weren't _really_ jealous, right...?”, panted Sam, staring at Donny curiously. “I mean, you _know_ I'm not into brunettes and even if Sander would be my type, you know I'd never...”

“Aw, you are _so_ cute”, cooed Donny and turned around to nestle his face in the crook of Sam's neck so he could kiss his friend's cheek. “I know that we're friends and I know you follow the rule.”

“Rule? What rule?”, murmured Sander, wiggling closer now that Donny wasn't curled against him.

“The Bro-Code”, grinned Donny broadly. “Bros before hoes. I know that Sam wouldn't betray our friendship like that. And I know that Sam doesn't fancy you anyway, so no worries whatsoever.”

“How did I turn out to be the hoe here?”, grunted Sander displeased.

“It's not my fault”, shrugged Donny with a grin. “That's how it is. And since Sam and I are bros, that in extension makes you the hoe. Now don't pout, this isn't about you. I'm just... irrationally jealous. I guess I got that from my dad. He's always possessive when it comes to mom too.”

“Now that we've cleared that issue, how about a shower?”, grinned Sam pleased and sat up.

Automatically, Trend sat up, eager to take a shower with his Sam again. But a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Turning some, he glared over at Sander, who had a cheeky grin splitting his face.

“Why don't you two take the first turn, Donny, Sam?”, offered Sander, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Trend and I will take the warm water you leave for us. But hurry a bit, will you?”

Donny gave him an inquisitive and disappointed look – and damn, Sander was just as disappointed. He could have had a shower with Donny. But then again, the shower cabin was small and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to hold back if he was forced into such close proximity with a wet and naked Donny. Sam wasn't just Donny's bro, he was also Sander's bro, so he had to protect Sam's virtue.

“What was that about?”, asked Trend with an irritated edge to his voice.

“You can't fool me”, grunted Sander once the other two boys were back below deck. “The way you had been ogling Sam's ass, how you always sniffed his hair while we were camping, how thoughtful your present to him was, how you actually know all his favorite food. And how you just challenged me to death just because he had been sitting on top of me. You don't just like Sam, right?”

“That's none of your business, Rodriguez”, warned the son of Athena sharply.

“So you're denying it then?”, asked Sander, cocking one curious eyebrow.

“I'm not having this conversation with you”, stated Trend and stood.

“Okay. Then I'll just be catching up to the boys and ask Donny if we can change it up once more. He looked so exhausted, I'm not sure if he can stand long enough to shower. I'll just go and share a shower with Sam. Naked. And _so close_ ”, offered Sander, a mischievous smile on his lips.

He broke into a sprint – nothing very welcomed by his sore muscles – until he came up between Sam and Donny, resting one hand on each of their shoulders, grinning broadly at them. Donny started slightly, but he still looked happy to see him, pecking his cheek.

“Hello, my Dark Sea”, grinned Sander, placing a peck of his own on Donny's cheek. “I-”

“ _Rodriguez_ ”, growled a dark voice as Trend caught up with them.

His grip was like iron as he held onto Sander's upper arm. The brunette laughed delighted and backed off, much to the confusion of their two friends. Sam stared curiously between them.

“Never mind”, smiled Sander gleefully. “I'll see you after your shower, love.”

“Okay?”, nodded Donny confused.

Humming a happy tune, Sander led Trend over to his sleeping cabin. The blonde followed, not all that willing. Once inside the room with the sparkly gems on the walls, both boys sat down on the couch and stayed silent for a moment. Sander tried to decide where to start.

“You love him”, stated Sander, by now really sure about this. “Why don't you tell him? I mean, if you're afraid that he'll reject you, believe me, he won't. He... uh, well, he kind of...”

“Loves me”, finished Trend, annoyed by Sander's stuttering. “I know that he loves me.”

“Really?”, asked Sander stunned and stared. “T—Then why...? Why don't you tell him?!”

“Because”, shrugged the son of Athena, glaring at the floor. “There is... something. I don't know what, but something keeps Sam from facing his own feelings. If I were to confront him, to tell him that I love him, then that would leave us stuck. He'd either be forced to face his feelings, or keep in denial and end our friendship. I don't want to lose this friendship and I also don't want to force him into anything. It's his decision. His feelings he has to face first, without being pressured into it.”

“What 'something'?”, frowned the brunette completely confused.

“I don't know. And that's the problem”, sighed Trend, leaning back exhausted. “He shares so much with me, but I know there is something he's hiding. I won't force him to confront something he obviously tries to avoid. I can only help him or be there for him or... or anything he wants from me if he's ready to come to me and tell me first. You know Sam. Pressure doesn't work on him. And if I'd tell him that I love him, I would put a lot of pressure on him.”

Sander nodded solemnly. It was true, Sander had spend enough time with Sam and had shared enough adventures with the other brunette to know that Sam and pressure didn't compute. Still, it bothered Sander that Sam was _that close_ to happiness. He made a mental note to talk to Sam.

 

/break\

 

“You know that... well, I love you...”

Donny froze, blinking shampoo out of his eyes and turning toward Sam. The son of Ares was turned away from him, blushing brightly and staring awkwardly at the wall. Cocking one eyebrow, Donny took a step closer and rested one hand on Sam's shoulder, startling the brunette.

“Did you really just say that?”, asked Donny softly. “While we're in the shower, naked? And while my boyfriend is out there, waiting for me? How... Why did you...?”

“Not in a romantic way, you moron”, snorted Sam, nudging Donny hard. “More like that annoying little brother you can't get rid of but that you still can't help but love.”

“Oh”, grinned Donny, highly relieved. “That is _so_ sweet. But what brought that on?”

“Because... you don't ask”, whispered Sam lowly. “I could feel your eyes on me this morning. You _know_ and still you don't... don't ask. Even though you want to ask. You leave it alone. You're not trying to make me... talk about it. And I love you for that, okay?”

“Okay”, smiled Donny and nodded. “But... if you want to talk about it, I'm here for you.”

“I know”, nodded Sam sharply, the _But I won't talk about it_ staying unsaid.

 

/break\

 

“So... I think I like this whole quest-thing”, grinned Herc, panting hard.

His naked girlfriend laying in his arms hummed in agreement. “I think you're allowed to stay.”


	37. Movie Night and Bonding Time

37\. Movie Night and Bonding Time

 

What Trend hadn't expected upon returning from his highly unpleasant shower with Sander was to find Sam sitting on his bed, only dressed in his boxershorts, fidgeting with a chess figure. This was to equal parts arousing and interesting. Trend had tried to teach Sam chess so often already, he had given up count, so seeing him with a chess piece was quite the curious and sweet thing. The blonde stayed silent as he entered and walked over to Sam, the son of Ares seemed deep in thought. As eager as Trend was to offer a party of chess to Sam, he disliked that Sam was wearing that little clothes. Well, not dislike per se, he did enjoy the view. But Sam had just gotten over his cold.

“You really shouldn't walk around in your underwear”, noted Trend with one raised eyebrow. “You only just got rid of a high fever and even though the children of Apollo did a great job healing you, you're still not completely off the hook. I don't want you to relapse.”

“Yeah well”, grunted Sam with a displeased grimace. “I would be wearing more if I had more. But Percy had taken all my old clothes away from me after he bought me new ones. And the new ones are just too tight. That's not comfortable for sleeping. Makes me feel like suffocating.”

The son of Athena nodded shortly. As much as he appreciated having a nearly naked Sam on his bed, Sam's health was still more important than his perverse fantasies. Walking over to the shelf, he took one of his older and more worn-out shirts before turning back to Sam. The brunette looked at him a little confused as he took the dark gray shirt with the eagle imprint on the front.

“Take it. Like I said, you can't walk around like that”, huffed Trend and rolled his eyes.

The mohawked boy stood and slowly unfolded it, slipping the worn-out shirt over his head. The material was soft from all the years or usage. And it really smelt intensely like Trend, out of the same reasons. The damn thing was really worn-out, it was stretched so much that it was way too large for Sam. The brunette glared at the collar that kept slipping off his shoulder as though it was personally offending him. Which was an adorable thing to watch for Trend.

“Is there something I missed?”, chimed Donny's voice suddenly, startling both boys.

The Sea Prince cocked one curious eyebrow as he watched how Sam just got dressed in Trend's shirt, otherwise only wearing his boxershorts. The nasty glare from Sam told him that there hadn't been anything happening between the two boys though. A small grin slid onto Donny's lips as he watched Sam fidget with the stretched collar of the shirt that kept slipping off his right shoulder.

“Your ma stole my clothes”, was all Sam offered as an explanation. “Your family is evil.”

“You already mentioned that, yes”, grinned Donny delighted. “Now come, you two.”

“Why? Where?”, asked Trend skeptically and displeased.

He had been pretty glad to find Sam in his bed, so why did the Disney Princess have to come and interrupt? And where did the boy want to take them? But Sam was already half-way out of the room, so Trend could probably as well follow them too. Not much to hold his attention here if Sam would be following the Disney Princess like an obedient pup.

“Well, all your talk about Mulan gave me an idea”, replied Donny. “I figured that if we have to continue this journey for longer, we'll have to start working as a real team. We need some bonding. So I declare tonight to be movie night. The others are already in the mess hall, waiting for us.”

“Movie night? That's your idea of bonding for a quest?”, snorted Sam ridiculed.

“Well, we got to start somewhere”, shrugged Donny and glared. “Or do you have a better idea?”

“Well...”, drawled Sam and ruffled his mohawk with a shrug. “Naw. Not really. The only way I ever bonded during a quest was by fighting together. Which is kind of risky too if that's the first point you start bonding, I suppose... Oh well, whatever. Let's watch a movie.”

 

/break\

 

The seven teens sat crowded on the two couches in the mess hall, Nico, Thea and Herc on one couch, Sander, Sam and Trend on the other. Donny was standing in front of them, grinning widely.

“Okay. We're going to do some bonding now”, smiled Donny sweetly. “We'll watch everybody's favorite Disney movies. That way, we'll learn more about each other. And we'll have fun.”

Before anyone could complain or groan about it, Sander stopped them with glares. He was very supportive of his boyfriend and he found the idea actually quite sweet. They were all frustrated because they had no idea how to continue, where this was even leading them. And they were all exhausted from the training, so just leaning back and relaxing sounded like a good idea.

“He's the leader. So just do as he says”, grunted Sander. “Spill it. Favorite Disney movie.”

The other teens fidgeted awkwardly. They weren't exactly in the age where they admitted to such things as watching Disney movies. Especially because right now, they were supposed to be in hero-mode and not in let's-watch-kid's-movies-mode. Sam stared along the couches and grunted.

“Pussies”, muttered Sam and rolled his eyes. “Mine is off the list. Because Trend and I already watched it last night. _Mulan_ , for those who are too slow to catch up. Because she's a real badass and a soldier and she actually saved China unlike those useless Disney princesses. No offense, Disney Princess, not talking about you. I'm sure you'd be great at saving China too. Next.”

Donny grinned delighted. He had guessed _Mulan_ to be Sam's favorite, but he wouldn't have thought to get the son of Ares to actually admit it. But he had a hunch that there was more to it than just Mulan being badass. The girl had tried to be someone she wasn't to please the expectations of others, just like Sam had. But once she had found a place where she belonged and where she found true love, she had actually also achieved true happiness. Just how Donny wished it for Sam. The son of Ares glared at the others demandingly. It was kind of sweet. He was Donny's best friend and he was putting up with Donny's stupid ideas and making the others join in on the fun too. It was a nice feeling, having Sam on his side. Thea grinned eagerly and leaned forward, ready to confess next.

“Okay, so. If Sam's is out of question, then I demand we start with mine”, declared the native American, her elbows on her knees. “ _The Beauty and the Beast_ , because of obvious reasons. Belle is like the princess of nerds. The only princess with real brains!”

“Makes me question Herc's... body-hair-situation”, snickered Sam, causing Herc to growl.

Trend elbowed him and gave him a glare so he would shut up. Forest-green eyes blinked up at him innocently as Sam leaned over some, cocking his head and resting it against Trend's shoulder. The blonde stared for a second, a little surprised, before he carefully dared to lay his arm on the backrest, around Sam's shoulders. Instead of getting more distance between them, Sam actually leaned into the offered embrace, practically melting against Trend's side. The son of Athena rested his hand on Sam's shoulder, just to have more contact, to make sure Sam wouldn't just run off again. But for once, Sam didn't seem to want to run from the affection. Now that he thought about it, Sam had been awfully affectionate ever since they had left New Rome. Not that Trend was complaining or anything. Sam, with his head on Trend's shoulder, nudged the blonde demandingly.

“Your turn, Khan”, declared the son of Ares. “And please, let it be something embarrassing.”

“ _Treasure Planet_ ”, grunted Trend with a shrug. “I always wanted to be a pirate when I was a kid.”

“Then you must be having a fanboy boner being on this ship”, grinned Nico cheekily, leaning forward to stare at the blonde. “You already captured yerself a wench, aye?”

“I”, interrupted Sander with a sharp glare toward Nico as he noticed how Sam blushed and tried to lean away from Trend thanks to her. “Love _Tangled_. Don't poke fun at me. It's about a handsome, charismatic and talented master thief, who after stealing the national treasure, manages to steal the heart of the pretty, daydreaming and determined Disney princess.”

“Aw”, cooed Donny and leaned in to kiss him. “But you forgot to steal the national treasure first.”

“Dis-gus-ting”, grunted Sam and rolled his eyes. “Really, really disgusting. Both of you.”

To dodge the hit from Sander, he fled back into Trend's arms, sticking his tongue out at Sander like a stubborn child. Trend rolled his eyes at their antics, but found himself immensely pleased to know Sam back in his arms. The son of Athena leaned his cheek against the softness of Sam's mohawk, inhaling the coconut scent of Sam's shampoo. He definitely had a scent-kink going on there.

“ _The Fox and the Hound_. Because it has talking animals and a cute fluffy fox and Todd and Cooper were like totally the One True Love until that bloody vixen barked in!”, declared Nico.

“You... are so freaking weird, Zhang”, snorted Hercules with one arched eyebrow.

“Well, what's your favorite Disney movie?”, challenged Sander with a smirk.

“I... uh... I don't...”, stuttered Herc embarrassed and blushed brightly.

“What?”, laughed Donny curiously. “What is it?”

“ _The Jungle Book_ ”, mumbled Herc, rubbing the back of his neck. “What? Don't judge. Always admired Bagheera and Shere Khan is just awesome... And I wanted to have my own Baloo.”

“That is so freaking cute!”, giggled Donny delighted and grabbed the cornucopia and the remote.

“Oh, rack off”, muttered the blonde, glaring at the Sea Prince. “What's yours? _The Little Mermaid_?”

“I'm not my mom”, snorted Donny and rolled his eyes as he got comfortable on Sander's lap – hey, those couches only had room for three people each. “My favorite is _The Lion King II_.”

“Whose favorite _anything_ is a sequel?”, snorted Sam, cocking an eyebrow. “Sequels suck.”

“It's because I've been watching it with aunt Rachel once and she told me how _The Lion King_ is like my parents' life”, grinned Donny broadly, a slightly dreamy expression on his face. “Like, grandpa Hades is Mufasa and grandpa Zeus is Scar. Just without the, you know, killing part. But Zeus had done everything to sabotage Hades too, separating him from his kids. Just like Simba had been forced to live in the jungle, far away from his home, making him an outsider to his own kin, my dad had been forced to live in the Lotus Hotel. And then Nala, my mom, came along and reunited my dad with his own kin again, with the demigods. And they have an epic, Disney-song worthy love going on. And mom and dad fought against Zeus when they had to protect me and my sister. Which brings me to the sequel, because aunt Rachel said I'm their Kiara. The totally spoiled princess that can't hunt, or in my case fight, and has dad looming over her, well, me. Oh! And Sander and Kovu both share that same scar over their eye. And they're both handsome.”

“How can a lion be handsome?”, questioned Sam, trying hard not to laugh. “So you truly _are_ a Disney Princess. A lion princess nonetheless! That is... too ridiculous for words.”

“Shut up”, huffed Donny with a faint blush, hitting Sam's arm. “What do we start with?”

“ _Treasure Planet_ ”, declared Sam with a cheeky grin. “I want to see Trend going all fanboy.”

“At least my movie doesn't have any songs I could... sing along to”, smirked Trend knowingly.

The son of Ares actually blushed dark this time, dark enough for the others to notice too, making them all burst into laughter. “Shut up, you wankers. Mulan has some awesome songs. And I have an awesome voice, assholes. You have no idea how much I rock _Let's get down to business_.”

“I'm... sure... you do...”, wheezed Sander between fits of laughter.

“He actually does”, remarked Trend seriously. “Wouldn't have believed it either, what with all the insults always passing his lips, but he really has a beautiful singing voice.”

The blush on Sam's face darkened even more, this time around making the others coo over him as though he was some adorable kitten that had just done something cute. He glared at them and flipped them the finger. Then he grabbed the cornucopia and summoned a bowl of bacon-flavored chips and placed it protectively on his lap, turning his focus onto that.

“Bloody, annoying, irritating wankers...”, muttered Sam around a mouth full of chips. “Hate you...”

“You love us”, grinned Donny and nudged him softly, stealing some chips before selecting the _Treasure Planet_ and pressing play. “Shush now, movie starts.”

That being said, Donny cuddled up into the tight embrace of his boyfriend's strong arms. Sander smiled down at him and kissed his nose before summoning a bowl of honey-popcorn, placing it on Donny's lap so he had an excuse to caress his lover's thighs every time he stole some popcorn. The brunette grinned broadly as he rested his head on top of Donny's, enjoying the way Donny's head rested against his chest and the weight of his lover on his lap. Donny really was like a kitten, curled together against Sander's torso. The not-popcorn-stealing hand was busy patting dark curls, his fingers running through soft hair. The brunette halfling was actually surprised that this movie night turned into quite the fun. In between, they fell into light conversation about the plots, laughing over some stupidity or simple jokes. And, much to everyone's surprise, Trend's accusation had turned out to be true too as, with the coming Disney movies and the higher and happier mood, Sam actually loosened up enough to sing along to a song or two. In the end, they even all chimed in.

“You're a genius, my Dark Sea”, whispered Sander softly into Donny's ear.

The Sea Prince hummed curiously, contently listening to the duet of Nico and Sam singing _The Bare Necessities_. Everybody was having a good laugh and for once, the weight of a world-rescuing quest wasn't wearing them down. Donny liked this carefree side of them. He normally only shared this kind of joy with his family and with Thea. He wouldn't have thought to hear Hercules and Sander sing _Tale as Old as Time_ in the most cruel cover-version ever, both boys doubling over in laughter half the time they were singing. Even the stoic son of Athena cracked a smile now and then; most of the times whenever Sam would start to sing or laugh. For the first time in his life, Donny felt as though he actually had friends. Just friends, who liked him for who he was and enjoyed being with him and having fun together. And he thoroughly relished in it.

 

/break\

 

By the time the end-credits of _The Fox and the Hound_ rolled over the giant flat-screen, Herc was already loudly snoring and Donny was slowly feeling drowsy too. Blinking one eye open, he turned to look over at his best friend. A small smile slid onto his lips as he noticed how a sleeping Sam was curled together on Trend's lap. The son of Ares had fallen asleep in the middle of the last movie and ever since then, had subconsciously scooted closer to Trend, seeking his warmth and contact, until he was sprawled all over the son of Athena. Not that the blonde looked as though he minded. He in fact looked quite content himself, a nearly dreamy expression on his face as he caressed the mohawk. The small smile grew some. The two sons of war looked too cute together.

“Well, time to go to bed”, announced Nico, the only one still wide awake. “Raser, up you go!”

“Sh”, chided Trend with a warning glare. “Don't wake him, Zhang.”

“Then how is he supposed to go to bed?”, grunted Nico and rolled her eyes.

The blonde huffed and stood, Sam cradled close to his chest. “I'll bring him.”

“You make him look like a light-weight”, complained Sander as he too stood. “It's unfair. I'm having problems supporting him when he's drunk. Wouldn't want to imagine carrying him around.”

“Well, this was actually fun”, noted Trend for the sake of ignoring Sander, instead looking at Donny in a praising manner. “Your way of going at things is... unorthodox, but I start seeing why Lady Persephone chose you to be the leader. You lead with your heart, which seems to be your strongest feature. Tomorrow morning, before dawn, I want you on deck, ready for training. And keep your boyfriend out of sight, I don't need him to distract you. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir”, nodded Donny with a broad grin. “And... good night.”

As he watched Trend leave with Sam, the broad grin turned into a beaming smile. The praising had been honest and somehow, it meant a lot to Donny to hear those words from Trend. The son of Athena had been the one to doubt him the most. Giggling slightly to himself, he leaned up to kiss Sander softly before jumping off the brunette's lap.

“See you tomorrow for lunch. Sleep well, mio eroe”, whispered Donny softly.

The brunette shifted slightly at the new nickname, enjoying the ring of it and the foreign sound of Donny speaking his father's native tongue. He had been dimly aware that Nico di Angelo had taught his children to be as fluent in Italian as they were in English, but he had never actually heard Donny use the erotic language. Still, it didn't distract him enough to not hear the hidden meaning.

“But... no cuddling? And I'm not even allowed to watch you train?”, whined Sander with large eyes.

“You heard my trainer”, grinned Donny with a shrug. “I love you. Night, Nico. Night, Thea.”

“Night”, chorused the girls as they were busy poking Herc to wake him.

 

/break\

 

Trend marveled at the peaceful expression on Sam's face as he placed the brunette on the relatively small bed. Then again, everything on board the ship was relatively small, because they didn't have any space to waste. Once the son of Ares was laying on the dark, red sheets, Trend turned around to leave again. But for a moment, he felt the ghost of a grip on his wrist. As he turned once more to look at Sam quizzically, he only just caught how Sam squeezed his eyes shut, in pretense of still being asleep. A blonde eyebrow arched upward curiously.

Sam was clutching his hand to his chest, cursing himself in his head. He had woken up due to the lack of warmth once he wasn't in Trend's arms anymore and suddenly, something had overwhelmed him. Something very close to fear. For the last five years, he had always dealt with _this_ on his own, by locking himself into his apartment and curling together in the farthest corner of his bed, waiting for the nightmares to pass, because at one point, they always started to fade into the background again. But now, after he had talked to Donny and had found himself in Trend's room the night before, he had for the first time felt comforted. As though he wasn't alone. Alone with _this_ , alone with the weight of it and the consequences and the nightmares. And it felt good and he liked it. He liked not being alone, he liked being with Trend. Last night, there hadn't been a single nightmare, even though he normally had nightmares for nights and nights to come whenever his traitorous thoughts would lead him to Leroy again. Nightmares of being scrawny and weak again, of laying defenseless beneath Leroy, unable to fight him off, tears being the only thing he had left. But Trend made him feel strong, able to fight everything. As long as Trend was there, he was safe. So he didn't want Trend to leave again. But... he couldn't just ask the blonde to pretty please stay with him so he won't have nightmares. That was just pathetic and weak. No, he couldn't do that.

“Sammy?”, whispered the son of Athena softly. “Would you... mind if I'd stay the night? Annabeth's old cabin is awfully chilly, I fear I'm going to be the next one to catch a cold if I stay there.”

The brunette froze and turned wide, surprised eyes up at Trend, slowly shaking his head. Trend grinned slightly to himself as he climbed into the bed next to Sam. He knew Sam's body-language enough to read the internal conflict Sam had been having. The brunette wanted him to stay, but his pride was in the way of admitting it. But this wasn't just about Sam's conflicted feelings, this was about whatever scared Sam. Trend didn't like it, he didn't like that there was anything at all to scare Sam. So if the son of Ares felt safe with him, then who was Trend to deny him? But he knew Sam good enough not to confront him about it. Being a child of Athena came in handy when he needed a fast excuse. Taking a deep breath, Trend cautiously laid one arm around Sam's waist.

“T—Thanks...”, whispered Sam softly, barely audible.

Sam knew why Trend had asked, even though Trend didn't really know. He didn't know what had Sam upset, but he knew that Sam was upset and he was offering comfort. And still, the son of Athena was not pushing it, even offering a cover-up so Sam wouldn't have to explain anything. No, not just that. Sam didn't even have to _ask_ for the comfort. Closing his eyes, Sam slowly snuggled up to the safety and warmth of Trend's embrace. He noticed how the blanket got drawn up to his shoulders. Strong arms wound around his waist, giving him that free and completed feeling.

“No need for that, Sammy”, whispered Trend. “You should know that I'll always be there for you.”


	38. Tricksters Times Two (Parental Life Part VI)

38\. Tricksters Times Two (Parental Life Part VI)

 

A soft melody passed rosy lips in a curious humming as Percy climbed the stairs, clutching Sam's clothes to his chest. He had taken them away from the son of Ares, the least he could do was return them to the boy's home. After all, he only wanted for Sam to tease Trend a bit, he didn't want to actually take the boy's clothes away from him for good. And being the husband of Nico di Angelo had its perks. Like having free reign over the pass keys of the DPS buildings. With one of those keys in his pocket, he was currently on his way up the stairs to Sam's apartment.

There were several DPS apartment buildings in New Athens, for all those that would have been considered year rounders in Percy's old days. Demigods who already lost everything – their mortal parent, their home, their world-view – shouldn't have to live in a small wooden cabin in a summer camp with no privacy. They were only one room apartments, but the kids got to stay there rent-free until they finished high school. Each building had satyrs as janitors and also as guardians, checking on the kids and on the states of their apartments, making sure they had more than just fast food in their fridges, kept their rooms clean and stayed out of trouble.

Percy passed a couple of demigods and the occasional satyr on his way. While the satyrs nodded kindly to him, knowing who he was – not just in terms of being a hero, but also in terms of being the husband of their boss – most demigods looked at him in awe and wonder. It was adorable.

Finally reaching the apartment with the scribbled 'Sam Raser, son of Ares' on the doorbell, Percy grabbed his key and opened the door. He had seen many demigod dorms before, so he had quite the picture in his head how the apartment of a child of Ares would look like. One word: Chaotic. The way he remembered it from Clarisse' home whenever Chris was gone for a few days. Once again, Sam proved to surprise him. The apartment was like any other – upon entering, there was a tiny kitchen unit on the right and the door to the small bathroom on the left and the rest was the bedroom. No dirty in the sink, all plates and bowls neatly put into the shelf above the kitchen unit. The room itself was cleverly parted by a high shelf, separating the small bed in one corner from the flat-screen, the table and the two-seat couch on the other side of the shelf. No dirt, no dirty clothes, no mess. More the contrary even. It was rather tidy and neat, the clothes in the shelf were even sorted by colors – many shades of green in army-style, plenty shades of red and the occasional black and white muscle shirt – and the books in alphabetical order. Stepping up to the shelf, he started to put the clothes to the colors they fit to. His eyes scanned the backs of the books. Mainly historical texts about the ancient wars and heroes, but also the occasional _The Art of War_ or _War and Peace_. Some CDs (punk rock and classic, which was an odd mix in Percy's book) and DVDs (mainly action movies, with the occasional comedy thrown in for good measure), also in alphabetical order. With his curiosity picked, he walked around the shelf to the bedroom-part of the apartment and stared at the bed with a broad grin. Even though red was the dominant color in the apartment – most plates were a dark red, the walls were a light rose red, the couch blood red – the bedsheets were dark gray with light gray owls printed on. They were practically screaming Athena. Or, more precisely in this case: Trend. It was adorable. Percy remembered how he had done the same thing when he had realized his feelings for Nico. His _Finding Nemo_ bedsheets had changed to _Nightmare Before Christmas_ , because it had made him feel closer to Nico, as though he was climbing into Nico's bed or into bed with Nico. Percy wondered what Trend was thinking about this, because he was sure the blonde had been at Sam's place before too.

“Should I be concerned that you're in another man's bedroom?”

Percy did not even jump at the sudden voice. He had felt the shift of water in the air as Nico had exited the shadows, it wasn't a surprise. It was a keen thing that Nico had learned to shadow-travel to people instead of just to places. Smiling brightly, Percy turned around to stare up at his husband.

“Hello, love. How was the quest?”, asked Percy softly, wrapping his arms around Nico's neck.

“It was... annoying”, sighed Nico, resting his forehead against Percy's. “Guess whose kid?”

Percy hummed curiously and looked over his husband's shoulder to stare at the shy girl behind Nico. It showed how much Nico loved him, that he first went to see Percy, before even bringing the demigod back. Percy's eyes scanned the teen. Light brown hair, light brown eyes. Flower dress.

“Demeter?”, asked Percy with a smile. “Hey there, I'm Percy di Angelo, son of Poseidon.”

“Phylicia Rosenberg, d—daughter of... of who?”, replied the girl, looking at Nico lost.

“Daughter of Persephone”, grunted Nico with a grimace. “I'll go downstairs with her and arrange for her to get a room so she can shower and rest. And then I'll have to attend a meeting with Chiron and the others. But I promise, I'll be home for dinner, okay?”

“If you're late, you'll sleep on the couch”, smiled Percy broadly and pecked Nico's lips.

 

/break\

 

Chiron was having a migraine. A Hermes-children-inducted migraine. When the Stoll brothers had left Camp Half-Blood and moved to New Athens, he had hoped he'd have at least a century before Hermes would 'bless' him with another set of full-blood siblings again. His hopes had been in vain. And not just brothers, no, they had to be twins. Travis had at least been older than Connor, giving Chiron more of an opportunity to tell them apart. But Hayden and Hunter Hood were identical twins and they were eight years old, which meant they were full of unused energy and mischief. And they were being raised by the Stoll-brothers, which certainly would not have been Chiron's first choice either. But he understood and it had actually made him proud when he had first learned that Travis and Connor had wanted to take care of the orphaned twins. The identical, brunette brothers had reminded Travis and Connor too much of themselves to leave them on their own. Still, now Chiron had the Stolls 2.0 to deal with. And right now, he had to deal with all four of them.

Travis grinned broadly over at Chiron from where he was sitting on the farthest right of the couch opposite the exhausted and disappointed looking centaur. Connor was sitting on the farthest left and between them sat two very guilty looking Hoods. Hunter was half hiding in Travis' side, while Hayden had his arms around Connor's waist, staring apologetically up at his guardian. It was never good when Chiron called the parents. And the twins remembered vividly how Jackie had started avoiding them after his parents had talked to Chiron. They didn't want something like that! Their dark-green eyes stared at Chiron, begging and pleading silently.

“Travis, Connor”, started Chiron, taking a deep breath. “You know why you're here?”

“Because our sons are awesome?”, grinned Travis cheekily, ruffling Hunter's hair.

Hunter turned wide, hopeful eyes on Travis. The twins knew that Travis and Connor weren't their parents, not by blood. They also knew that technically speaking, Travis and Connor were their older half-brothers. But for the last two years, the Stolls had raised them and been there for them. They were their parents by all other definitions. But they normally only called the Hoods their sons when they were very proud or when it was the twins' birthday or something else special. Which meant that the two weren't angry with Hunter and Hayden. And that was a huge relief.

“By your definition of the word, yes”, sighed Chiron, massaging his temples.

“Hah, I told you the buggers would make us proud”, grinned Connor and high-fived his brother.

“If you two would at least try to see this from the perspective of a decent human being”, grunted Chiron displeased and glared at the Stolls. “They are being a bad influence on Jackson di Angelo.”

“Jackson di Angelo?”, asked Travis with a frown, searching his memories for which di Angelo that had been; what with all the children they had made. “Oh, Jack! That's the mini-Percy, right? Wait... Why are our boys being a bad influence on the mini-Percy? What's going on here, boys?”

The older Stoll turned to look critically at Hayden and Hunter, both twins guilty once more. They appreciated that their boys were pranksters and caused trouble and mischief at camp, but being a bad influence on the mini-Percy? That did not sound good, not at all.

“Well, they got Jack involved in a prank on the Aphrodite cabin before and last night, I found the three of them out way after curfew”, replied Chiron gravely. “You know why I called you here. I'm used to having Hermes' children cause trouble, but I called you here to warn you. If those two keep getting Jack in trouble, you are going to find yourselves with an angry Nico di Angelo at your hands. And I doubt you would want that. No one wants that. Now, I hope you'll talk some sense into your... sons. For your sake, their sake and the sake of my sanity.”

“Sure”, nodded Travis slowly as he stood. “Thanks anyway, Chiron.”

Connor gave the centaur a short nod too, grabbing Hayden's hand to pull the two-minutes younger twin along. Hayden automatically attached himself to Connor's hips, staring up at him in wonder. Sighing softly, the younger Stoll caressed the dark brown hair of the child. The twins had been in a couple of awful foster families before the Stolls had taken them in. They sometimes still were afraid to be punished or worse yet, to be send away. The four tricksters left the Big House and before Connor had a chance to speak up and say something to his older brother, they were interrupted.

“Heist? Hunt? Are you in trouble now?”, asked a soft, small voice.

The Stolls turned to stare at what could only be described as a mini-Percy. The small boy had his right thumb caught between his teeth, his eyebrows all the way up, his sea-green eyes wide and wet. Travis snorted amused and went into his knees in front of the boy, taking a closer look, Connor standing right behind him, cocking his head curiously. The twins all the while attached themselves to either side of Jack, hugging him and staring at their guardians wide-eyed as though they feared the Stolls would take Jack away from them, the same way Jack had avoided them before.

“Please, I don't want them to be in trouble because of me!”, exclaimed Jack. “I'm sorry! It was my fault, they wanted to show me something, that was why we were out, please don't punish them!”

“Damn, mini-Percy, you're though”, grinned Travis and ruffled Jack's hair.

“I have a name”, pointed Jack out and pouted slightly.

“He knows that, Jack”, chuckled Connor as he came to sit next to his older brother. “See it as a compliment. You just remind him very much of your mom. Isn't that a good thing?”

Jack looked thoughtful for a second, before nodding. “Yes. That's good. Mommy is the best.”

“See?”, smirked Travis amused. “Now, to get to your question... Don't worry, they're not in trouble. And even if they were, I suppose we would now be forced to lift the punishment anyway. Who would be able to be held responsible for that face? You're even worse than your mom.”

Travis waved in the general direction of Jack's large, teary eyes and quivering lower lip. That boy really knew how to work his adorableness in his favor. The older Stoll heaved a sigh, though his mood lifted some when he felt his brother's shoulder against his own, nudging him slightly.

“Now, you three. What are you up to? What's going on, mh?”, asked Connor sternly.

“We saw a hippocampus in the lake and we wanted to show it to Jackie”, mumbled Hunter.

“But we didn't want to get him in trouble, please don't tell his parents! The last time they had to come here, Jackie stopped hanging out with us!”, whined Hayden, his arms around Jack's waist.

“Mommy and daddy didn't make me stop seeing you”, disagreed Jack and shook his head. “They just said that I'm not supposed to get into trouble again...”

“Which kind of is the same”, snorted Travis amused.

“B—But you can't take Jackie away from us!”, gasped Hayden, his dark eyes tearing up.

“Yeah!”, agreed Hunter, nodding his head vigorously as he stepped in front of Jack and Hayden. “He's ours! They can't take him away from us! Y—You can't... take him away from us...?”

He sounded more unsure the second time around, still not knowing what their guardians would do if they misbehaved. Hunter and Hayden loved the Stolls, they didn't want to leave. They didn't want to be send away. But they also didn't want to lose Jack. They only just had found him and he was _perfect_ , because his heart was full of mischief and his cute face got them out of all kinds of trouble.

“Would you mind explaining to us _how_ Jack is yours?”, grunted Travis skeptically.

“He's our mascot!”, declared Hunter determined. “We're the Trickster Twins and he's our mascot! With him, we're like... like the Trickster Trio! He's part of us, you can't take him away from us!”

Connor smiled at the boy, with a sad edge. Hunter reminded him a lot of Travis back after their mother had passed away, back when the two of them had been alone and traveling the streets, searching for a safe place. He would do anything to protect his brother. The twins were spending their second summer at camp now and so far they had only made one friend, aside from their cabin. A daughter of Ares who they hung out with frequently, outside of camp too. It had taken the daughter of Ares to coax the twins out of their shell some more, it was then that they had first heard the boys call themselves the Trickster Twins. It was adorable and had made Connor coo (for which Travis was still teasing him). To hear that they included Jack made Connor cock one eyebrow.

“Please?”, asked Hayden softly, hiding his nose in Jack's hair.

They had lost much already and if they got so attached to Jack, then it would break their hearts to lose their friend again. Connor turned soft, begging eyes on Travis, making the older Stoll flinch slightly. How was he supposed to stay strong when being faced by four pair of such eyes?

“Fine, fine. I'll talk to the di Angelos”, sighed Travis annoyed, earning him four kisses on the cheeks, one from each of the boys. “ _But_ if the three of you don't want for Nico and Percy to keep you apart once camp time is over, you got to make an effort too. You have to obey at least some of the rules around here, okay? If you have to show him something, show it to him in the morning and not during night time. For once, I have to agree with Chiron here, after all. That's dangerous. There are the harpies who are ready to eat you. And I don't want either of you eaten. Connie and I are not against you pulling pranks, but we're against you doing really dangerous stuff, okay? We love you two buggers and we don't want anything to happen to you, clear?”

“Thank you, paps!”, grinned Hunter broadly, hugging Travis enthusiastically.

Travis huffed and stumbled as the other Hood-brother collided with him too. He earned himself another kiss on each of his cheeks before the twins jumped off again. Hunter and Hayden grinned broadly at the Stolls before turning toward Jack, each grabbing one of Jack's hands.

“Come on, Jackie! I want to talk to the weird colored water-horse more!”, demanded Hayden.

“Yes, come! Let's go swim some!”, grinned Hunter and nodded hastily, leading the way.

“Heist! Hunt! Wait!”, yelped Jack as he stumbled after the twins. “Slow down!”

Connor grinned after them as he helped his older brother up. Travis gave an exhausted sigh, wrapping one arm around Connor's shoulders as he stared after the three laughing children.

“That right there”, grunted Travis with a nod into their direction. “Is going to be a lot of trouble once they're older and figure sexuality out. A heck of a lot of trouble for _us_.”

“Hush”, snorted Connor, leaning his head against his brother's shoulder. “I think they're cute.”

“You say that now, Connie”, muttered Travis, resting his chin on Connor's head. “But you don't have to try and pry a furious Nico off my neck yet.”

“Well, once you go and talk to the di Angelos, as you just promised our sons, I probably am going to get a taste of that”, laughed Connor teasingly. “Now let's go home before Chiron notices what we did to his clothes. I don't want to receive another preaching today.”

 

/break\

 

Percy took a last critical look around the kitchen. The light was dimmed, romantic music was playing in the background, steaming food on the table, red wine in the glasses. Everything was set. The last thing missing was his husband. Sighing softly, he straightened the blue dress shirt down some. He had even prettied himself up some. This was the first night they had to themselves in ages. At least if it was going to work. Knowing Nico's work, this wouldn't happen anyway.

“Hello, mio amore”, purred a dark voice from behind him.

Seconds later and he had strong arms wrapped around his waist and found himself pressed against a hard chest. Shuddering in delight, Percy leaned into the embrace and bared his neck for Nico. The son of Hades obeyed the offer and attached his lips to the tempting neck.

“I missed you, mio angelo custode”, grinned Percy delighted.

“I heard as much earlier during the meeting”, snorted Nico amused. “Piper told me you've been bugging her and Annabeth so much that she forbade you from calling. And she also mentioned that you were _pouting_ and thus fled to New Rome. So... How's my sister then?”

“Fine, great”, answered Percy and turned around to wrap his arms around Nico's neck. “A little worried though because Sparky and Herc decided to ditch camp in favor of attending our son's quest. They left a note for their parents. You should have heard their freak out upon reading.”

“What...?”, asked Nico, now completely confused as he slowly sat down on a chair.

“Right”, grinned the Sea Prince sheepishly. “The kids – our wonderful son, Thea, Sander, Sam and Trend – came to visit the Romans too. You remember Sam Raser? The son of Ares that came with Donny when he said his good byes before leaving for the quest? The desperate, flustered brunette?”

“The one clinging to you and blushing so much?”, snorted Nico and nodded. “What about him?”

“I decided to keep him”, grinned Percy broadly.

The son of Hades heaved a sigh and nodded. Percy always did that, but so far, he had only done it with the kids of their friends. This demigod must be special if Percy decided to extend his care and protection to him too. Nico made a mental note to check Sam's file first thing Monday morning.

“Of course, mio bello”, nodded Nico obediently, kissing Percy softly. “Anything else new?”

“Well...”, drawled Percy, biting his lower lip and adjusting himself to straddle Nico's hips. “Sander and Donny are now officially dating and I made sure they take some of Leo's tea with them.”

“Y—You... Why would you do that?!”, grunted Nico wide-eyed.

“Because”, started Percy and kissed Nico's jawline along. “I don't want Donny to end up pregnant. Not saying they're having sex, but I just wanted to make sure. Don't worry, don't shadow-travel after them and do not scare Sander off. They're not having sex, okay? I'm just overly cautious.”

“How can you demand for me not to shadow-travel after them?”, pouted the son of Hades.

“Because...”, drawled the Sea Prince, his voice dark and low as he whispered into Nico's ear, his hands rubbing up and down Nico's chest. “I've had a whole weekend of missing you and your wonderful, wonderful cock. It's too bad that you have to take it with you when you leave...”

“I think that's good, because otherwise you wouldn't need me anymore”, snorted Nico, wrapping his arms around Percy's frame to rest his hands on his husband's butt. “You're trying to distract me.”

“Does it work?”, asked Percy with a cheeky grin.

“It would be more effective if you had less clothes on”, grunted Nico amused.

“But then the food would get cold”, hummed Percy critically.

“Who cares?”, growled Nico, biting Percy's neck. “What do we have a microwave for?”

“Good thinking”, laughed the son of Poseidon, slowly climbing off his husband.

The son of Hades raised one eyebrow as Percy peeled his shirt and jeans off in a lusciously slow pace. Licking his lips, he cocked his head, staring at Percy's fingers hooked into the boxershorts.

“You have my full attention”, nodded the Ghost King intrigued.

“Good”, grinned the son of Poseidon delighted. “Because when Donny and his quest were visiting the Romans, they came to borrow the Argo II. It seems they have to go to Europe.”

“O—Our baby boy is going to Europe? For a _quest_? I thought this was supposed to be a calm and short quest! I won't have our son endangered like that!”, growled Nico dangerously. “And he's with Sander? The horny teen? On a ship, on their way to Europe, without a chaperone?”

Percy batted his eyelashes and turned around, pushing his boxershorts down, wiggling his ass some.


	39. Putting the 'Tension' in 'Sexual Tension'

39\. Putting the 'Tension' in 'Sexual Tension'

 

Sam's eyes were wide and fearful as he looked around. He knew exactly where he was. In Leroy's bedroom. Frantically looking around, he found the door gone though. There was only the bed and him, naked and defenseless. He was back to being twelve, to being untrained and without muscles. But there was Leroy, looming over him, holding him down with a painful grasp that he knew would leave bruises in the morning. Because that was what it had done back then. Closing his eyes tightly, he chanted away the lyrics of his favorite song loudly in his mind so it may tune out the sound of Leroy's voice and his words, his words. The words he didn't want to hear, didn't want to remember.

“You're my boyfriend, it's your duty to serve me”, growled the hoarse, dark voice into his ear. “Don't be such a pussy about this. It's going to be fun, so stop crying like a little girl.”

“I—I don't want to, Roy”, whispered Sam's high-pitched pre-voice-break voice. “L—Let go...”

“You'll learn to want it”, promised Leroy with a snicker. “Now be a good boy and spread your legs.”

Sam felt like drowning, because he knew what would come next. He knew the pain and the humiliating words that would follow. Tears gathered in his eyes. But... the pain didn't come. Instead, he felt the weight of Leroy being lifted off his body and heard a dull thud.

“I think I heard him say that he doesn't want you”, growled another voice, one Sam easily recognized. “So don't touch him. If I see you touching him again, I will break your neck.”

Sam cracked his eyes open to stare stunned at the scene in front of him. Trend was there and he was pinning Leroy against the wall, his arm pressed against Leroy's throat. And then, Leroy just... vanished into thin air and the room shifted, until Sam found himself on Trend's bed, in Trend's apartment in New Athens. The son of Athena was standing in front of his bed, offering Sam a soft smile and his hand. As Sam reached out to take the offered hand, he noticed that he was back to being himself, not scrawny and weak anymore, but his nowadays, proper self. Trend pulled him up until Sam was standing right in front of the blonde, not an inch between them.

“T—Thank you...”, said Sam, still confused as to what had just happened.

Trend wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and pulled him into a tender hug. “I'll never let anyone hurt you like that again. I will always protect you, Sammy. You're safe with me.”

“I know”, whispered the son of Ares back, leaning up enough to brush his lips against Trend's.

 

/dream|end\

 

Trend groaned as he received another elbow into the ribs. Slowly opening his eyes, the blonde stared at the kicking and flailing son of Ares in his arms. Rubbing his eyes with one hand, he used the other to pull Sam closer, even though that also brought him more kicks and punches.

“Sammy”, murmured Trend softly, one hand on Sam's lower back, the other running over Sam's mohawk. “Sammy, wake up. It's just a bad dream. Calm down. Sh, calm down.”

“I—I don't... don't want... to...”, mumbled Sam into Trend's chest, shaking his head.

“Okay...?”, nodded Trend confused. “Even if you don't want to, it would be better if you'd wake up now. You're clearly upset and I hate to see you upset. Please wake up, Sammy.” As it didn't seem to help, he wrapped his other arm around Sam's waist too and held him close, tenderly kissing the top of Sam's head. “You're safe, Sammy. You're with me, you're alright. Everything is alright.” And as he continued whispering soothing words for minutes and minutes to go, Sam's trashing died down. “I'll always protect you, Sammy. You're safe with me.”

“...know...”, mumbled Sam, his voice calm and peaceful again as he snuggled up to him.

“Good”, smiled the son of Athena softly, kissing Sam's forehead. “Now let's sleep some more, shall we? I'll keep the nightmares away. Damn, you're a really heavy sleeper, Sammy.”

The sleeping son of Ares grunted as though he wanted to agree with him, making Trend laugh.

 

/break\

 

“Morning”, acknowledged Thea with a short nod, shouldering her towel. “Shower?”

“I just wanted to go upstairs and check our course”, replied Nico with a frown.

“Shower”, nodded Thea, linking arms with Nico. “And stop looking so sour.”

“Sorry, sorry. Being Noah on his ark is just not that much fun”, snorted the Latina.

“Noah on his ark?”, repeated Thea amused as they entered the bathroom.

“You and Herc, Donny and Sander, Sam and Trend. It's like fucking pairing heroes up. Or pairing heroes up to fuck, depends on how you'd like to phrase it”, huffed Nico, undressing herself.

The native American frowned for a second, staring thoughtful at her friend as she too shed her clothes. As both of them were naked, they stepped into the shower stall.

“What about you?”, asked Thea softly. “I mean...”

“You mean you're feeling bad for me for being the odd one out?”, supplied Nico and rolled her eyes, shampooing her long, dark curls. “I don't care about being in a relationship at the moment. Got to mend my tender, broken heart first as it got ripped out oh-so brutally.”

“I sometimes wonder if you're even capable of being serious”, mused Thea and shook her head.

Heaving a sigh, Nico gave up. “I was having a major crush on Kara, okay? But she's with that useless, stupid Iris-brat and judging by the amount of cuteness I have to listen to from her, chances are low that they'll break up any time soon. So fuck this shit. I don't need it.”

“Kara, mh?”, nodded Thea thoughtful. “Damn. I'm sorry.”

“Don't be”, snorted Nico with another shrug. “It was just a crush. You know it's not the rule that you live happily ever after with your very first crush, right? So it doesn't matter really.”

“The problem is that it does though, mh?”, smiled Thea softly and nudged Nico. “So... tell me. Who's been lifting your spirits? Because you've been downright miserable when you, me, Dash, Sander and Donny went out at the beginning of summer. I mean, I literally had to break you and Dash apart. Now that actually also makes sense to me too. But now you're all sen about it? _Someone_ seems to already be in the middle of minding that tender, broken heart of yours. Tell me who.”

“What? No one. Stop talking bullshit”, hissed Nico and blushed slightly.

“So there _is_ someone”, grinned Thea delighted. “Tell me, tell me, tell me.”

“It's not like that”, defended the Latina embarrassed. “Joe's just being a good friend, is all. Gets drunk with me, lets me badmouth the stupid Iris-brat all day long, offers me new projects to tinker on and keep my mind off Kara and all. I mean, we're like practically kind of sisters.”

“Practically she's kind of your aunt”, corrected Thea amused. “And practically, that really doesn't matter looking back at our family's history. Joe, eh? She looked... buff. Not that that's a bad thing!”

“It sure ain't”, huffed Nico, giving her a hard glare. “She's like the strongest girl I know. She can put shit together some of the boys can't even lift up. And she gets me. My tinker-babbling, as the other campers call it. But that doesn't matter. I don't want a relationship, or _feelings_. Had enough of that.”

Thea decided to leave it at that, because it seemed Nico was quite busy contemplating her own feelings at the moment. It figured that the tinkerer would not even notice if someone was hitting on her. She never had been good at noticing that, actually. Even though she was easily the most beautiful girl Thea knew – lean body, tall, long legs, caramel skin, deep, dark eyes, long, dark curls to frame her curvy body and damn it all, those curves. Thea just wished for Nico to be happy. Heartbreak was never easy and after being disappointed like that, she deserved someone who cared for her. Now Thea just needed to get to know more about Joe Foxx. It was a good thing she had her own spy in New Rome. Time to go and squeeze some information out of Herc.

 

/Donny's|diary\

 

_Hello, journal. I know I haven't written to you, or into you, not so sure about the terms here, for a little while. Been quite busy, being on my very first quest and all. Anyway, much has happened!_

_You remember how nervous I was about my first date with Sam? It's kind of ironic, I just reread my entry from back then. I mean, he's my best friend now and I can't imagine being romantically involved with him anymore. He's so sweet and so cute when he's talking about Trend, even though I don't think he notices that himself. But now I learned something... highly upsetting and I don't know how to deal with it. Sam told me that he was raped by his ex. And I want to help him, I want him to be better, because even though it's been years, I think he never really... handled it. He never talked about it with anyone and he was actually blaming himself for it! I want to help him being better again, but I just don't know how. All I do know is that I want to see the bastard who did that to him suffer like nothing else. Even the worst punishment in Tartarus would be too good._

_The problem is that it explains so much about Sam and his conflict with his feelings. I thought it was just his silly hero-pride that made him so adamant on not admitting that he wants to submit in bed and now I really wish I was right. He's afraid and I understand that he is, but... Trend would never do that to him. Trend would never abuse his trust like that and I think deep down, Sam knows that. I think Trend would be able to really help Sam, but for that they would need to get their act together and actually get together. I want Sam to be happy and Sam loves Trend, he really does. I can see it in his eyes, he sometimes stares at Trend so longingly._

_It's such a mess. And all of that in the middle of the quest. We're currently on our way to England, by the way. And Trend agreed to train me. Which is very good, not just because I could use the training, but also because that way, I can investigate if he has feelings for Sam! But now I really have to go, he said before sunrise and I doubt I'd enjoy it if he's angry..._

 

/entry|end\

 

Donny grinned broadly as he hopped off the bed and dashed out of his room. His thumb was absentmindedly running over the skull-ring, giddy for a fight, for training. But once he was on deck, he was only faced with a dreamy looking, red-faced Latina, steering the ship.

“Nico? Have you seen Trend?”, asked Donny confused, staring at the pink sunrise.

“What?”, yelped Nico surprised and jumped some, staring at him bewildered.

“Where is your head?”, grunted Donny worried. “You're currently controlling the ship. Please tell me you're at least a little bit focused on your task, yes...?”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. Just... stuff on my mind”, mumbled Nico, turning a darker shade of red.

“Well? Trend?”, prompted Donny once more.

“No one has been up here yet. I think me and Thea are the only ones awake anyway”, grunted Nico with a shrug. “You should probably check his cabin, or something.”

Donny nodded slowly, giving his cousin a last, worried look before turning tails. Nico was probably right, if Trend wasn't here, he was most likely still in his cabin. Perhaps he had slept in? Or he had decided that he didn't want to wait on Donny; it was sunrise already, after all. Though checking Trend's cabin, he found it empty and the bed unused and cold. Frowning confused, he next checked the bathroom. Then again, if he hadn't slept in his bed at all, he must have slept somewhere else so he most likely was there. Now Donny just needed to find that place. The mess hall wasn't it. The couches were both still covered in popcorn from last night. If Trend hadn't slept in his own bed and also not on the couches, then where had he slept...? Face-palming, he turned toward Sam's room.

“Sh, don't wake him, princess”, whispered the son of Ares with a glare.

Donny, leaning into the room and holding onto the frame, stared at the two sons of war in the bed. Trend had his eyes closed, his breath even, one arm leisurely wrapped around Sam's waist as the brunette laid half on top of him, using the son of Athena as a pillow. A broad grin spread over Donny's lips as he cooed softly. Sam looked too cute, the way his cheek was pressed against Trend's chest, his lower lip caught between his teeth as he was blushing slightly.

“Stop staring, you wanker”, hissed Sam annoyed. “You're not getting him. Forget your training. Right now, he's mine. I'm not handing him over, so just... get lost, princess.”

Giggling silently to himself, Donny retreated out of the room. If Sam was getting cuddles, he would be the last one to take that away from the son of Ares. Closing the door again, he slowly contemplated what to do now. He had time to waste, it was way before seven in the morning. The image of Sam snuggling up to Trend gave him an idea. If he had to wake up that early, then his boyfriend could as well share his fate. With a cheeky grin that would rival any child of Hermes did Donny sneak into his boyfriend's cabin, just to find a peacefully sleeping Sander. Time to wake him.

“San? Sander? Mio eroe?”, whispered Donny as he climbed on top of Sander, his hands on Sander's chest as he trailed kisses down Sander's jawline and neck. “Mio eroe, wake up. Your princess calls.”

“What's it mean...?”, mumbled Sander sleepily, prying one eye open. “The Italian thingy. What's it mean? And what are you doing in my bed? Is this a dream? Will you start stripping next?”

“Perv”, giggled Donny and hit Sander's chest. “I'm real, you idiot. Trend is... occupied by Sam.”

“Occupied?”, asked Sander and tried sitting up. “He's not doing naughty things with Sam, right? Because if that bastard isn't even ready to admit his feelings to Sam, I'm not having him--”

“Calm down, papa bear”, chuckled Donny and cocked one eyebrow. “They're just cuddling.”

“Oh... Okay”, nodded Sander relieved and leaned back again. “So, what does it mean?”

“Eroe? It means hero”, grinned Donny, laying down comfortably on top of Sander. “Because you're my hero, San. So... I figured it would fit. Or don't you like it?”

“No! No, I love it. It's awesome. And _hot_. Please more Italian, yes?”, asked Sander with begging eyes. “It sounds hot when you speak Italian. I've never heard you use the language. More?”

“You perv”, laughed Donny, kissing Sander's nose. “Ti amo, mio eroe.”

“Mh... Yeah, that's the stuff...”, purred Sander pleased, melting into the mattress.

“Do you have a language-kink?”, asked Donny, lacing his voice with the same heavy Italian accent his dad always used on his mom. “That is actually quite adorable, Sander.”

“I have a Donny-kink”, mumbled Sander and blushed. “It's just... everything you do, okay?”

“That is just plain adorable”, laughed Donny delighted.

“Can we make out some and you tell me stuff in Italian?”, asked Sander with puppy eyes.

 

/break\

 

Herc did not trust the smile on his girlfriend's lips and the tray of breakfast in her hands. She only ever spoiled him when she either wanted something from him or had done something stupid. The last time she had brought him breakfast, she had 'accidentally' summoned Tempest inside the meeting hall, leaving him to clean off a giant mess and explain that to the praetors and the augur.

“What did you do this time?”, asked Hercules skeptically and sat up.

“Nothing”, huffed Thea with a glare. “What do you think of me? I'm just being a nice, loving girlfriend, bringing my wonderful boyfriend his breakfast.”

“Okay, then what do you want from me?”, chuckled Hercules, arching one eyebrow up.

“Tell me more about Joe Foxx. What's she like, how's she treating people...”, prompted Thea.

She sat down next to her boyfriend, batting her eyelashes at him with an innocent grin. Heaving a sigh, Herc wrapped one arm around her slender waist and pulled her against his side.

“Joe's an okay dude. Dudette? She's awesome either way”, shrugged Herc thoughtful. “Always helps the newly claimed kids of Vulcan getting settled. And like you saw, she's translating Nico's gibberish into coherent sentences whenever our dear Nico is stumbling over her own sentences in all her excitement over one thing or another. I'm not really close to the tinkerers though, so...”

 

/break\

 

Sam was at the brick of falling asleep again when he felt the son of Athena beneath him stir. Cursing in his head, Sam tried to get up. He couldn't just lay there, snuggled up against Trend. It was bad enough that he had kind of asked Trend to stay the night. No need to look more pathetic.

“Hey”, whispered Trend softly, the hand on Sam's lower back sliding up to rest between Sam's shoulder-blades. “I don't know about you, but I had a crappy night. I'd enjoy laying in some. Lay with me some longer? The bed is cozy and warm, the rest of the ship is chilly.”

“You're such a wimp”, snorted Sam, but he snuggled up to Trend quite happily.

It was nice and weird at the same time. Sam enjoyed being that close to Trend, feeling the blonde's fingers caress his neck and mohawk. But as good as it felt, Sam knew that two guys didn't just cuddle like that, patting each other's hair and snuggling up to one another. Not two guys that were just friends, at least. Boyfriends on the other hand... Sam scowled to himself. He knew why he was laying on Trend, because the blonde made him feel good and safe and he smelt amazing and he was strong and the strong muscles felt great beneath his fingers. But why was Trend doing it?

“This is weird”, declared Sam annoyed, folding his arms over Trend's chest and resting his chin on them so he could glare at Trend demandingly. “Can we at least talk so it's less... girly?”

“Because talking always makes cuddling less girly, sure”, chuckled Trend amused. “What about?”

The son of Ares shrugged. He had actually wanted to ask something different. _Why are you doing this?_ But he was too afraid of the possible answers. Laying back down again, he noted how perfect he fit against Trend's side, with Trend's arm around his waist once more.

“Do you want kids...? I mean, when you're older. Not right now”, asked Sam slowly.

The son of Athena frowned curiously. That was an awfully specific and personal question. Nothing Sam usually asked, especially not in a situation he'd already deem as 'awfully personal'. His hand was back to tracing along Sam's spine, because he enjoyed the way Sam arched into the touch.

“Sure, I guess”, nodded Trend thoughtful. “I always wanted a daughter, daddy's little princess.”

“Yeah, a daughter would be cute”, grinned Sam wistfully. “But a son... You know, I can totally see you as an awesome pa to a boy, training him and forming an heir and stuff.”

“I guess that would be nice too”, agreed the son of Athena softly. “What brought that question on?”

“I just... keep thinking about Eli. My son. The one I met because of those stupid sparkly dragonflies in Alaska”, answered Sam. “I keep wondering... I mean, if I don't meet the right person, at the right time, then he will never be born. But he was awesome... is? Will be? Mh... I don't know...”

“If it lays in the future, then it will happen eventually. You shouldn't worry about it”, soothed Trend, the free hand caressing Sam's hair. “Tell me more about him. What was he like? And the future?”

“Adorable”, grinned Sam broadly, staring up at Trend with proud eyes. “Totally awesome. Really shy and scrawny, but I think he's great. He looks like a miniature version of me, which kind of freaks me out though. But he's sweet. And I, I mean my future self, he was really proud of Eli too.”

“What about Eli's... mother? Father?”, asked Trend slowly, unsure if he wanted an answer.

“No idea”, shrugged Sam irritated. “I only met myself, Eli and the mini di Angelos. And older-Sam hadn't told me a thing. Not about that at least. I just wish I had met my daughter too.”

“Daughter?”, asked the son of Athena curiously.

“Yeah. I saw a photo of Eli, holding a cute blonde baby-girl in his arms”, nodded Sam thoughtful.

Trend closed his eyes for a second and allowed himself to be egoistic, to imagine himself with that. With Sam at his side and having an adorable son and a cute daughter. The thought made him smile. Maybe, just maybe, it _was_ his. Now he regretted not having followed the dragonfly...


	40. Like Those Japanese Porn-Comics

40\. Like Those Japanese Porn-Comics

 

Nico cursed to herself, flexing her burning hand beside her just before shooting the ball of fire. Right now, she regretted being the Noah on this ark, because she just knew those horny bastards were all below deck, going at it like bunnies or at least cuddling. Well, not for long anymore.

“Damn it, guys!”, screamed Nico annoyed. “Move your asses up here, _right now_!”

A loud screech that sounded like Donny and the crash of wood was what she got in reply. Seconds later and the blasted giant squid holding onto the mast was waving Donny in front of Nico as though it wanted to taunt her. The Latina frowned upset. The only way that thing could have gotten Donny was by breaking the ship. Her mamá would be heartbroken! A cursing Sander was hanging off the squid's tentacle, trying to free his boyfriend. But the tentacle was tightly wrapped around Donny's midsection. Only moments later and Herc and Thea were by Nico's side.

“What the actual fuck”, grunted Herc. “I was just having breakfast when a tentacle broke off the wall between my room and Sander's room... What is happening here?”

“We're under attack, you idiot”, spat Nico irritated, trying to burn the squid and force it to drop Donny. “We're flying too low, too close to the sea. But we're nearly there, so...”

“Why are you dick-heads so loud?”, complained Sam annoyed as him and Trend too emerged from below deck. “Oh wow. What the fuck is that? And can we eat it?”

“Really?”, grunted Thea with a disapproving glare. “Can we eat it? That's the first thing coming to your mind when a giant monster is attacking us? How did you live so long?”

“By eating”, snorted Sam, pulling his golden storm lighter with the bronze swan imprint on the front out of his jeans pocket. “And _this_ looks like delicious calamaris.”

As he clicked it open, it turned into his two-edged sword. A sly smirk slid onto his lips as he cut the offending tentacle holding his best friend captive off with one swift move. Donny and Sander hit the deck with a loud thud. Sam shuddered pleasantly as he felt the presence of Trend's sword next to his. The Owl's Feather had a strong aura, according to old tales it used to belong to Caesar himself. Sander helped his boyfriend up and the two of them hurried over to their friends.

“Okay guys, San and Herc go at it from the right-”, started Sam in a firm voice.

“And Sam and Trend go at it from the left”, finished Sander, out of years of routine.

“Nico, distract it with your fire-”, continued the son of Ares.

“And Thea, try stabilizing the ship”, added Sander, turning quizzical eyes on Donny. “Sam...?”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing”, nodded the mohawked boy with a smirk.

“Guys, not everybody shares that brain you two seem to share!”, interrupted Herc annoyed.

“Right. Sorry”, grinned Sam sheepishly. “Donny, you need to talk to this beast.”

“Try to confuse it”, explained Sander with wide gestures. “This thing is easily as huge as our ship and it tore half of of apart. It's too large. Our swords are like needles for it. So it needs to be properly distracted for us to even remotely stand a chance.”

“Remotely? Fuck you”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes. “I'll turn it into calamaris.”

“Sounds good enough for me, but-”, started Sander with furrowed eyebrows.

“I know, I know. _Lay off the garlic_ ”, grunted Sam in a bad Sander-imitation. “Okay, I think everything is said. Scatter guys. Whoever cuts off more tentacles, wins.”

Trend stared at the duo for a second longer as Sam and Sander already headed off. “Did you...”

“I had no idea”, answered Donny, knowing the question, staring just as stunned.

He had been aware that his boyfriend and his best friend had been on plenty, plenty quests together before. But he had never actually seen them in their element. It had always been something happening outside of camp, away from Donny. He had never pictured them actually finishing each other's sentences. Glancing over at Trend, he saw jealousy flaring in those dark, gray eyes.

“Well, we better do as they say. They have more experience than all of us together”, said Herc.

He nudged Trend to get the other blonde out of his stupor. Shaking his head, the son of Athena tried to focus. Right now it didn't matter that Sander and Sam could actually finish each other's sentences, right now it mattered that they were under attack and that Sam and Sander had made a plan and it was now their duty to follow that and help. Gripping his Imperial-gold sword tightly, he followed Sam. At this moment, he was Sam's backup, which meant Sam was depending on him. This made him oddly nervous. He knew he was capable of fighting, but he had never actually fought in a team, with others depending on him. Especially not with Sam depending on him.

“They're only putting me up as a distraction because they don't trust my abilities yet...”

“Don't pout, di Angelo”, grunted Nico and nudged her cousin hard. “Besides, can you blame them? You're the most untrained out of all of us. It's safer for you at the sidelines. Now start talking.”

“Right”, nodded Donny with a sheepish grin, turning toward the squid. “Hey! Hey, you!”

Sea-green eyes were less focused on the giant squid, but more so on his friends. He was worried for Sam, Trend, Herc and Sander. This thing had quite the force in its tentacles. If Sam wouldn't have cut the tentacle off, it would have broken Donny's ribs, that was for sure.

“ _Pretty thing. New toy_ ”, chimed a creepy, dark voice, making Donny shudder.

“A... Are you talking about me?”, asked Donny slowly, taking a step back.

“ _Yes, yes. Pretty new toy. I will eat the others and keep you._ ”

“That... That's very nice of you”, smiled Donny a bit strained. “But why don't you just not kill us?”

“ _Mh... No. Demigods are delicious. Make for fine treat. You're pretty. Makes for fine toy._ ”

The squid seemed to cock his head, staring intensely at Donny while hitting Hercules square in the face, knocking him down. One tentacle circled Sam's waist from behind, wrapping around one of Sam's thighs too. The son of Ares was spurting a row of curses as his sword got knocked out of his hand. Trend beneath him was busy thrusting his sword into the squid's side.

“ _You don't want to be alone? I take this one too, yes? Not alone then. Has nice ass. I like ass._ ”

“Okay... giant squid with a fetish for asses, nothing weird there”, muttered Donny to himself and nodded slowly. “W—Why do you... uh... want to keep us...? Wouldn't it be better to eat us?”

“ _Fun first. Then eating. I like filling nice, tight humans. Are you tight?_ ”

“Oh in the names of my grandfathers!”, exclaimed Donny and paled. “This squid is a perv!”

“I noticed!”, called Sam back, his face red. “Get your fucking tentacle out of my pants!”

Trend saw red as he stared at the offending tip of the tentacle that was trying to push past the jeans' waistband, but thanks to the tight belt, it had no chance. That didn't change the beast's intentions. Roaring darkly, the son of Athena lunged at the monster, slashing away like a mad man. Blood was splashing everywhere and even though the squid tried to defend itself, Sam in his one tentacle kept him occupied, just as Sander and Herc on his other side did, the fire hitting him square in the face was not helpful either. The anger-fueled attack of Trend was effective, because within a short time, he had slashed his way to the beast's heart and cut it straight. With a pitiful wailing sound, the animal gave a few last convulsions and collapsed on the deck.

“What in the world was that?”, grunted Sam as he crawled out from under the squid.

He stayed on all fours, pretending to rest. The truth was, he tried to hide his erection. That had easily been the hottest thing he had ever seen. Trend, furious and in full-blown fighting mode, covered in blood as he had practically single-handedly killed a giant monster.

“I—I...”, started Trend, a little stunned himself. “I didn't like the way that thing was touching you.”

The son of Ares sat up some so he could stare wide-eyed up at the blonde. For a second, he was sure that his heart had stopped. Two realizations dawned on him, filling him with dread and making it nearly impossible to breath. The answer to the question he had not dared to ask last night was now loudly screaming at him. _Why are you doing this?_ The inkling he was having last night was cemented now. _Because Trend loved him_. The cuddling, the tenderness, the always-being-there. The small caresses. The glances. It all crashed down on Sam in sudden understanding, every little interaction since they had reached Alaska rushed past his inner eyes again, in a completely different light. The birthday present. The way Trend kept sniffing him. The blasted, blasted nickname Trend insisted on using for Sam. All the small things together. Trend _loved_ him. But in his mind was no room for joy, because the second realization followed right away. If Trend was ever to learn what had happened between Leroy and Sam, Trend would kill Leroy. And even more important, would Trend still want him then? Did Trend want him at all, sexually that is? They had an emotional connection, always had. But bodily? He wasn't one of those petite, pretty things Trend normally enjoyed. And even with the slim chance of Trend wanting him _like that_ then why should the handsome blonde want him once he knew that Sam was... He couldn't even finish that thought, unsure what to put there. Impure? Tainted? Damaged? Broken? Dirty? Trend could never know.

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit!”, exclaimed Nico so loud and furious that it interrupted Sam's thoughts.

“What? What's wrong?”, asked Donny with an upset frown.

“This blasted bastard bitch of an ink-bottle tore part of the engine out too”, hissed the Latina. “We won't be going very far. We need to land and do repairs. Preferably not in the next big city.”

“Well, the fates are in our favor”, commented Sam, his voice hoarse and strained with the emotions battling within him as he stared over the rail. “My place isn't all that far away. Grace?”

“I can stabilize the ship for a while, not for very long though”, nodded Herc thoughtful.

The legacy of Jupiter closed his eyes and concentrated on controlling the winds. Sam practically jerked the remote control from Thea's grasp and focused his full attention on the task of bringing them down safely, tuning the voices and actions of the others out, as well as his thoughts.

 

/break\

 

Donny was leaning against the mast, his shirt clawed in one of his hands while his boyfriend was applying some kind of herbal mix on the bruise forming on Donny's chest from the squeezing of the tentacle. It would have been easier and faster to give Donny nectar and ambrosia, but he guessed that his boyfriend needed the reassurance of body contact, personally and tenderly rubbing the warm cream onto olive skin. It was a sweet notion, in Donny's mind.

“I love you. Don't ever get abducted by a monster again”, ordered Sander sternly. “Ever.”

“Okay”, nodded Donny obediently, smiling slightly to himself.

His eyes swept over to the others. Herc had sweat running down his forehead like waterfalls, his eyes crossed in concentration. This was taking its toll on him. Thea was fussing over him, handing him cooled water and patting the sweat away with a towel. Nico had left as soon as Sam had taken over so she could check on the engines, hoping to at least mend some parts of it right away. What was catching his attention was the way Sam stared into the distance, looking a little off. Trend was standing next to him, but the blonde was being ignored. Whether it was on purpose or not, Donny really couldn't tell. Because the son of Ares looked seriously troubled and distracted.

“You and Sam... You're a better team than I thought”, mused Donny softly.

“Are you jealous, my Dark Sea?”, teased Sander with a grin, leaning down to kiss his boyfriend. “Of course we are. We didn't become the heroes we are by just fighting next to each other, but by fighting _together_. You and him may have developed quite the adorable friendship, but him and me had been friends for years now, a team for years now. Of course we developed a certain flow.”

“Not... jealous”, corrected Donny a little thoughtful. “More like... intrigued. I've heard much about your heroic deeds, but seeing you two in action is interesting. And you're hot when you fight.”

“Same goes for you”, grinned the brunette against his love's lips before sealing them again.

“Where the fuck is that blasted tinkerer when you need her?”, growled Sam, about the first thing he had said for an hour now. “Fuck this. Hold onto _something_. I'm trying to land this shit.”

Trend, who had gotten out of his shirt and tried to clean himself up with it as best as possible, practically automatically wrapped one arm around Sam's waist and held onto the rail with the other. Much to the blonde's surprise, the son of Ares actually pushed him off quite forcefully and glared.

“Something. Not me”, growled Sam with a certain distance to his voice.

The brunette averted his eyes, holding onto the rail himself. He didn't want Trend that close. Not now. He was too confused, too overwhelmed, too... too _everything_. He needed time to think and Trend's muscular, warm body against his did not help in that matter. He could see the way Sander was cradling Donny in his lap, holding onto the mast while keeping his boyfriend close. A strange pang of longing hit him and for a second, he regretted pushing Trend away. He wanted someone to make sure he was safe too. He wanted Trend to keep him safe like that too. But he couldn't let Trend close, not like that. Especially not now. Because if he'd let Trend close, he'd... he'd _tell_ Trend.

The rough crash-landing of the Argo II interrupted any thought-process though. Sam took a relieved breath as they did not crash into the wall of the mansion. His grandpa would have had his head otherwise. Still, they were taking up all of the front yard. Lucky him that the property mostly considered of width of nothingness. Smoke was rising from different places and curses could be heard as the crew emerged from the half-wrecked ship. At least Sam had managed to land with the bad side down, so the still intact half of the ship wasn't additionally damaged. As the seven regrouped in front of the ship, Sam gave the wreck a critical once over before turning to the crew and doing the same with them. Nico was covered in oil, grime and sweat. Herc was covered in sweat and ink from when the squid had hit him. Sander and Donny were injured from the fight before too. And Trend was still dripping blood all over the place. Thea just looked distraught.

“Inside. Showers and rest. Everything else can wait until tomorrow”, declared Sam shortly.

The other six heroes exchanged a couple of confused glances at that, but they still followed the son of Ares, knowing Sam was right. This trial had exhausted them all, injured half of them and covered them in different not very pleasant substances during the process. The fireflies buzzed around Donny's head for a moment, distracting the boy. He had nearly forgotten about them.

“ _We will go and talk to our cousins. You will meet us at the Gate of Magic by sunrise._ ”

“We will”, nodded Donny slowly and waved the seven glowing spots off.

He grabbed Sander's hand and pulled the brunette along, following Sam into the giant, impressive mansion. It was old-fashioned, of course, Sam had said that it had been in his family for generations. Old armor lined the hall like knights protecting the home, beautiful portraits of knights and later on of soldiers smiled down at them from either side as they followed Sam deeper inside and up the stairs. Stained glass windows gave them a colorful glow as the setting sun shone through them. Mighty, dark wooden doors tried to intimidate them once they reached the first floor.

“Sander, Donny, my cousin's room”, ordered Sam, indicating to different rooms. “Nico, my cousin's room. Herc, Thea, my aunt and uncle's room. No funny business, or I'll separate you and make you sleep in my other cousins' rooms and they are still kids. Trend, my room. Sorry, you'll have to sleep in other people's beds, but our guest rooms are really in no condition to be used because they're generally never used. My family's rooms are at least... offering a bed, I guess. Showers are at the end of the hall on either side and on the first floor. Try not to ruin the expensive carpet, please.”

Trend had one hand on the doorknob of the room Sam had identified as his own. As odd as Sam's earlier behavior had seemed, he was pleased to stay the night in Sam's room. Though the brunette didn't join him as he opened the door, instead the son of Ares opened the door left to his room.

“Sammy...?”, asked the son of Athena a little confused.

“Don't always fucking call me that, damn it”, growled Sam darkly, not turning toward him. “You can have my room. I'll sleep in my ma's. I'll see you guys in the morning, I'll head to bed. Tired.”

The door opened and then closed behind Sam quite loudly. Trend looked at the closed door, his expression kind of lost, before he turned toward the others, confusion written all over his face. Even Donny could only shrug at that. They all knew that Sam and Trend had slept in one bed ever since they had left New Rome and they had also noticed that Sam was the most calm and responsive around Trend. Sander hadn't seen Sam that hostile toward Trend in weeks, it was unsettling. Caressing Donny's hand softly, he let go of it so he could follow Trend into Sam's room. It was in rich, dark red colors, from the heavy velvet curtains to the satin bedsheets and the wall-painting. Some posters from old video games from Sam's youth hang on the walls, as well as a bunch of photos, some of what the two boys assumed to be Sam's family, some of their friends.

“What did you do to him?”, asked Sander in an accusing voice. “He hasn't been that way toward you for weeks now, he even brushed you off there earlier. Did you hurt his feelings? Did you hurt him? Because if you did, I'd be forced to hurt you, you know that, right?”

“I didn't do anything”, grunted Trend frustrated and collapsed on the broad four-poster bed.

“Then what's gotten into him?”, demanded Sander to know, a sharp edge to his words.

 

/break\

 

Sam heaved a sigh as he leaned against the heavy door from within the room. Dust was sparkling in the rays of the sun, the air inside was dry and thin of oxygen, feeling foreign as he breathed. Shaking his head, he walked over to the large windows and pulled two of them open. After months of staying unused, the bedrooms always gathered this eerie feeling of emptiness and discomfort. Shuddering as the unusually fresh air hit him, he turned around to the bed and collapsed face-first on the soft, blue bedsheets. His fingers grabbed around until he felt the edge of the pillow between them. Pulling it closer, he wrapped his arms around it and curled together around it like a child hugging a favorite toy. His nose was buried in the pillow and albeit faint from months of being unused, there was still the scent of his mother's perfume clinging to the pillow. With his eyes tightly closed did he inhale and try to imagine his mother to be there. Not that it would be of much use. He had not even told her about what had happened five years ago, so how was he supposed to explain his current predicament? Still, just knowing her calming presence to be close would help. With her scent surrounding him like that, it was even easy to picture her nimble fingers running through his hair, just as she used to do when he was a small boy.

“Sam? Are you alright?”, whispered someone from above.

Blinking his eyes open, Sam came face to face with a worried Donny. The half-Italian was running his fingers through Sam's hair, leaning over him and staring at him curiously.

“Go away”, mumbled Sam half-heartedly, turning away from the other boy.

“What's wrong?”, asked Donny and sat down next to Sam. “You're being... weird.”

“I think...”, started the son of Ares softly and scooted closer until his head was resting in Donny's lap, giving the curly-haired boy a better opportunity to caress the sandy-brunette mohawk. “I think that Trend loves me... I—I mean, I'm actually pretty sure at this point that he does.”

“Then why the long face? And why aren't you with him?”, asked Donny confused.

“Because... he can't...”, whispered Sam, hiding his face in the pillow. “I can't be with him and lie to him, but I also can't tell him, because then he'd know. And he's either... going to be disgusted or disappointed. I'm not like the ones he beds usually anyway, I'm not pretty and I sure as Hades am not petite. The only thing I have is being strong, so if he is even remotely interested in me in _that_ way too, then what will he think if he knows that I can't even... couldn't even defend myself...? W—What do I even have to offer...?”

Donny stared down at the boy curled together in his lap, surprise and shock written all over his face. He wouldn't have taken Sam for someone to doubt himself. Sure, he had seen how deeply hurt Sam was, but he wouldn't have thought that the cuts ran that deep. Hugging the brunette closer, he tried as best as he could to whisper soothing words into his best friend's ear until Sam fell asleep.


	41. Bunnies and other Adorable Things (Camp Life Part II)

41\. Bunnies and other Adorable Things (Camp Life Part II)

 

Hunter was crouching down on the ground, slightly behind Hayden and Jack, always having their backs. The three of them were trying to hide behind some bushes, Hayden and Jack on all fours. Hayden's one hand was covering Jack's, while he was pressing a finger against his lips in a silencing manner with his other hand. But Jack was too busy staring in awe to even make a sound anyway. Olive-dark eyes scanned their surroundings, weary of any monster that may lurk in these parts of the woods, his fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of his Celestial bronze sword as Hunter made sure the three of them were safe, well aware that the other two were too engrossed in the scene they were watching to even pay attention to any monster that may attack.

“Can we keep it?”, asked Jack, his voice soft and in awe. “Pretty please?”

“I dunno”, frowned Hayden, turning toward Hunter. “You think we can catch it, Hun?”

Hunter rolled his eyes and put his sword away, crawling over to sit on Jack's other side. He peered through the bushes too, staring at the round, black ball of fur with the long ears and the twitchy nose. Hayden and Hunter had spotted the bunny on their way to place itchy-powder in the beds of the children of Aphrodite and they had known right away that Jack would love the cute thing. Because they knew that cute things liked cute things, it was a simple rule. So they had hurried to fetch Jack and then dashed into the woods, following the bunny's trail.

“Sure we can”, snorted Hunter, motioning for his brother to follow him. “You, stay here, Jackie.”

Jack nodded obediently and watched how the Hoods climbed down the ledge to get closer to the bunny. He grew more giddy. Sure, they had Mrs. O'Leary and Small Bob at home, but those two were their family pets and Blackjack was his mommy's companion and Shadowchaser was Donny's companion. An own pet though? He had always wanted that! But his mommy had said they had enough and that Jack was too young. Inching closer to the cliff, he watched in amazement how Hunt and Heist tried to corner the cute ball of fluff. Jack had always loved bunnies!

 

/break\

 

Matthew was not pouting. He was just sitting with his arms crossed and a dark glare attached to his face in front of the Poseidon cabin. That was all. Not pouting. It was just that Jack had been supposed to come to him this morning so the two of them could go swimming together. But when the younger boy had failed to come, Matt went to check the Poseidon cabin, just to find it empty. The worst part was that he knew exactly who was at fault for the younger once's absence. Those stupid, blasted, idiotic trickster thieves. They kept stealing his Jackie!

“Judging by the glare on your face, you must be Matt Chase.”

The sudden voice surprised Matt, causing him to look up. A girl around his own age stood in front of him, staring down at him with caramel eyes, her sand-brown hair short. He recognized her vaguely from the bonfires. After all, there weren't that many demigods around their age at camp, they were the youngest, those between six and eight, though Jack with his five years was the youngest overall. Thinking hard, Matt finally managed to place the face. Bellatrix la Fey, one of the children of Ares that always tagged along after the Rodriguez-children.

“Yeah. Why?”, grunted Matt confused and stood. “What do you want, Bellatrix?”

“Bella”, corrected the daughter of Ares annoyed. “Or else I'll be calling you Matthew.”

“Okay”, snorted Matt and rolled his eyes; stupid girls. “Bella. What do you want, anyway?”

“Your stupid, little best friend stole my stupid best friends, so we're kind of stuck in the same situation”, answered Bella, shoving her hands into her pockets. “Let's work together.”

“What are you talking about?”, questioned Matt, cocking one eyebrow. “What do you want?”

“You and me, if we work together, you get the annoying brat back and I get the Hoods back”, explained Bella, talking especially slow as though he was a total moron. “I saw them running into the forest, the restricted part of it. If we follow them and catch them doing something forbidden, then they'll be in trouble with Chiron and maybe this time around, they'll be banned from hanging out anymore. You get your best friend back, I get mine back and everything is back to normal.”

Matt frowned thoughtful. The core of it sounded good – he'd get Jackie back and those annoying tricksters would finally stop endangering the adorable Sea Prince. But part of him was aware that Jack would be highly upset by this. Heaving a sigh, Matt stood.

“Show me where to”, ordered the blonde boy with a sharp nod.

 

/break\

 

Hunter and Hayden were so short of catching the black bunny, but right before Hayden could wrap his hands around the animal's midsection, a crashing sound and a screeching scream reached their ears. Their heads snapped around to stare wide-eyed at Jack. The edge of the cliff had given away and where the twins had cautiously climbed down, the legacy of Poseidon was currently sliding along a patch of dirt, sticks and stones, screaming fearfully. The bunny was instantly forgotten as the twins rushed over to where the younger boy was most likely going to land. The last part of the down-climb was practically vertical, the part where even the reckless twins were cautious. But Jack was sliding too fast by now to slow down, so Hayden and Hunter stood ready to catch him.

“Woah”, gasped Hunter as the air got knocked out of him.

He had his arms tightly wrapped around Jack as the boy had just crashed down on top of him. More or less. Jack was still half-hanging, his foot having been caught by a root and twisted in a not very healthy way. A whimper escaped Jack's lips as he clawed helplessly onto Hunter's shirt.

“Sh”, whispered the older boy. “I got you, it's alright. Hay?”

“On it”, nodded Hayden and cut the root with his pocket-knife.

Holding onto Jack's legs, he slowly lowered the younger boy onto the ground. But once Jack was standing between the Hoods, he practically collapsed into Hunter's arms, his own arms around the taller boy's neck, holding onto him for support as he started to cry.

“What's wrong, Jackie?”, asked Hunter worried, staring helplessly at his brother.

“H—Hurts”, whimpered Jack, shifting his weight to only stand on one foot.

“Come here, sit down”, whispered Hayden softly, taking Jack's arm and helping him down.

The younger Hood sat down together with Jack, leaning the Sea Prince against his chest and cooing softly to the boy to calm him. He all the while also motioned for Hunter to check Jack's leg. Hunter looked reluctant at first, not wanting to cause the crying boy any more pain, but in the end, he decided that they needed to see how bad the damage was. Cautiously opening the shoe, he pulled it off, which earned him quite the loud scream from Jack. Wincing at that, he tried to peel the sock off more carefully to reveal Jack's foot. His ankle was already swelling, a nasty, rash raw, bleeding where he must have hit it against a stone or something during his fall.

“Shit”, whispered Hunter with a crestfallen look. “W—What are we supposed to do now...?”

He had Jack's foot placed in his lap, running overly cautious fingers over the slowly swelling ankle, a fearful and upset expression on his face. Jack was crying widely, loudly and openly, big tears rolling down his due to the crying rosy cheeks, lower lips shaking and sea-green eyes glassy as he tried to rub his tears away. Hayden had his arms around Jack and his chin resting on the smaller boy's shoulder, frowning thoughtful and worried over at his twin.

That was the situation Bella and Matt stumbled upon. The brunette daughter of Ares stared a little annoyed at the crying boy. She had never thought much of weakness and crying was sure a sign of that. But the blonde next to her practically jumped down the edge of the cliff in such a hurry, that she was left stunned. Matt cursed beneath his breath as he reached the other three boys.

“What did you do?”, spat Matt angered and pulled Jack close to him.

“N—Nothing”, whispered Hayden. “He just... fell, the edge of the cliff broke off...”

“Well, then don't just sit there and stare at him as though his crying is going to heal him!”, snapped the blonde, burying his fingers in Jack's hair as he hugged his best friend closer. “You should get him to the infirmary! Argh, useless, idiotic tricksters. Bella! Can you help me?”

The daughter of Ares was slowly climbing down the wall, staring thoughtful from one boy to the other. Jeez, it was no wonder that di Angelo was such a cry-baby if everybody right away fawned over him like that. Still, she gave the blonde a slow nod. She could see the brat was in pain and even though she really, really, really disliked him for occupying her best friends all the time, she didn't actually want Jack to be hurt. He was kind of cute, in a pet-kind-of-way. Like a kitten.

“Sure. He doesn't look very heavy”, agreed Bella, looking Jack up and down.

“N—No! No, no, no!”, exclaimed Jack and pushed Matt off enough to look at him.

“What's that supposed to mean? You can't just lay in the woods until it's all healed up”, grunted Matt annoyed and glared at the stubborn boy in front of him. “Just... listen to me, _once_.”

But Jack kept backing off, even though it made him wince in pain, until he was sitting between the Hoods again, grabbing one hand of each of them with his own and staring at Matt with those big, pleading and quite watery eyes, still leaking crocodile-tears.

“I—If I go to the infirmary, they want to know what happened and if Mister Chiron learns that Hunt and Heist and me were in the forbidden part of the forest, then he will tell mommy and daddy and they will be upset with me because they didn't want me to get in trouble and now I'm hurt and mommy hates it when I get hurt, he's always getting really, really upset then and then they will tell me that I get into too much trouble with Hunt and Heist and they will forbid me from seeing them and I don't want that!”, rushed Jack out between crying-inducted hiccups.

Matt gritted his teeth annoyed. Was he the only rational being around, or what? But Jack was still giving him the puppy eyes and damn it, Jack's puppy eyes were very effective. The boy was too cute to be true, it was utterly horrible and completely impossible to deny him. Still, he kept his glare dark, gray eyes shifting to stare at the guilty-looking tricksters on either side of his best friend.

“W—We didn't mean for him to get hurt...”, whispered Hayden, his eyes downcast. “We even told him to stand back and wait for us! ...H—Hun...? Will they... send us away again...?”

The younger Hood lifted his head to stare at his twin, his own eyes shining with unshed tears. Hunter shifted nervously and scooted closer to sit behind Hayden and Jack, one arm wrapped around each of them. He wished he could assure his twin that the Stolls won't send them away, but Hunter and Hayden had been in enough foster homes to know that nothing was certain. Sure, some of them had been awful, but the twins had also been in some very wonderful families. Which in the end had brought them far more pain than the bad ones, because the kind smiles and the soft voices telling them that they were sorry and that they hoped the twins would find a good place sometimes hurt more than the beatings. Whenever the Hoods had found a nice place, a nice family to stay with, the parents would all too soon realize how much trouble and work the twins were and that they were just too much to handle, until the Hoods found themselves back in the system once more. Nothing guaranteed that the Stolls won't send them away too. After all, the Stolls and the di Angelos were friends, Hunter wasn't sure how the Stolls would deal with this on the long run. The Hoods were pulling the child of their friends into constant trouble and now Jack even got hurt. If the di Angelos heard about this, they surely would be angry. What if they'd tell the Stolls to send the twins away...?

These thoughts were mirrored quite well on his face as he hugged his younger twin and their Jackie close. Matt watched this display closely. He knew about the Hoods' past, had been nosy enough himself once those blasted thieves had latched themselves onto his Jackie. And even though he _hated_ them, he couldn't help but feel awful for what they had been through. His own ma and mom loved him very much and he couldn't even picture losing one of them. And now living with the constant fear that maybe they weren't wanted anymore by the parents that took care of them at the moment, Matt didn't want to think about it. Groaning annoyed, he glared at the twins.

“What are you two still doing here? Get going!”, ordered the blonde irritated. “You're _thieves_. Sneak into the infirmary and get some nectar, ambrosia and a thick bandage for Jackie so we can patch him up for now! With a little luck and much nectar, he'll be healed up before anyone notices and then no one has to know about any of this.”

Hunter was the first one to get up, walking over to stand right in front of Matt, their chests nearly touching as he glared down at the blonde. “Why would you help? You hate my brother and me.”

“But I care about Jack”, hissed Matt back, irritated that Hunter was actually taller than him. “And I hate to see him cry. I'd rather help you useless tricksters than see him upset.”

The son of Hermes spend another moment staring at Matt, judging him and his motives, before he deemed them acceptable and motioned for Hayden to follow him. Once the twins were out of the clearing, the blonde crawled closer to his best friend and pulled him into another hug.

“T—Thank you, Mattie”, whispered Jack and snuggled up to the older boy.

“Why the Hoods?”, grunted Matt with an upset frown.

“Because they like me for who I am and not for who my parents are”, answered Jack softly.

This surprised the blonde quite a bit, making the legacy of Aphrodite look down at the boy in his arms questioningly. “What do you mean by that, Jackie?”

“I know why most demigods are nice to me”, mumbled Jack, slowly calming down from his pains. “Because they think they get into my siblings' good grades, or even into my parents'. I know most think that I'm just a cute but stupid little kid. I'm just too young for most, they're bored because I'm a little kid... B—But Hunt and Heist like me because I have a spark of mischief in my eyes, is what they said. They like me because of me, not because of my family.”

That was an awful thing to hear from a five-years old kid, especially one as adorable and lovable as Jack. It made Matt frown upset and cock his head. Running his fingers through Jack's hair, he tried to comfort the younger boy. Jack laid cuddled up against Matt's chest, yawning widely.

 

/break\

 

Theseus di Angelo was not impressed. To say the least. It was late in the evening, he had spend the whole day trying to sweet-talk Luke into not fearing his dad (not successful) and making out with Luke (very successful). When he had come back to the Poseidon cabin, Silly and Jimmy were AWOL, most likely causing mischief with the blasted witch boy Basty and the flower boy Andy, trying to cheer Carry up, the youngest Rodriguez was quite worried about her brother and still missed her sister. He also knew that Percy was in the Hades cabin with her girlfriend Kitty. Which left him alone with an already sleeping Jack. Whose foot was bandaged so thickly that it was practically twice its size. The unsettling feeling of failure overcame him. Donny had entrusted him, as the third-born, to be in charge. But here he was, with an injured baby brother, missing, mischievous twins and his own twin most likely having sex against a wall.

Cursing in his head, he sat down next to Jack and nudged the younger di Angelo. “Jack? Wake up.”

“Is it breakfast yet...?”, asked Jack with a yawn and sat up some.

“It's 'Is it morning yet', not 'Is it breakfast yet'”, corrected Thess and shook his head amused. “What happened to your foot, tesorino? And why wasn't I called to the infirmary when it happened? I'm your current cabin head, the Apollo brats should have send for me!”

“Wasn't in the infirmary”, mumbled Jack, staring down at his pillow in guilt.

Thess scooted closer, cocking one eyebrow. “Why not? Jackson, what happened? And why is there a rodent sitting on your bed? Seriously, what are you up to when you're alone?”

Jack's eyes widened as he stared over at the confused bunny. The black ball of fluff was sitting at the foot end of the bed, chewing on a carrot, a big, turquoise bow around its neck. There was a card attached to its neck and upon seeing the wide-eyed, curious look in Jack's eyes, Thess took it.

“We're really very sorry Jackie, please be alright. Your Hunt and Heist”, read Thess.

Jack was silent for a moment, grabbing the bunny and placing it on his lap, caressing the soft, fluffy fur. Thess just sat there and waited for his brother to talk. He knew the younger boy would, eventually. It was a Jackson-trade, as their dad called it. They weren't good liars.

“Hunt and Heist and me went into the forest to catch this bunny, even though we knew it was forbidden and I'm really, really sorry for causing trouble again! B—But then I fell and I hurt my foot and we grew scared that if mommy and daddy knew, they would be angry and forbid me to play with Hunt and Heist again because it's already the third time I got in trouble while being with them... A—And mommy always worries and he would be really upset if he knew I got hurt... But I really wanted a pet, like mommy has Blackjack at his side and Donny has Shadowchaser and I want someone who is mine too...”, whispered Jack softly, kissing the bunny's nose. “B—But it wasn't Hunt's or Heist's fault, really! They even told me to stay back, but then the cliff collapsed...”

“Hey”, whispered Thess, wrapping one arm around his baby brother. “Don't worry, you should know mamma better than that. He would never ever forbid you from seeing your friends, especially not ones who he sees that you care that much about them, mh?”

Jack frowned for a second. He hadn't really thought about that yet. His mommy loved his friends and the friends of his children dearly. Jack knew how much his mommy valued friendship. Surely, Percy di Angelo would never take a good friend away from his children. Jack's face brightened.

“So it's alright and we're not in trouble?”, asked Jack hopefully.

“You are in a lot of trouble”, corrected Thess with a grunt. “Mamma and papà won't forbid you from seeing your friends, but they sure as grandpa won't be happy to hear that you continue getting into trouble. There are other punishments, tesorino. You are so going to end up with kitchen duty until the end of the year. And don't get me started on the disappointment in mamma's eyes once he hears that you haven't been listening to what he asked of you.”

Jack looked crestfallen and guilty, his lower lip quivering again. Thess sighed. It was unfair, he couldn't even properly tease the younger di Angelo, because an upset Jack was contagious. One could not stand being responsible for such a thing without feeling upset themselves.

“What are you going to call it? The bunny, I mean”, asked Thess softly, nudging his brother.

“I... dunno...”, frowned Jack thoughtful, cocking his head. “What do you think?”

“Well, we always call Small Bob Roulette because of mamma's companion Blackjack. What do you think about calling the bunny Poker then, mh?”, suggested the older di Angelo with a grin.

“Po the bunny, I like that!”, yelped Jack delighted, lifting the bunny up so it was hovering right in front of his face. “What do you think? Do you want to be Poker?”

The bunny tilted its head, the wiggly little nose coming closer to sniff Jack's face. The boy laughed happily, taking that as a yes. Thess all the while tried to figure out how he was going to explain to their dad that Jack would be bringing a rodent home. He knew their father wasn't all that fond of rodents. Or anything that didn't come from either the underworld or the sea (and the sea only because he couldn't deny their mom). Their mom though, he would probably learn to like the bunny, he had always collected stray animals. Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack, Small Bob (better known as Roulette these days because their mom always got that sad look in his eyes when they called the skeleton cat Small Bob, so their dad had renamed the awesome and creepy house cat)... Perseus di Angelo would be the last one to send the stray bunny away again.

“So... tell me more about those tricksters that keep getting you into trouble”, prompted Thess.

“They're great!”, exclaimed Jack, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he snuggled up to his brother. “They're sons of Hermes and they're nice and kind and awesome and I really like them!”


	42. The Calm Before the Storm

42\. The Calm Before the Storm

 

Trend had tried sleeping. But the bed was filled with Sam's scent, yet it was missing a key-element. Sam. It was strange how much he had already grown used to holding Sam in his sleep. And then there was this whole matter of Sam's strange behavior. So now he was sitting in the window, staring out thoughtful. His eyes were fixed on the broken ship beneath the window, his legs dangling over the edge of the window-sill. Sometimes he wondered if he'd ever understand Sam.

“ _I can help you understand him. I can grand you your greatest wish. I can show you what he has been hiding from you, you would finally understand his motives._ ”

“I thought I got rid of you in Alaska”, grunted Trend unimpressed, glaring at the dragonfly.

“ _You didn't let me finish my duty. I had to follow you. Now it is your turn to follow me._ ”

The son of Athena looked thoughtful and tempted for a second, but then he shook his head. “I want to know what's going on with Sam, but I want to hear it from him. I want him to trust me enough to tell me. I'm not going to betray his trust by snooping around behind his back.”

“ _You're more noble than most. Then let me reward you and show you the future you so long to see._ ”

“That... I would do”, nodded the blonde with a small grin.

After all, this was something Sam had already seen. And perhaps, seeing the future would settle Trend's swirling thoughts some. Besides, he really needed to get rid of that blasted insect. The world around Trend seemed to swirl into a mix of color until it settled back to a living room.

“Wowie...”, gasped a small, female voice.

The son of Athena jumped surprised and stared down at the tiny girl in front of her. Her blonde hair was tied up into a pigtail on top of her head, making it look like a paint-brush. She was wearing a nearly silver dress. Her large, forest-green eyes – Sam's eyes – stared up at him in awe from where the child was sitting on the floor, playing with some stuffed toys and plastic tea cups.

“Uh, hello”, tried Trend with an unsure smile, feeling quite awkward and out of place.

“Papa...”, whispered the girl and reached out for him, before growing louder. “Papa. Papa! Papa!”

“What is it, Colly? I told you I have work to finish. Play with your toys and then I will come and bring you to bed”, called a voice from upstairs. “Please be a good girl and wait, yes?”

“No! Not that”, huffed the girl, annoyed that her papa didn't understand. “Not you. Other papa!”

“What in the world are you talking about, Colene?”, grunted her father confused.

A man entered the living room. Not just any man. It was him, Trend, but ten years his senior. The blonde hair was a little wilder, a three-days-beard and a suit making him look far more mature. Older Trend stared at his daughter for a second before concentrating on him. The little girl – Colene, corrected Trend in his mind – smiled broadly up at him before she ran over to his older self.

“I can have two papas? Is there two mamas too?”, asked Colly with wide, pleading eyes. “Mama!”

The two Trends had their eyes locked while Colly called out for her mother. A hundred million questions shot through Trend's mind as he stared at his older self, holding a child that was unmistakably his and Sam's daughter. Steps could be heard, coming from upstairs and seconds later, the answer to some of his questions entered. Sam. An older Sam. With shoulder-long, wavy hair, wearing dress-pants and a half-open dress-shirt, a loose, green tie around his neck.

“It's daddy, not mama. How often do I have to tell you that, angel?”, sighed Sam annoyed.

“Is mama”, corrected Colly and shook her head. “Papa and mama. Look! A second papa!”

The son of Ares turned slightly and stared at the teen-version of Trend. Blinking a couple of times surprised, he walked over to the older Trend and reached out to take their daughter from him.

“I'm going to bring Colly to bed and _you_ are going to have some explaining to do afterward.”

The two adults stood only an inch apart when Sam took Colly into his arms, which older Trend used to lean in and steal a kiss from the son of Ares. Sam grunted and glared before turning around. With a sly grin on his lips did the older Trend slap Sam's ass playfully, before turning back to the teen.

“Our daughter insists on having a father _and_ a mother. Sammy tries to make her call him daddy, but that girl is more stubborn than anyone I know”, explained older Trend with a fond chuckle.

“I know this house”, whispered teen Trend, taking a closer look around. “It's the one Sammy is so obsessed with. He showed it to me before, explaining what he wants it to look like...”

“It's hard to deny him when he wants something”, agreed his adult self. “So we had to buy it.”

“I totally believe that”, snorted younger Trend with a nod. “Those eyes are impossible to deny.”

“He's even harder to deny when he's laying sprawled all over your lap...”, muttered older Trend absentmindedly. “You may not believe it now, but he really likes his spankings...”

“Sammy? Are we talking about the same Sammy?”, asked the teen wide-eyed. “My Sammy?”

A spark of mischief glittered in the adult's dark eyes. “I know it's a little sudden, but we need to clear that before Sammy returns, because he's really going to be pissed if he knows that I told you. But I doubt you'll ever learn if not by me, he's not one to admit such things. You know how stubborn he can be, how loud and rude. He needs someone to keep him in line. To remind him that he can't just bark at everybody without consequences. But you will learn that soon enough.”

“He will learn what soon enough? What are you two conspiring about?”, asked Sam sharply as he reentered the living room. “And what is he doing here anyway? You never told me, dick-head!”

“Ah, ah, ah”, chided the older Trend and wrapped his arms around Sam's waist to pull him down onto his lap. “That's going straight onto the naughty list. You and your dirty mouth.”

“Oh please”, snorted Sam and straddled the blonde's hips. “You enjoy my dirty mouth. And don't turn this onto me. _You_ never told me you went to the future too. If anyone is getting punished, it's you. I really hope you enjoy the couch, because you two will be buddies for the next few nights.”

Trend stared in awe at the casual way his older self had his hands resting on Sam's ass. Their interactions came so natural to them and they both looked so happy. It made him long for his Sammy even more than he had in the past years. He coughed to gain their attention. Sam turned some so he could look at the teen curiously. He sat down more comfortable on Trend's lap.

“Trend Austin and Trend Raser in one room. Is it wrong of me to want a threesome?”

“Yes”, answered the older Trend with an amused smile. “He's not going to have sex with you first before he has sex with his own Sammy. Now, you have questions, Trend. Ask.”

“Where is Eli? I want to meet him”, was the first thing that came to Trend's mind.

“I'll bring you to him”, offered the son of Ares with a smile. “And you, dear husband, go and give Colly her good-night-kiss. You know she won't sleep before she gets that.”

“You look amazing”, whispered the teen once Sam led him upstairs.

“I always do”, replied Sam with a cheeky grin, his eyes roaming over Trend's body. “But damn, I nearly forgot how hot you looked as a ruff teen. Tell me from when you are.”

“We just crash-landed at your mansion with the Argo II”, answered the son of Athena.

“Then you won't have to wait that much longer”, smiled Sam wistfully. “A little more patience. Wow... I can't believe it's been ten years already. Feels like yesterday that I first kissed you in Alaska... Promise me you won't give up, even though the younger me is giving you a hard time.”

Trend could only nod numbly. How soon was 'not that much longer'? Hopefully soon, because this Sam was so much more at ease than his Sammy, it was as though a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders. And if getting together with Trend would do that, then Trend couldn't wait for it.

“For the love of my father, why in the world are you wearing Colly's dresses, boys?!”

At Sam's exclamation did Trend turn to look into the bedroom. It was very red and full with toy cars and posters of cars and shelves full of children books. In the middle of the room were three boys. One of them looked like a tiny version of Sam, his hair also shoulder-long, wavy and sand-brown, his eyes a sparkling forest-green, his thumb caught between his lips as he blushed. The five-years old was wearing a white, slightly too small dress. Next to him stood a boy, maybe a year older, with darker, brown hair, sea-green eyes and olive-skin. The di Angelo boy Sam had been talking about. The boy looked embarrassed as he tugged on the white dress he was wearing. The only one not blushing was a blonde boy with electric blue eyes, grinning broadly, wearing a suit jacket that seemed to belong to the pants that Sam was currently wearing, the jacket way too big.

“We're playing wedding!”, declared the blonde, holding their hands. “They're my wives now!”

“Tom Grace, I've always known you're trouble”, groaned Sam exhausted and went down onto his knees. “Cal, Eli, get out of those dresses! And you, Tom, that's my jacket. Not a toy or costume.”

Tom pouted slightly as he shed the jacket and handed it over to Sam. “They're still my wives.”

“Cal, why don't you and Tom go and look through the kitchen cabinets for cookies?”, suggested Sam softly, helping the oldest di Angelo out of his dress. “Eli, I want you to meet someone.”

Trend stared doe-eyed as Cal di Angelo and Tom Grace cheered loudly and ran past him. But his attention soon shifted over to the wide-eyed mini-version of Sam. He looked shy and still quite embarrassed that he had been wearing his sister's dress. But he also looked cute and like Sam.

“Hello”, piped Eli up and thrust his hand out. “I'm Samuel Elijah James Raser the Fourth! It's nice to meet you! You look like my papa! That's funny, there was a boy here that looked like daddy too.”

“Hello, Eli”, smiled Trend and shook the boy's hand. “So... You're married to those two now, mh?”

“Tommy said so”, nodded Eli thoughtful. “But I don't think weddings work like that. You need a priest too, I know that. But Tommy is very hardheaded when he sets his mind on something...”

Trend made a mental note to keep special tabs on any offspring coming from Hercules Grace. No funny business with his boy. Wow. He was already in over-protective dad-mode. Closing his eyes, he shook his head, trying to focus. But as he opened his eyes again, he was back to sitting on the window-sill, staring out into the width of England. He glared slightly. He would have loved to hear more about Eli, to maybe see Colly again and question the older Sammy about this Grace-brat and his own older self some more about Sam and spankings. Cursing slightly, he stood up.

 

/break\

 

Hercules was pretty dehydrated after the last two hours of having sex with his very amazing and very flexible girlfriend. Craning his neck, he made his way over to the kitchen. Thea was deep asleep, no reason to wake her. A clacking sound caught Herc's attention. He cursed himself for leaving his blade in the bedroom as he slowed his steps. No light coming from the kitchen.

“You would be the worst ninja ever, Grace”, muttered a voice from the kitchen. “Why aren't you asleep? I'm sure the last two hours of not listening to what I asked of you must have tired you out.”

“Sam?”, asked Herc confused as he turned on the light and entered the spacious kitchen. “What are you doing here? Why are you still awake? Don't tell me me and Thea kept you awake.”

“No. I couldn't sleep anyway. Wasn't you”, answered the son of Ares, shaking his head.

The Roman sat down opposite Sam, looking the brunette up and down. Sam's knees were drawn up against his chest, one arm wound around his legs as he was playing with his storm lighter with the other hand. The click-clack sound continued as Sam opened and closed the lighter.

“Why is it a lighter?”, asked Herc curiously as he noted the way Sam turned away from him, obviously not planning on talking about what had kept him awake. “I mean, I've never seen you smoke. And surely there are some talented children of Tri—Hecate at Camp Half-Blood too who could change the mist to cover the sword up in a different way.”

“I don't smoke. Nasty habit, nothing for me”, grunted Sam, opening the lighter and pressing down on the bronze swan imprint to turn it into his two-edged sword. “It's the way it was covered for its last owner. My half-brother. I guess I like the nostalgia of it. And a lighter does come in handy when on a quest. Not everybody has their own Nico Zhang with them.”

“What's its story?”, wanted Hercules to know, reaching out to run his fingers over the mixed metals. “I've never seen a sword made of Celestial bronze _and_ Imperial gold. What's its myth?”

“That... lays far in the past”, started Sam thoughtful. “Don't know how good you listened during history class, but Cleopatra of Egypt was of Greek origins. Her mother had not been known, at least not to the mortal world, for it was Aphrodite. The goddess gave her daughter this sword, it's called the Heart of War, symbolizing the fine line between two opposing sides. Like Cleopatra's love for the Roman demigod Julius Caesar. Or like how her beauty and legacy did not keep her from being a strong fighter. Like her Greek origins, leading her to the land of Egypt where other gods ruled. Just like all those seemingly opposing things, the sword unites two opposing metals.”

“So... it's first owner was Cleopatra, eh?”, asked Herc with a teasing grin. “Not your half-brother though. What's the more recent story of the sword? Who owned it before you?”

“James Dean”, answered Sam with a slight smirk. “Son of Ares. Walking a fine line, just like Cleopatra. He had gotten the sword from Lady Venus, because he was in love with one of her daughters. Marilyn Monroe, daughter of Venus. A Greek, in love with a Roman. Back in the days, that was more than just a scandal, it was against their laws. Two things that were not allowed to belong together. In the end, no owner of the Heart of War ever got a happy ending.”

“Sounds an awful lot like it”, nodded Herc curiously. “And also an awful lot like the sword belonged to star-crossed lovers. Don't tell me, it also belonged to either Romeo or Juliet.”

“Fuck you”, laughed Sam amused, flipping the other boy the finger. “But yeah, I guess...”

“So, why did Lady Aphrodite give it to you? I know you got it from her after you've been on a quest for her and your dad, right?”, asked Herc, his arms folded on the desk, his chin on top of them.

“She said because it was meant to remind me that sometimes, two things that don't seem as though they belong, are just meant to be”, answered Sam with a shrug. “Like love and war. Beauty and fight. Roman and Greek. Brutality and tenderness. Still unsure why she wants to remind me of it, though. But I value the blade, it never let me down.”

“Cool story, bro”, grinned Herc curiously, staring past Sam.

In the doorway behind Sam stood Trend. The blonde Greek was staring quizzically and quite jealously at Herc, causing the Roman to smirk. Two things that didn't seem as though they belonged? Like a son of Ares and a son of Athena, together? Those two gods had always hated each other's guts. Herc had to think of the tender caresses between Trend and Sam. Was there something going on between those two? The jealousy in those storm-gray eyes told him quite the tale. Star-crossed lovers, indeed. He just hoped these two would get more of a happy ending than the others, because he actually quite liked them. Sam was fun to be around, when he wasn't a loudmouth.

 

/break\

 

“You ignorant, egoistic, dumb, stupid, naive-”

“Joe, calm down”, huffed Nico embarrassed, running one hand through her hair.

“Calm down?”, grunted the dark-skinned girl on the other side of the rainbow. “You ran away! To tag along on a quest. A dangerous quest. Do you have any idea who's now stuck with your depressed and overly worried ma? He hasn't left Bunker 9.2 like at all, well at least not on his own. It takes your mom and dad to drag him out. How could you just leave?”

“I... want to see the world”, shrugged Nico, biting her lower lip in guilt. “Mamá went on quests too. I just... wanted adventure. And I couldn't leave the Argo II to those landsmen, they have no idea about ships. But that's not why I called. I wanted to check in with you and Leroy, see how you're doing without me. I keep contacting my parents too, after all. And mom already gave me the biggest preaching ever for making mamá worry. So, how are you guys doing?”

“Good, I guess”, answered Joe with a shrug of her own. “But... well, you're missed, okay? Not just by your family. Make sure to stay safe, Purgatory.”

“Don't call me that!”, hissed Nico and blushed slightly, earning her a grin and a wink from Joe.

Though then the daughter of Vulcan grew serious again. “If you get hurt, I'll have your ass.”

“That came out sounding dirtier than it did in your head”, noted Nico, blush darkening.

“Don't assume to know what's going on in my head”, smirked Joe amused. “At any rate, you got to stay safe. If you get yourself killed, I'll use your mom's connections to bring you back.”

“So I can become the house-ghost of Bunker 9.2?”, joked Nico with a fond smile. “Don't worry, I promise I'll be alright. I'm not defenseless, you know that. And my crew is pretty strong too.”

“I know those things”, sighed Joe, running one hand through her blue-dyed hair. “I still worry.”

Nico's smile softened some more as she fell into lighter conversation with Joe.

 

/break\

 

Donny grinned against the skin of Sander's chest from where he was trailing kissed down his boyfriend's torso, one hand down the brunette's pants, caressing Sander's half-hard cock. Sander groaned at the touch, melting against the mattress. Donny's lips wandered up again until they found Sander's pulse, kissing and sucking, determined to leave a mark.

“I—If you don't stop, I'll ruin my pants”, warned Sander with gritted teeth.

“Then... how about we get you out of your pants?”, suggested Donny with a sly grin.

“Huh?”, asked Sander doe-eyed, blinking a couple of times, his mouth hanging open.

“I want to properly make out with you. With all your naked glory”, declared Donny and blushed faintly. “I—I mean, if that's alright with you. I just... feel like tomorrow is going to be quite the trial. I doubt that whoever awaits us at Stonehenge will freely give us the information we need. And before I have to face any kinds of hardship, I want to get off. B—But, I mean, we're boyfriends now so... do I have to jerk off myself or... or can we take care of each other...?”

Sander licked his lips and peeled the shirt off his boyfriend, revealing an olive-skinned, slightly toned chest. Donny gave him a beaming smile as he started to help getting both of them naked.

“J—Just jerking off, right...?”, asked Sander, feeling oddly nervous.

He was far from being a virgin, but still, being with Donny was a whole new level of intimacy, because it was Donny. A bright blush lit up Donny's face as he nodded slowly, one hand resting on Sander's chest as the other went back to grabbing Sander's cock, his thumb teasing the slit as his fingers massaged the shaft. Sander could just come from the mere innocent touch of those soft fingers. But instead, he bit his lip and sat up, touching Donny with shaking fingers. He had seen Donny naked before, but he had never seen Donny hard and he surely had never touched Donny like that. Cupping Donny's balls with one hand, he wrapped the other around the smaller boy's waist to hold Donny close. Their lips met in a passionate kiss as they slowly worked each other into a climax. Their bodies rubbed against each other, tension in the room rising as Donny's whimpers and Sander's groans filled the air. Sander didn't remember ever taking it that slow with any of his partners, they always got straight to the fucking. But Donny wasn't a normal partner, he was _Donny_. And this was so much more special than just going at it. It was like they were slowly exploring each other's bodies, discovering their most sensitive places step by step. It made the anticipation for the real sex so much more extreme and Sander just knew that once they would have sex, they would know each other's bodies so good that it would just be perfect.

“Fuck”, groaned Sander hoarsely as he came. “I love you, my Dark Sea.”

He was panting hard and holding onto Donny until the younger boy too hit his orgasm. Their cum mingled on their stomachs as they collapsed on the bed, gasping and struggling for air.

“I think I'm never going to masturbate again”, declared Donny with a grin. “I got you for that now.”

He leaned up to place a chaste kiss on Sander's lips. Sander grunted amused, wrapping his arms around Donny's waist and pulling him as close as possible. He could totally live with that.


	43. The Guardians of Stonehenge

43\. The Guardians of Stonehenge

 

“Fuck you. This is not happening, you dick-heads. No. I'm outta here, assholes.”

“Don't be a baby, Raser”, grunted Herc and rolled his eyes. “It can't be that bad.”

“Herc's right”, agreed Sander with one cocked eyebrow. “Secrets out, heroes in. Simple deal.”

“I'm not going to bare my fucking soul in front of two stupid ghosts and you dick-heads!”

Sam's glare was hard, his forest-green eyes guarded. Donny next to him grabbed his hand reassuringly, but the son of Ares just shrugged him off. The seven heroes had arrived at Stonehenge ten minutes ago. It had been a surprise to find two ghosts shimmering in the midst of the ruins, a blonde, tall man and a slightly shorter, black-haired man with piercing, ice-blue eyes. But as the heroes tried to step closer, they got stopped by an invisible barrier. The ghosts, after introducing themselves as the Guardians of Stonehenge, told them that a powerful, magical place like Stonehenge won't allow powerful, magical beings like demigods inside without a bargain. If they wanted to enter, they needed to reveal their deepest, best kept secrets.

“We're not asking this of you to taunt you”, assured the black-haired ghost. “But this quest is of importance and to assure that you will be able to finish it, you need to build trust between each other. Secrets keep people apart and can sabotage the best intentioned acts.”

The way the blonde ghost rested a hand in his companion's neck told them that most likely a well kept secret had caused their death. Thea cocked one curious eyebrows and tried to step closer.

“Who are you? No, who were you?”, asked the legacy of Athena sharply.

“My name is Arthur, I was the son of Zeus”, answered the blonde. “Merlin and me are guarding the old magic until the day arrives that will unite mortals and demigods, magic and non-magic.”

“Right”, snorted Sam with a nasty glare. “And for that, you need our secrets? Fuck you.”

“To work as a team, you have to be able to blindly trust each other”, answered Merlin.

“You're not going to answer our questions before we don't tell you our darkest secrets?”, asked Trend once more, just to be sure, earning himself two nods. “We're not getting around this?”

“You're not”, chuckled Merlin amused. “You want for us to reveal a secret that may shake nature. The least you can do is share your own secrets with us, son of wisdom.”

“This is bullshit”, snarled Sam and turned around. “I'm heading home.”

“Then you fail your quest”, declared Arthur sharply, making Sam freeze mid-step. “You're a hero. You know that nothing is more important than the success of the quest. If one of you bails out, all of you fail. We will not be able to help you and your quest ends here. Summer will end without a warning, the animals and critters and plants of summer will freeze brutally to death and winter will never end again. Can you live with that on your conscience? Because of your pride?”

“This has nothing to do with my pride, you twat”, spat Sam, his fists shaking.

“Calm down, Raser”, grunted Nico with one cocked eyebrow. “It's just us. I mean, come on, none of us is going to rattle each other's secrets out to anyone, right? This stays between us.”

“Of course it does”, agreed Thea with a nod, the others joining in.

“See? Not that bad. We'll keep each other's secrets”, shrugged Herc casually, shifting some.

“Lay off him, Grace”, grunted Trend, watching Sam cautiously. “If you think this is all so easy, then why don't you go first, eh? You see that he's not okay with this, let him go last.”

“Trend is right”, nodded Thea thoughtful. “Maybe Sam will be fine with it once we all laid our secrets bare? And _someone_ has to start. Why not you, love?”

Herc blushed slightly and shifted some more. Even though he said that it was okay, it was still about the best kept secret and no one was comfortable with revealing those. Still, he had to stay true to his words. This was about the quest and he would not be the one to fail it. He took a deep breath.

“I... It wasn't that I never stood a chance to become praetor. They offered me, years ago, but I declined. I was too afraid, I didn't want to try to follow my father's steps”, confessed Herc.

Thea stared kindly at her boyfriend, rubbing his upper arm just before he passed through the invisible barrier and joined Merlin and Arthur in the inner circle. She had always assumed that Herc had never shown up on the senate’s radar, she wouldn't have thought that he had bailed out on the responsibility like that. Then again, it figured. She knew how afraid he was to fail his parents. Not even trying to be great so he could not fail at all. It was disgraceful, to say the least. An act of cowardice, nothing to be expected of the heir of _the_ Jason Grace.

“I lost my virginity to Danny. During a senate's meeting”, rushed Nico out, brightly blushing.

“Danny? Danny, the augur?”, asked Herc stunned as the other Roman joined him. “During a...?”

“Yes, her”, muttered the embarrassed Latina. “It was the election meeting. She was beneath the table and, well, beneath my toga... Stop staring at me, Grace. Damn you. We kept it a secret because back then, I was still a minor and, well, she wasn't. And our dads hate each other.”

Sam stared at them with a calculating glare. Those were their 'dark' secrets? That was ridiculous. He was not going to embarrass himself, to ridicule himself for those stupid ghosts. Of course those great, virtuous guys wouldn't be having any proper dark secrets to be revealed. How was he going to look in front of them then? Like a weakling. Like a victim. No. No, this was not going to happen.

Donny's eyes were filled with worry as he looked over at his male best friend. He knew what was going through Sam's head, he knew the secret Sam would have to reveal and he knew how much Sam despised the idea of _anyone_ knowing, especially so Trend. Biting his lower lip, he stepped forward, letting his eyes wander over the others that were still left.

“I—I...”, stuttered Donny, dark red. “I want to be spanked. I'm not that pure, little princess that everybody makes me out to be, okay? I have... dirty desires too. I want to be spanked, hard.”

Sander gave a very undignified yelp at that, his eyes nearly bulging out. “I can totally do that.”

“Well, that was more information than I really needed”, snorted Nico and rolled her eyes.

Her blushing cousin stepped into the stone ring and hit her on the upper arm. The Latina grinned at him, wrapping one arm around his shoulders and ruffling his hair affectionately. Herc was also blushing, not having been that keen on knowing such things about the two boys. Donny was staring over at his boyfriend with half-lid eyes, one hand in his neck, rubbing it awkwardly. But judging by the lust sparkling in those bright, brown eyes, Sander really did not object to the idea, which was kind of a huge relief for Donny. The brunette son of Clarisse licked his lips, one hand deep in his jeans pocket as he stepped up to the barrier, his eyes locked with his boyfriend's.

“I'm always carrying an engagement ring with me, because I know how dangerous a hero's life can be and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Donny, but I'm just too afraid to ask, because... we're still young and stupid and I don't know how much you're willing to invest in this relationship, so I just... carry it around, trying to figure out a way or a moment to ask.”

No one was even ready to joke about that, too stunned that Sander was actually being that mature and having such serious intentions toward Donny. The half-Italian's blush darkened as Sander cautiously stepped up to him. The last two steps and Donny rushed toward him, throwing himself at Sander, his arms around the broad neck, his lips devouring Sander's.

“Yes”, rushed Donny out, his eyes sparkling with tenderness and love. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Always.”

“W—What...?”, asked Sander stunned.

“I think... I think you're the one for me, you're the Nico to my Percy”, whispered Donny softly. “I know that I found in you what my parents had found in each other. I'll never give you up again.”

“Oh, I wouldn't have thought this would take such a romantic turn!”, cooed Artur amused.

“Sh, leave the kids alone”, chided Merlin, elbowing the blonde. “They're having a moment.”

Trend rolled his eyes in an affectionate way as he watched how Sander slid a thin silver band over Donny's finger. He had noticed the little black box Sander had occasionally played with during their journey. Sander had been in love with Donny for ten years now, for him to settle for anything less than marriage truly would have surprised Trend. Storm-gray eyes wandered over to Sam. His own future husband. The thought of what he had seen last night still made his heart flutter. But the flutter soon died down as he took in Sam's appearance. Sam looked like a cornered animal, his eyes wide, darting around as though he was expecting an attack, his posture defensive.

“Okay, let me embarrass myself”, sighed Thea theatrically. “Okay so, don't freak out, it's in the past and all. It's nothing bad, but I figured it would make things awkward and all-”

“Get to the point, woman”, grunted Sander and rolled his eyes.

“I used to have a huge crush on you”, answered Thea, staring Sander dead in the eyes. “Like, serious writing 'Thea Rodriguez' into my diary kind of crush. But you never had eyes for anyone else aside from Donny, so I tried to forget about it. While trying to get you out of my head, I noticed your best friend in a... more inappropriate way. It's all in the past now and I love Herc and by now I don't even want to picture being with you anymore, Sander. Really. I just always figured it would make things kind of awkward, what with you loving my best friend and all...”

Donny stared doe-eyed at his female best friend, cocking his head. How had he never noticed that Thea had liked Sander? Turning toward his boyfriend, he saw how Sander was awkwardly shifting around and practically hiding behind Donny as Herc turned murderous eyes on Sander. Trend cleared his throat to distract them from the matter of past relations, getting their attention.

“Well, I suppose I'm next”, muttered Trend, stepping forward. “My father... He didn't just die. He was murdered, in a robbery. I... was there. I was a kid when I watched my father getting shot for twenty bucks. When I... said that I would be visiting family last year, that was a lie. I went back to Seattle and tracked the junkie down, who was still stealing in the poorer district, even after all those years. I... killed him. I killed the murderer of my father. Because I will never silently stand by again when someone I love gets hurt or worse... I will never feel that helpless again. That's why I never participate in quests, because quests are dangerous and I wouldn't be able to handle that a friend of mine dies in front of my eyes. I'm not... good at dealing with someone I love being in pain.”

The others gasped and stared at him wide-eyed, nothing he enjoyed all that much. He was not proud of murdering a mortal, because that was something demigods were taught not to do. But that had been a worthless piece of shit that certainly had done far more than only killed Trend's father. He was not proud, but he would do it again every day, because he knew that the world was a better place without that useless bastard. He turned his attention toward Sam, focusing on the last member of their quest instead of the inquisitive and worried looks from the others.

“No”, whispered Sam and shook his head slowly, taking a step back. “No.”

“Sam...”, started Sander softly, nearing his long-time partner for mischief and quests. “Come on, it's just a secret. We will keep it for you. It can't be that bad. We're friends, we're your friends. We won't judge or anything. Trust us. I mean, come on, Trend just... confessed murderer. It can't be worse. Uh, sorry, Trend, no offense and not judging, just trying to convince Sam here.”

“No offense taken”, snorted Trend and rolled his eyes, straightening his back. “Sammy? Please. Don't let my confession be in vain. Don't make me reliving the murder of my father and the darkest hour of my life completely useless. This is for the quest. You're the hero, you know how much it means, Sammy. We have to... keep going, right? I promise you none of us will give you a hard time about it, okay? Just get it off your chest and join us here so we can move on.”

Sam glared, not exactly at Trend, but at some point behind his head as though he didn't even dare to look at the blonde. He had known. In a way, he had known. Many years ago, Trend had confided in him, told him about his father's murderer and when Trend had left last summer to go to Seattle, Sam had known something was up, because he knew that aside from his father, he had had no family left. It was beyond Sam's capacity to even picture having no family at all – his ma, his grandpa, aunt Malene, uncle Liam, his cousins Selene, Lene, Leah and Lara – and having to watch the only family he had die in front of him. Certainly not a memory he'd enjoy repeating. Sam couldn't abandon the quest, couldn't abandon Trend like that. His friends were relying on him, camp was relying on him, Lady Persephone was relying on him. The success of this quest depended on whether or not he was strong enough to face his friends once they knew the truth. He rested one hand against the barrier.

“When I was twelve and staying with the Romans for the summer, I dated Leroy Jones”, whispered Sam barely audible, pressing his hand more against the barrier, hoping against better judgment that it would give in, that this was enough truth. Of course it wasn't. Gritting his teeth in anger, he thrust his fist against the barrier, his hand making a nasty sound that reminded the others a little too much of breaking bones. Donny flinched, looking at Sam worried. Trend stepped closer, or at least he tried, until Donny grabbed his upper arm and held him back. Curious, storm-gray eyes locked with sad, sea-green ones and in that second, Trend knew that whatever secret Sam tried to hide, whatever darkness was at fault for the way Sam always pulled back and tried to hide himself, Donny knew.

The son of Ares was afraid, more afraid than he had been in years. Sander, Herc and Trend were staring at him expectantly. Thea, Nico and Donny had worry in their eyes as they noticed his reluctance. What would they think of him? They would never see him as a hero again.

“H—He...”, started Sam, his voice shaking with panic and fear, his eyes closed tightly, not daring to look at the others. “He... He... r—raped me four times while we were dating.”

The barrier he was resting his bloody fist against was giving in and he more or less stumbled inside. His eyes were downcast, he didn't want to see whatever was there in their eyes. Wrapping his arms tightly around his torso, he went to stand farther away from the others.

Donny on the other hand was taking a close look around. Thea was staring wide-eyed, one hand covering her mouth in shock as her other hand gripped Herc's tightly, close to breaking it. Not that Herc looked as though he minded. His facial expression was a mixture between shock, anger and disgust. Out of all of them, Herc and Nico knew Leroy the best, probably had spend time with him, laughing and joking. Nico stood next to Herc and she was an unhealthy shade of green, holding her stomach with one hand and her mouth with the other as though she was trying really hard not to vomit all over this holy and ancient place. She was sharing a bunker with Leroy, had build countless inventions with him, shared projects and stories with him. To learn one of those she considered a brother was a rapist, Donny could only shudder at that. Sander and Trend though were the worst. Both looked furious, fists balled and shaking, murder written all over their faces in large letters. Donny's hand was still on Trend's forearm, keeping him from approaching Sam.

“Let go of me, di Angelo”, warned the son of Athena, his voice a lethal growl.

But before Donny could form any kind of reply, Sam lifted his head, catching all of their attention. The friends were torn, not knowing if they were supposed to say something, or approach him. Though Sam beat them to the punch, his eyes were fixated on the two ghosts, angry and dark.

“Spill it”, growled Sam in a hoarse voice. “And if you give us some shitty riddles, I swear to the gods, I will tear you apart and chase you bastards through the underworld.”

“I'm... very sorry, son of war”, whispered Merlin. “Of course you earned your answers.”

“You're looking for the enemy of summer”, answered Arthur. “She is hiding away in Germany. But beware, if you approach this the wrong way, you may cause a war of nature itself.”

“Germany?”, asked Thea, trying to shake the sick feeling off and concentrate on things she could deal with, like the future of their quest. “That's not all that specific. Can you narrow it down?”

“We're not all-knowing”, chuckled Merlin and shook his head. “We don't know where she is hiding exactly. But you have connections to the animals. Start in the animal park in the capital city.”

“Berlin. Right”, nodded Thea, twirling her long, dark hair. “Okay, we can work with that.”

With that being said, the two guardians faded out. For a couple of minutes, all the teens were silent, most staring at their own feet, shifting from one to the other, unsure what to do or say. The urge to just hug Sam and tell him that everything was alright was immediate, but the son of Ares kept backing off whenever one of them tried to approach him.

“Well, that's it”, grunted Sam. “You may linger longer, I don't care. I'm heading home.”

“Sammy-”, started Trend and reached out for Sam, but once again, Donny held him back.

The son of Athena whirled around to glare at Donny irritated while Sam ran off, sprinting as fast as possible, fleeing from them. This was not supposed to happen. Trend should hold him, hug him close and tell him over and over again that everything would be alright. Because holding onto Sam would be the only thing keeping him from storming off to Donny's shadow-traveling monster and ending Leroy Jones in the most brutal way he could come up with.

“Give him a moment to himself”, whispered Donny softly. “He's tried to keep it a secret for five years now. He doesn't... want others to know, to... judge him for it.”

“What is there to judge?”, asked Thea confused as the six left Stonehenge. “I mean, it's not... He's the victim here, why should we judge _him_? If anything, I want to cuddle him until he's better...”

“He thinks... that others will think less of him once they know”, answered Donny with downcast eyes, twirling the new engagement ring on his ring finger. “He thinks that he'd not be seen as a hero anymore, because he couldn't... defend himself back then. He thinks it makes him less of a hero.”

“How do you--”, started Sander, before realization dawned on him. “You knew. When we left New Rome, you were so odd, when you came to my cabin, crying. It's when you learned the truth.”

“Yes”, confessed Donny, deliberately not looking at his boyfriend. “Sam had been odd when Leroy had been on the ship and after we sailed off, I asked him about it. He... told me.”

Leroy on the ship. Nico's face took a turn for the worse at the thought. She had trusted this guy with her mamá's treasure, with so much. It was no secret that he was a jerk, but there was a difference between a jerk and a _rapist_. This time, she couldn't keep it in, as memories of all the cute little girls and boys flooded her mind, all the sweet little things that tagged along after Leroy, with their wide-eyed expressions. All his exes. Had he done the same to all of them? Turning away, she emptied the content of her stomach onto the grass. Thea was right behind her, holding her hair back.

“What are we going to do now?”, asked Thea softly, unsure. “I mean... Do we talk to him...?”

“I think it's obvious what we do next”, grunted her boyfriend, his arms crossed over his chest. “Next chance we get, we return to New Rome and end that fucking bastard. What? Don't give me that look, I'm not blind, I have seen the intentions in your eyes, Sander, Trend. You're not doing this on your own. New Rome is my home and one of my own is walking around, doing unspeakable things to my _friend_. We're heroes and heroes take out monsters. I don't see any monster more worth of our time than one who hides behind a mask of heroism but breaks the ones that trust him the most.”

“Okay”, nodded Sander after a short look at Trend. “We're doing this _together_.”

“But it is _my_ kill”, warned Trend darkly, his nails breaking the skin of his palms as he shook with suppressed fury. “H—He hurt my Sammy, he is the one at fault for Sam's... behavior. I'll kill him.”

“We can burn the body?”, offered Nico, wiping her mouth as she slowly stood up with shaking legs. “I'm sure I can heat up enough to incinerate bones too. No body, no evidence, right?”

“If that doesn't work, I'm sure I can mix an acid together, with the right ingredients”, offered Thea.

“A—Are you guys serious? You're planning a murderer”, pointed Donny out, staring wide-eyed.

“Sam is our friend. What this guy did to him is unforgivable”, answered Thea upset.

“A—And not to think about all the others he must have... oh gods...”, muttered Nico and shook.

“You wanted to do it yourself”, reminded Sander, wrapping one arm around Donny's waist. “But you're not a killer, you've never even killed a monster before. Leave the actual taking-a-life to Trend, Herc and me, we're a little more experienced with taking out monsters.”

“Still though”, interrupted Thea, rubbing her arms. “What about _now_? How do we approach him?”

“If all of you come at him at once, he'll feel cornered. He's afraid enough to be rejected for what happened to him. It'll make his fight-or-flight reflexes kick in”, warned Donny and shook his head.

“Trend should go”, whispered Sander, looking at the blonde Greek. “You should go. Comfort him.”

“Yeah”, agreed the son of Athena, nodding slowly. “Not that you could have kept me from it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know more about Sam's past, read "Chasing Origins: Sam's Story", which is chronologically speaking the one before this in the Headcanon-Timeline, but makes more sense (or fun) to read right about now instead of before "Chasing Fireflies"!


	44. The Meaning of Love

44\. The Meaning of Love

 

Once at home, in the safety of his own room, he closed the door loudly behind himself and threw himself on top of his bed. Grabbing his own pillow, he hugged it close, his frame shaking as tears took over. It smelt like himself, faintly, but prominently so like Trend, because the blonde had slept in his bed last night. The scent was both comforting and unsettling at once. What would Trend think of him now? Would he still want him? Like him? Would he be embarrassed that a hero he had trained had not been capable of defending himself? Would he push Sam away? Be disgusted? Or would he pity Sam? Treat him like the weakling he had been back then? Even though he had tried to leave _that_ Sam behind, had tried his hardest to become strong. Now that he knew – now that they knew – he was back to being that boy again. Even though he had tried so hard to run away from it. He had kept going, had done everything to leave this behind him. And now it caught up with him, once again, leaving him hanging in the air, unsure what would come next. He curled together in a tighter ball, the pillow clutched to his center as he cried into it. It was his secret, it should have been his decision when to tell and who to tell. Somehow he felt violated all over again that someone had taken that decision from him. Now Trend knew. The boy he loved, the one whose rejection would hurt most. And Sander knew. The boy he had spend years of life-or-death quests with, the one who he didn't want to look weak in front of, because would Sander still be able to look at him as backup, as an ally and fellow hero? And Herc and Thea and Nico. Three people he barely really knew.

“Sammy?”, asked Trend's voice softly from the other side of the door. “Can I come in?”

“No!”, spat Sam, frantically trying to get rid of the tears. “Go away, I don't want to hear it!”

“Hear what, Sammy?”, asked the son of Athena as he slowly opened the door.

“I said go away!”, growled Sam and threw his pillow at Trend. “I don't need to hear from you how-”

“Don't say it”, warned Trend as he caught the pillow. “ _I_ don't want to hear anything stupid leaving your lips. Donny already told us what you think. That you really think we would reject you for what happened to you. That we'd think less of you. We would never do that. I would never do that.”

“B—But...”, started Sam, staring at him cautiously and with guarded eyes. “I'm not... I wasn't...”

“You weren't a fighter”, whispered Trend in a firm voice as he came to stand in front of Sam. “You were twelve. I remember your twelve-years old self quite vividly. Even Donny would have been able to kick your ass back then. You weren't the same boy you're now. You stood no chance against a guy like him. But... that doesn't make you weak, Sammy.”

“Really now?”, snorted the son of Ares with a snarl. “Sounds to me like the exact definition of it.”

“No”, objected Trend and went onto his knees in front of the bed, grabbing Sam's hands. “You didn't give up. Even though he did... did that to you. You got up again and you fought. Literally. You became this strong hero because of what happened to you back then, didn't you? _That_ is the definition of strength. Instead of giving up, you kept fighting. For yourself and for others who needed your protection. All the demigods you saved on missions, all the innocents you protected on your quests, all the times you stood up for someone weaker. That's strength, that's you.”

“You... make that sound nice...”, whispered Sam unsure, wanting to hit Trend, but also not, kind of.

“Because it is. Not what happened to you, but what you did with it”, replied Trend, his lips resting against the bloody knuckles of Sam's fists. “You took something horrible, something that would have broken others and turned it into pure strength. You're amazing, Sammy. You think knowing this would change the way we look at you? It does, yes. But surely not for the negative. If anything, we admire you even more now. The others, they're worried about you because you were afraid and angry when you stormed off. But first of all, they are angry. Not with you, Sammy. With him, for doing this to someone they care about. This won't change the way they feel about you. The way _I_ feel about you. Nothing, _nothing_ , will ever change the way I feel about you.”

Sam stared, still fighting the urge to just throw a temper-tantrum. “Say it.”

“Say what?”, asked the son of Athena a little confused, his lips still ghosting over Sam's hands.

“The... way you feel about me”, whispered the brunette, laying on his bed, propped up on his elbows, staring deep into Trend's eyes. “I—If you say that _this_ doesn't... change it, then let me hear it from you, please. Tell me. Tell me that you still feel that way about me, even though I'm broken and a mess and most of the time not even sure how to deal with my own feelings.”

“You've always been that way”, chuckled Trend softly. “You've always been kind of a mess, especially when it came to feelings. The only thing that changed is that now I understand _why_ you are that way. Why you're so unsure about everything and always lash out.”

Sam's eyes were open, more open than Trend had seen them in years. Five years, supplied his mind, making his stomach turn. There was a plea in those forest-green eyes, the same the son of Ares had already voiced. Sam wanted to hear him say it – and Trend wasn't even going to ask how Sam knew of his feelings. But the true reason why Trend had never told Sam of his feelings was because the blonde was so afraid of rejection himself. That Sam would push him away because he wasn't ready yet. But now Trend knew why Sam didn't feel ready. Gulping hard, Trend made a decision. Even if Sam was going to push him away at the end of things, right now, Sam needed to hear it, needed the reassurance that just because he had been raped, he wasn't any less loved. He made the decision to tell him and to fight for Sam, even if the son of Ares would push him away once his turmoil of emotions would cool down again, he would never give up on Sam. He would not let Sam push him away again in a silly attempt to protect himself from betrayal and pain, because he now knew that Sam truly needed someone, needed love. Needed reassurance. And Trend would do everything for Sam. Trend pressed his lips against Sam's knuckles softly, kissing the raw flesh in a tender way.

“I love you”, whispered Trend, his eyes still locked with Sam's, wanting to make sure that Sam saw the truth in his words. “I love you. I love you so much, Sammy. And I'm so angry, so furious that anyone would ever hurt you like that. I know that you're strong and that you can protect yourself, but I still need to say this now, because it hurts me and I need to get it off my chest. I promise that I will do everything in my powers to protect you. It hurts me that someone put you through all this pain and that you were all on your own for all this time, dealing with it alone. I want to be there for you. You don't have to deal with this alone anymore. Let me help. Let me love you. Please.”

Sam wrung his hands out of Trend's grip and for a fleeting second, the son of Athena feared that Sam already reached the point where he felt cornered and would send Trend away. But the next moment, he could feel strong arms wrap around his shoulders, the weight of Sam's head against his neck. The son of Ares was clinging to him, shaking with tears.

“H—Hold me... please”, begged Sam as years of fear and pain broke down on him.

He had often choked out some tears, like earlier, but right now, he could feel the dam break, relief flooding him. Trend's arms wrapped around his waist as the blonde got up to join Sam on the bed, cradling him close and whispering soothing words into Sam's ear while the brunette just continued letting all the things, all the bottled-up emotions out that had build up over the past five years. Trend held Sam and soothed him until the brunette fell asleep from exhaustion. And even after that, Trend didn't loosen his grip on Sam, his nose buried in the brunette, soft hair.

 

/break\

 

“What are you doing, Nico?”, asked Thea softly, leaning against the door-frame.

She observed the Latina with worried eyes. Nico was working on the ship, obviously. What Thea didn't understand though was why. There was a vigor behind her doing, one that did not root from Nico's normal tinker-enthusiasm. One that was fueled by anger.

“Working”, growled Nico, hammering onto the wood hard. “The sooner the ship is ready, the sooner we can continue the quest. The sooner we can return to New Rome.”

“And then?”, wanted the native American to know. “What then?”

“I have no idea”, grunted Nico frustrated. “But I called Joe and asked her to keep an eye on Leroy.”

“Good”, nodded Thea slowly. “That's good. For now. Now come inside. Lunch.”

The Latina nodded shortly and followed her friend inside. Not that any of them ate something. The five friends just sat kind of awkwardly around the table, poking the food they had summoned with the horn, none of them really hungry or even capable of keeping food down at the moment.

“Is he going to be alright?”, asked Thea after what felt like hours. “I mean... emotionally. Is he ever going to be alright? All his cursing and pushing people away and the way he acted when he was 'feeling like a victim' because of his cold... Is that ever going away?”

She was upset and confused. This was something she couldn't even begin to grasp and as a legacy of Athena, she hated not understanding. She understood the facts that were presented to her. That Sam had been raped, by his own boyfriend, when he had been practically a kid still. But she couldn't understand the things that build around those facts. How had Sam kept on going without going completely crazy? She doubted her own psyche would be strong enough to stand such betrayal. How had Sam done it? How had he coped with this all on his own, without anyone? She knew she would have curled up in her mothers' laps and never left that safe place again probably. Suddenly she was feeling awful for never wanting to be close to him. She was friends with Sander, mostly because of their parents and because of Donny, she was close to Trend, because of the cabin they shared, she had a friendly relationship with Marshall, because the big, silent guy was hard not to like. But out of the four sons of war, Sam had always been the one that was just too brash. Too much of a loudmouth, too rude. She had never really cared about getting to know him better, because she had thought that that was it. He was just simply a rude loudmouth. Now she started to think that he could have used some friends, some non-fighting-related friends. He had only been living with children of war around him, with heroes. Of course he was never going to properly open up to them. Maybe if he would have had a female friend earlier, it would have helped? More sensitivity, more compassion. But that was stupid thinking. She hadn't befriended Sam back then and that was past. She was friends with him _now_ and that was what mattered.

“Where did you get the ring, mio eroe?”, asked Donny softly, twirling his engagement ring.

He wanted to change the topic, wanted them to stop thinking dark thoughts and plotting murderer. Sander, who had one arm draped over Donny's shoulders and was playing with Donny's curls, gave a surprised grunt, as though he hadn't expected such a question.

“From my dad. He had gotten it from his mother, who had it from her mother. My grandmother never got to wear it, because the man she had loved was a god. And my mother never wore it because... honestly, can you imagine my mom wearing jewelry like that?”

This actually made them all laugh, even though it was only a small laugh and an even smaller relief. No, Donny really couldn't picture Clarisse Rodriguez wearing a ring like that. The fine silver band with the diamond in the middle, two sapphires, one on each side of the diamond. It was beautiful and somehow simple, yet still elegant and feminine. Nothing Clarisse would be wearing.

“You two... are engaged...”, whispered Nico as the gravity of that caught up with her. “Uncle Nico is _so_ going to kill you, Sander! Does he even know that you're dating his son?”

Sander gulped hard, his eyes wide and fearful. Nico di Angelo was old-fashioned, he would most likely be even more angered because Sander never asked for Donny's hand. He contemplated staying in Europe, safe from Nico's reach. But then he remembered that the son of Hades could shadow-travel and surely would use any godly connection he had to track Sander down for the kill.

 

/break\

 

Trend's one arm was wound around Sam's waist, his hand resting on Sam's lower back, while the fingers of his other hand tenderly caressed the peanut-colored mohawk. Sam was calm, breathing deep as he was peacefully sleeping. Trend swore to himself that he would do anything to keep the nightmares away from the son of Ares. Pieces just kept falling in place, revealing the nasty, grand picture to Trend. The nightmares, the reasons why Sam hadn't wanted to sleep alone after they had left New Rome, after he had seen his tormentor again. The blonde gritted his teeth.

“Stop growling...”, mumbled a sleepy voice. “That vibrates when I'm sleeping on your chest.”

“Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you”, whispered Trend regretfully. “Sleep.”

“Naw. It's like the middle of the day. I shouldn't be sleeping anyway”, replied Sam and sat up a little, supporting himself on Trend's chest to look at the other boy. “I... I don't normally do this, you know how much I hate that shitty lovey-dovey crap and that's really not me and that's not going to be a thing or anything, but right now it feels like the right thing to do, so don't make fun.”

Trend really tried to follow Sam's train of thoughts, but he couldn't. His mind was fuzzy with the twirling thoughts of what had been revealed to him this morning and there was the matter of exhaustion too, he had barely slept last night and staying with Sam for hours and watching the other boy sleep had made him as sleepy, even though it was only afternoon. He tried making sense of Sam's rambling, but he really couldn't. He also didn't need to, as it turned out, because soft lips tenderly brushed against his in a short and chaste kiss. As Sam retreated again, he was blushing.

“You just... Disney-kissed me...”, observed Trend and blinked slowly.

“Well, you... told me that you love me”, pointed Sam out and ran his fingers through his mohawk. “You don't think I'm going to make you say that and then just act as though it didn't happen? I mean, if... that's something you'd want too. Not exactly with the whole Disney-stuff, but right now, it felt like the right thing to do. Aside from that, is this... something you'd want? Kissing, that is.”

“Kissing? You? And me?”, stuttered Trend a little overwhelmed. “Only... kissing?”

“No”, answered Sam and shook his head, his eyes guarded again. “Being... boyfriends?”

“Really? Are you... sure about this? I mean, now, of all times”, asked the son of Athena softly.

“I made you say it and I'm not going to let that go unrewarded. Don't even start, I know what _I_ want, okay?”, replied Sam with a firm gaze. “You... You make me feel safe and complete and at ease and strong. When I'm with you, I feel invincible and protected at the same time. I never thought that you could love me, but when I noticed, I was afraid that you wouldn't feel the same about me anymore once you'd know, that... you'd be disgusted or disappointed, so I didn't want you to know. But now you know and... you don't judge me for it. You say you still... feel the same about me. T—That means that... I can have you, right? Because if I can have you, I want you. I want you to be mine, I want to keep that feeling of safety and strength and happiness. I want you to be mine.”

Even though he sounded pretty confident, he still backed off farther away from Trend, lowering his eyes to stare down at his left hand, tracing the aching knuckles with his other hand. The son of Athena could see how much it had taken Sam to say that, to ask for this.

“Sammy...”, smiled the blonde slowly and crawled closer. “I love you. I wasn't just saying that to calm you. I love you with all of my heart and being yours is really all I want.”

“Then...”, started the son of Ares, tilting his head to look at Trend again. “Can I be yours too?”

Trend closed the last gap between them and sealed Sam's lips with his own. It was neither the brutal and rough kiss they had shared in Alaska, nor the chaste brush of lips from earlier. This was a pure exchange of emotions, conveying all the love they held for each other. Sam's arms slung around Trend's neck again as Trend's arms found their way around Sam's waist. It was nice, the way Sam practically melted against him. Their first kiss had been more like a fight, but this time around, they completely agreed. Agreed on loving each other. Even after their kiss broke, their lips lingered, only a millimeter or so between them. A blush was painting Sam's sun-kissed cheeks a delicious red as he stared up at Trend with wide, expectant forest-green eyes. Seeing that, Trend had to smile slightly, cupping one of Sam's cheeks, caressing it with his thumb.

“Sometimes I really can't believe how cute you are”, chuckled the blonde, shaking his head some. “If you want to be mine, then I would be overjoyed, Sammy. _You_ are all I want, all I really want.”

“I'm not cute”, corrected Sam with a confused frown, which only made him look cuter to Trend.

“You are the cutest boy I ever met”, declared Trend, cupping Sam's face with both hands now, holding it tenderly. “I've been in love with you for years now and I waited for you to come around. I didn't want to wait, I never wanted to be that stupid boy that spends years yearning for someone, so I tried my hardest to find a replacement. I tried any cute boy at camp, but not a single one could even compare to you. Most of them bored me after only a short time, because they were whiny and just too petite for my liking. None of them was as cute as you though.”

“You're... serious”, observed Sam surprised. “You _really_ think I'm cute? Your eyes need checking.”

“Well, seeing as we're boyfriends now, I'll have plenty of time to show you just how brilliantly cute you are”, smirked Trend and kissed Sam once more, though as Sam leaned up against him, his hand pressed against Trend's chest, the brunette winced. “Right. First we get you some nectar and ambrosia for your hand. I'm pretty sure you broke it, stubborn idiot.”

“Okay”, nodded Sam and flopped down onto the bed again, making ushering motions with his not hurt hand. “Go and get that for me. I'll stay here and wait. Oh, and bring food too. I'm hungry.”

“I get the feeling I just agreed to become your servant”, muttered Trend and shook his head, getting up slowly. “Why don't you... come with me? We could eat downstairs, together.”

“I see what you're trying to do and I'm telling you off”, warned Sam with a glare, grabbing his pillow again. “I'm not... not ready to face the others yet, okay? Let me just pretend that they don't know and that they're not downstairs for a little longer. Just go and get everything and return to me so we can eat together and... cuddle. Don't tell anyone I just said that, or I'll kick you in the balls.”

Trend chuckled a little amused by that last comment, but he still nodded in agreement.

 

/break\

 

Half laying in Sander's lap, Donny was still picking at his food, Sander's hand absentmindedly caressing his hair while the brunette was playing poker with Herc, Nico and Thea. Donny wasn't very interested in playing, his thoughts were with Sam, hoping that everything worked out for the son of Ares. Though he was glad his friends could distract each other some.

“So... You guys having fun, yes?”, asked Trend mildly amused as he entered the kitchen.

Everyone stiffened remarkably, staring at him with inquisitive, curious eyes. But none of them dared to ask the questions running through all their heads. So they watched silently how Trend went through their bags that were still resting on the kitchen counter, taking some nectar out and then taking the cornucopia to summon a large amount of bacon, sausages, steak, fries and some fruits for good measure. He couldn't let Sam have everything he wanted, he also needed something healthy.

“You're awfully silent. That's... really untypical”, noted Trend with one cocked eyebrow.

“Dinner for Sam?”, asked Donny worried, the first one to dare and speak up. “How is he?”

“Dinner for Sam”, nodded the son of Athena. “He's hungry. But not yet ready to face you guys. I'll be upstairs and keep him company some longer. You don't need to linger around here as though this is the waiting room of the hospital and you're awaiting the doctor with the final judgment. It's not like this is a recent thing. Well, not for him at least. For us, yeah, because we only just learned about it. But to him, it lays five years in the past. Take some time to cool off. I don't know, shower, sleep, have sex for all I care. But be back to normal tomorrow morning, because I'm going to drag him down here for breakfast. Don't be all guilty-puppy and pity-eyed, get that?”

A small smile played on Donny's lips at Trend's protectiveness. “We'll do our best.”

“Good”, nodded Trend, grabbing the nectar and the plate. “Good night then.”


	45. Christmas Special (Future Life Part I)

45\. Christmas Special (Future Life Part I)

 

Exhaustion made Sam collapse face-first on the bed. After a long day in the office, he had actually just wanted to collapse on his bed and sleep. But this was not his bed and he would not get to sleep for a while, he just knew that. Turning as much as he could, he stared at his son. The boy was sitting next to him on the child's bed, staring cautiously at Sam, his feet dangling over the bed's edge.

“Are you angry with me, daddy?”, asked Eli softly, fidgeting with his hands.

“Daddy is just tired”, sighed Sam and sat up some. “I'm not angry. I just want to know why you're wearing your sister's dress. Again. This is the second time in as many weeks I find you in it, but this time around, I don't see any Grace-spawn wanting to marry you. So?”

“I—I...”, started Eli, staring with his wide, dark eyes up at his dad. “I like it. They're made of so much nicer material than boy's clothes and they're so pretty and with so many more colors and I hate, hate, hate pants and dresses feel so much nicer!”

“But you know that dresses are for girls, right?”, asked Sam softly and helped Eli out of the dress.

“But it's not fair that only girls get to wear dresses! It doesn't make sense!”, declared Eli confused. “Girls wear pants too, after all. So why do girls have special clothes that boys aren't allowed to wear but girls can wear anything they like? That's so not fair! I want to wear pretty dresses too!”

“But you're not a girl, Elijah”, pointed the son of Ares out, folding the silver dress.

“And you and pa wear jogging pants at home too even though you're not joggers! Just because I like wearing dresses, I don't have to be a girl! They're comfy and pretty”, pouted Eli. “I like how they feel and they make me feel pretty and I like feeling pretty.”

Sam frowned at his son as he stood, lifting Eli up into his arms, the boy clinging to his neck right away. “This is the last time I catch you wearing your sister's clothes. Am I clear?”

“Y—Yes, father...”, whispered Eli dully, his voice sad.

Sam cocked one eyebrow at that. As far as he recalled, Eli had never called either him or Trend 'father' before. The boy loved pet-names and cute things way too much to be that formal. Their family was in general too tight-knitted to be that formal. It didn't sit right with Sam.

“You and me will go shopping tomorrow and we'll buy you your own dresses, okay?”, whispered Sam softly. “No more stealing your sister's stuff. You'll only stretch her clothes.”

“R—Really, daddy?”, gasped Eli wide-eyed, staring up at Sam hopefully.

Sam frowned at his son and leaned in to kiss Eli's nose. “You're my precious, little boy and I love you. I will always do everything to make you happy. And if wearing dresses makes you happy, then we'll go and buy you some. To wear at home. Because you're right, pa and I aren't joggers and we still wear jogging pants at home because they're comfortable. So I guess it's alright for you to wear a dress at home if it makes you feel happy and comfortable, mh?”

“You're the bestest daddy in the world!”, yelped Eli happily and nearly suffocated Sam.

“I know, I know”, chuckled Sam with a grin, ruffling Eli's hair. “Now off to bed, kiddo.”

Once Eli was put to bed, Sam went to check on Colene once more. Never sure if that girl was really asleep or only pretending. Cheeky little thing she was. But the blonde little angel was asleep. Now to sort his thoughts, because he had various problems now. One thing was that it was already the 23rd December tomorrow, which meant he was going to be stuck in the last-minute-Christmas-rush when buying dresses for his son. There were so many things in that sentence that bothered him. But nothing he could do about it. He had promised Eli and he would stay true to his word, even though his Ares-nature screamed at him enraged that he was allowing his _son_ to wear girl's clothes. His maternal instincts however were quite eager to shut that voice up, because nothing on this planet was more important than his children's happiness. Taking two drachmas to throw into the fountain in the hall, he waited for the flicker of rainbow to appear. Because he had another problem.

“Jackson di Angelo”, ordered Sam, leaning against the wall and waiting.

“Yeah? Oh! Hey, Sam!”, greeted youngest son of Nico and Percy with a broad smile. “What's up?”

“Are you free tomorrow? Or do you have any last-minute shopping trips to do?”, asked Sam. “Because I could _really_ use your babysitting-skills tomorrow. You'd be a life-savior.”

“Lucky you, I already finished all my Christmas-shopping with Mattie yesterday”, chuckled Jack amused, cocking one eyebrow. “But you never call on such short notice.”

“Wonderful!”, exclaimed Sam and heaved a sigh. “Because, uh, it wouldn't just be Colly. I let Luke talk me into taking the triplets tomorrow, but now something came up. So, you up for your nieces?”

Luke and Thess were still rather young and with one of them working and the other trying to finish college now that their youngest ones were two years old, they took every babysitter they could get. And what with how often Thess, Donny and Jack had helped Sam out when Eli had still been a baby and him and Trend were busy with their own education, Sam couldn't deny any di Angelo. With his promise to Eli however, he couldn't watch over the triplets tomorrow.

“As long as its only the triplets and not also the twins, because I'm not handling the whole spawns of my big brother _and_ Colly”, warned Jack with one cocked eyebrow.

“No, no. Nick and Anna are with the Graces. Because I wouldn't take the triplets and the twins either”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes. “Just my daughter and the trio. Tomorrow noon?”

“I can do that”, nodded Jack with a grin. “See you tomorrow then.”

“Thank you. I owe you for this one”, smiled Sam a little strained and very exhausted.

Just as the rainbow faded out, he could hear the key turning in the front door. He was not allowed to catch a break today, was he? Groaning tired, he barely had time to turn around before his husband entered. Trend stared at him a little surprised and equally tired.

“Hey. What are you doing, lingering around in the hall?”, asked Trend with a small smile.

The blonde simply dumped his bag and let his trench-coat fall onto the floor as he more or less collapsed against his husband, wrapping his arms around Sam and hugging him so the brunette was pressed flush against him. The son of Ares gave a grunt before wrapping his arms around Trend's shoulders, burying his nose in the crook of Trend's neck.

“Tough day?”, asked Sam, muffled by Trend's chest. “Come on, couch is more comfortable.”

“Tough day”, agreed the son of Athena, following his husband into the living room where both of them crashing on the couch, shifting so Sam was laying on top of Trend, hugged tightly. “Lost a boy on the table today. There was nothing I could have done to safe him anymore, he was... far past that. A quest gone awfully wrong. He was... fourteen...”

The son of Ares sat up, his hands on either side of Trend's face as he leaned down to kiss his husband tenderly before getting up. “You, kick your shoes off, get comfortable. I'll get you a drink.”

Trend watched with tender eyes how Sam's ass swayed with his movement. Sometimes, he marveled at Sam's strength, wondering how anyone could be that strong. They both had hard jobs, long and exhausting jobs. Jobs that sometimes got a little too close to them. But still, regardless of how hard Sam's own day had been, he'd always try to cheer Trend up. The brunette grinned at him as he returned with a glass of warm milk. Trend's drink. When the son of Athena had first lost a patient – a child, it were most of the times children, because they were heroes, demigods – he had drowned himself in bourbon. Sam had never been harder on him than on the day that followed. Alcohol was not a solution, especially not for a doctor. So they had switched from bourbon to milk with honey and Sam-cuddles, which in itself was far more comforting and pleasing anyway.

“I can't even express how much I love you, Sammy”, murmured Trend against Sam's neck.

“Good. Because you need to take care of the last Christmas-dinner shopping tomorrow”, announced Sam as he got comfortable on Trend's lap. “Because I am going to buy our son some dresses.”

“What...?”, asked the son of Athena and squinted. “You mean our daughter, right?”

“Nope”, said Sam and shook his head. “Son. Eli likes wearing dresses. I blame Tommy Grace.”

“You know I love you and you know I love our son, right?”, mumbled Trend, his hand in Sam's neck, pulling him so close that the son of Athena could nose the soft hair. “But I'm not going to ask what this means at the moment. Today was too exhausting and I'm too tired to deal with complex things. I'll go groceries shopping tomorrow and you'll explain this to me tomorrow, but right now, I just want to hold you, that okay, Sammy?”

“More than okay”, nodded Sam and closed his eyes, enjoying Trend's warmth.

 

/break\

 

“Daddy, daddy! I want this one too! And this one!”

Massaging his temples, Sam followed Eli through the shop. The boy was so excited, his cheeks red and his eyes wide as he pointed out all kinds of different dresses. This was going to be a long day. But he hadn't seen Eli that happy since him and Trend had told the boy he'd have a baby sister.

“Okay, okay. That's enough for now. You need to try them on first”, chuckled Sam amused.

He was balancing a heap of mostly purple, pink and red dresses in his arms, trying to follow his son. Eli blushed and nodded obediently, grabbing three of the dresses and heading over to the cabins to get changed. With the rest of the dresses on his lap, Sam sat down on a chair. He was getting some funny glances from other customers and he could hear some snicker and whisper.

“If anyone here has a problem with my son wearing dresses, they may speak now so I can break some yaws, or shut the fuck up and leave”, warned Sam darkly, flexing his fists.

The snickering and whispering died down and Sam relaxed into his seat. No one was dumb enough to seriously provoke one of their city's greatest heroes. Rubbing his face, Sam waited.

“Daddy! Look, look how pretty it is!”, exclaimed Eli and rushed over to his dad.

A small, sincere smile slid onto Sam's lips as Eli came to stand in front of him proudly, whirling around to show off how the dress fit him. It was in the style of the forties of the last century, white with red polka-dots, tight at the waist and the skirt flowing and whirling with Eli's movements. Sam had to admit, the boy really could pull off a dress. The smile brightened some as he saw the joy and excitement in his son's eyes. Spreading his arms, he welcomed Eli in a hug.

“You look pretty”, whispered Sam softly. “Now come, next one. Or else we'll never get to leave.”

 

/break\

 

“Are you sure you're capable of this? I could come over and help.”

“Thea, contrary to popular believe, even I know my way around the kitchen”, grunted Trend and glared at the rainbow-image of the young woman. “Besides, Sammy will be back soon. I just thought I'd get a head-start on some of the stuff for him. He looked exhausted yesterday too.”

“Yeah, Herc said him and Sam had quite the rough day”, nodded Thea thoughtful. “Well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you that we're going to be a little late for dinner. We're dropping by at my moms' house first so Tommy gets his presents. He's very demanding.”

“It's okay”, assured Trend. “We'll just delay it about an hour. That enough time?”

“Yeah. I mean, we'll only drop by. We'll spend the whole second day with my parents, after all.”

Thea and Trend chatted about mundane things for a little while, but that was actually very distracting while a completely incompetent newbie tried to cook. So he was actually pretty grateful once the rainbow faded, because he was too busy trying and _failing_ to multi-task. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and it was the Rasers' turn to host their Christmas dinner. Normally Sammy took care of it. Well, normally Sammy took care of everything concerning the kitchen. He had never actually seen what a lot of effort and work went into their Christmas dinner. But there were ten different recipes for cookies and two recipes for cakes, as well as for the goose and its bacon filling – of course it's bacon filling, why didn't that surprise Trend? - and all the salads and vegetable dishes to make it up to the vegetarians. This was so much work and Trend already burned three plates of cookies. He was just grateful that his wonderful husband had called in Jack di Angelo to babysit. Because he doubted he would have managed Colly, the triplets and cooking. Sam would be getting a massage tonight for being so awesome, that much was for sure. Because Trend was well-aware that Sam would have shouldered all of that, on top of work this forenoon.

“Khan, we're home!”, announced Sam loudly. “Get ready for a surprise, love.”

Normally when Sam came home and promised him a surprise, their children weren't home and they were going to have hot, kinky sex against the wall. But something in the tone of voice told him that this was neither kinky nor sex and probably going to cause him a headache. Preparing himself for the worst, Trend turned around from the not completely burned plate of cookies.

“Papa! Papa! Look how pretty I look!”, exclaimed Eli as he collided with Trend.

Right. Eli and dresses, he vaguely remembered such things from his conversation with Sam before falling asleep, but somehow he had thought those had been in a state of dream. But here Eli was, proudly showing off a white dress with polka-dots. Damn, the boy looked cute in the dress.

“ _But_ you're only keeping this one for now!”, warned Sam as he stuck his head into the kitchen. “The others are going to be your Christmas presents, so you'll wait until tomorrow. I spend way too much money anyway, so the toys are out of question for now and will be saved for your birthday. You don't get everything you want just like that. Are we clear here?”

“Yes, daddy! Thank you, daddy!”, smiled Eli broadly.

 

/break\

 

Sander ran his fingers through his hair, making it point up in a way that resembled the hair-style he had worn as a teen. A small smile was playing on his lips as he stood leaning against his bedroom door, watching his family. Donny was laying sprawled all over their bed, their youngest child, their baby daughter Celine, laying curled together on his chest, the four-years old triplets Chrysostomos, Chrysoula and Chrysanthos on either side of Donny, cuddled up to their mommy.

“Where is Cal?”, asked Sander with a frown as he noticed that their oldest son was missing.

“Mh? Oh. San. You're home”, smiled Donny brightly. “Cal is in his room, he said he has to finish his present for Eli on time. Care to check on him? He's being awfully quiet. I don't trust this.”

“Will do, mio mare scuro”, agreed Sander with a tender smile.

With that, he left their bedroom to walk over to their oldest son's room. His tender smile grew into an amused grin as he saw Calogero. The brunette boy was highly concentrated as he was drawing a picture, pink, red and purple glitter-glue stolen from his sister's room standing next to his water colors, most likely supposed to be the finishing touch. Sea-green eyes were crossed in concentration as Cal did his best to make whatever this was simply perfect. Because only perfect was good enough when it came to Eli Raser, Sander had been told that often enough by now to believe it.

“Hello, papà!”, mumbled Cal without looking up. “Come look! Is this good? It's for Eli!”

Cal didn't need to look up, he could tell the people he cared about apart by the feeling of their presence, their water and energy, or aura, Sander always forgot what Donny called it. It was a little creepy and Sander hadn't yet gotten used to the extend of Cal's powers. He briefly wondered if Donny had been as powerful at that age. Then again, Donny hadn't started training until he was sixteen while Cal had started training his Hades-Poseidon-badass-powers at the age of four.

“Hello, Cal”, chuckled Sander and stepped up to the six-years old, resting his hands on Cal's shoulders to look at the present. “Wow. This is really cute. I'm sure he'll love it.”

Which was the complete truth. The present was extremely thoughtful and cute and knowing Eli, the boy was so going to love it. In the middle of a dark red star-shaped piece of cart-board was a photo of Eli, Cal and Tom from when Sam had taken the boys to England to explore the Raser Mansion this summer. Eli was smiling one of the Raser-trademarked radiant smiles – something Sander had always admired when it came to Sam too, at least after Sam and Trend had gotten together, because it had been the first time Sander had actually seen Sam open up enough to be that genuine. They had the brightest smiles, as though they could light up a whole, dark room with one of those. With that smile armed at the camera, Eli was having his arms wrapped around Tom's and Cal's necks as the two older boys were holding onto Eli's waist and lifting him up into the air, his feet dangling. Colorful little animals were drawn on the star-shaped frame, most of them kittens and horses (over the course of four own children and the children of their friends, Sander had gotten extremely good at deciphering children drawings) – Eli's favorite animals. Sander laughed softly as he remembered how he had asked Eli once what the boy wanted to be once he was all grown up. _When I'm big, I want to be a cat, uncle Sander!_ , had been the very convinced and serious answer. Being the good godfather he was, he had given the only possible reply. _And you would be such a cute kitten._

“You're right, Cal. He's going to love it”, assured Sander with a smile. “But don't forget the glitter.”

“Of course not!”, huffed Cal wide-eyed. “Eli loves sparkly and shiny things!”

The boy couldn't for the life of him remember birthdays or to bring his books with him to school and he sometimes even forgot to wear his shoes before leaving the house, but he had memorized everything Eli Raser liked as though his own life depended on it. Sander smiled amused as he watched how Eli's three favorite colors were applied in glitter.

“You're adorable, Cal”, laughed Sander and kissed the top of Cal's head. “And what about Tom?”

Cal gave him a broad, proud smile as though he had done something completely genius as he held up a big, red bow with golden embroidery. Sander had no idea what he was getting at.

“Uh... You'll give him a bow?”, asked Sander a little confused and sat down next to Cal.

“No, papà, don't be stupid!”, chided Cal and rolled his eyes. “No, I'll put the bow on Eli's head!”

“You can't give Eli away. You know uncle Sam and uncle Trend won't allow that”, snorted Sander, trying very hard not to burst out in laughter. “Besides, what's Tom supposed to do with Eli?”

“Keep him, of course”, huffed Cal with a frustrated head-shake, still talking as though his dad was a total moron and completely missing the point, which would have probably angered Sander if it wouldn't be coming from his very adorable son in a manner that was even more adorable. “Tommy is being angry because uncle Sam said that just because we play wedding doesn't mean it actually works. But it does, right? You love mamma and you're his and mamma loves you and he is yours. So that's enough for being weddinged, right?”

“Married”, corrected Sander amused and confused. “But, uh, things are a little more complex...”

“I don't like complex”, frowned Cal upset and now also a little confused. “Tommy said we're married now so we are. And this will cheer Tommy up! Don't confuse me, papà.”

“Sorry”, chuckled Sander and stood. “Well, I'll... leave you to your present then, mh? Remember to be ready in an hour, or else we'll be too late. And you don't want to keep Eli waiting, right?”

 

/break\

 

“Where is... Where in the world is our son again?”, asked Hercules frustrated.

He was dressed up – he hated being dressed up, but Thea insisted that he should look decent for the Christmas dinner and urgh, he hated ties – but his wife looked just stunningly amazing and drop-dead gorgeous. Like always, but this time in a fancy dress. He liked her in a fancy dress. It made him smile in a dopey way and stare at her as though she was a princess (or that was at least how Sander liked to describe this look). The only one missing was Tom though.

“Tomazius Grace, move your behind down here right now or we'll leave without you!”

And Thea knew exactly how to talk to the children. Within seconds, Tom was standing in front of his parents. Herc groaned frustrated, mourning the loss of his favorite flowers that his mother had planted in their winter garden to lighten up their house. Tom was holding two flower-bouquets and pulling the biggest stuffed plush tiger possible after him, the thing nearly being twice his size.

“I'm ready! Let's go!”, announced Tom, pouncing on the balls of his feet.

“If he wasn't eight years old, I'd be asking if he has to make up something to his wife”, noted Herc with one cocked eyebrow, wincing as Thea elbowed him. “What? He looks exactly like me after I broke your favorite vase, love! You got to admit that.”

Thea's eyes roamed over their son and she nodded shortly. “Actually... You're right.”

“See!”, grunted Herc and nodded pleased. “And where did you get that monstrous tiger?”

“I bought it with my pocket money!”, huffed Tom and rolled his eyes.

“But... why did you buy a giant tiger?”, asked Herc slowly.

“Because tigers are Eli's favorites”, answered Tom, as though that was the obvious answer.

“Y—You spend all your pocket money on a giant stuffed tiger because it's Eli's favorite?”

“No, dad”, grunted Tom, rolling his eyes again and looking at him as though he was stupid. “I also bought a giant stuffed teddy bear for Cally. But I can't carry both at once!”

“Your dad will get it and carry it to the car”, offered Thea amused.

“That boy is getting too much pocket money!”, announced Herc as he obeyed his wife.

 

/break\

 

Sam was completely thrown off his game as he stared wide-eyed at the Iris Message. “What do you mean you can't make it? Esperanza Nicole Foxx, I swear, I'm going to come over and drag your blasted ass over here myself! What the fuck? Seriously, it's _Christmas._ ”

“Sorry, Sam”, sighed Nico and rubbed her eyes, sniffing. “But we're out. Completely. Saphira caught a cold and in my effort to nurse her back to health in time for Christmas, I got it too...”

“What my beloved husband was trying to say was: Get better soon”, butted Trend in, his hands resting on Sam's hips, drawing circles on Sam's hip-bones in a way that made Sam squirm.

“Right”, sighed Sam in defeat. “Get better soon. Give Saphira a kiss from me. We'll see you for New Year's though, right? And if you bail out on me there too, I swear I'll have your ass.”

As the Iris Message faded out, Trend attached his lips to Sam's neck in a soothing kiss. Missing the four Foxxes meant they had too much food and it threw off Sam's plans and Trend knew how much Sam hated it when something didn't work out, when he wasn't in control. That was something Sam still hated, even after ten years of Trend trying to fix everything Leroy had destroyed. But it was Christmas Eve and this monster was not what he wanted to think about tonight. He wanted to focus on his wonderful, gorgeous and currently rather frustrated husband, who arched into his touch.

“It's alright, Sammy”, murmured the son of Athena softly.

“That's not it, dick-head”, muttered Sam – and Trend knew that something was seriously off, because it was always that case when Sam restored to petty name-calling again. “I just... hate when we're not complete. With all the working and the kids running around, I feel as though we're... falling apart. And birthdays and Christmas and New Year's Eve are ours, right? I don't like when our family isn't together... I can't... deal. It's hard enough that Der isn't here...”

Trend slowly turned Sam around so they were facing each other. Nudging his husband's cheek, he tenderly kissed the son of Ares' yaw, not saying anything. There wasn't anything to be said. After Sam and Trend had gotten serious, Sam had worked up the courage to tell his grandpa that he was gay. He had been banned from setting foot into the Raser Mansion until his grandfather's dieing day. Sam hadn't even dared to attend the funeral and Trend knew that it had broken Sam's heart in a hundred different ways. But their friends had been there for Sam. Not much of a surprise since Donny and Sander had lived with them at the time anyway. And Herc, Thea, Nico and Joe had claimed their living room for themselves. Don't get him started on Sara and Marshall. The big guy alone took nearly the whole office and Sara went on a war path, at least in her mind. Nudging Sam's face a little more, he reached Sam's lips to kiss him. He knew how important their little family was to Sam. So it had been hard enough for Sam to accept that his sister and Marshall couldn't come this year because Sara's mother had _insisted_ on them being with the family this year. But now without Joe and Nico either? Sam got that haunted, abandoned look in his eyes. The one Trend hated. The one Trend had been working on banning _forever_ from those beautiful eyes for ten years now.

“Papa? Why is mama looking sad? It's Christmas!”, asked Colene confused, tugging on their shirts from where she was suddenly standing next to them. “No sad on Christmas, mama!”

“Right”, chuckled Sam softly and leaned down to lift her up into his arms. “No sad on Christmas.”

She was wearing a simple, white dress with small red ribbons. To match Eli's outfit. Trend and Sam too were wearing red and white, just as Eli had picked out for them. Eli smiled brightly at them, straightening his dress happily. They had cut a deal with the boy. No wearing dresses outside the house. Much to Trend's relief, Eli had scoffed at that and told him that he only liked to wear them because they were comfortable and that his parents didn't go out in their home-clothes either so duh.

The doorbell rang, getting their attention, Trend taking Colly from his husband, the girl always eager to be the first to greet guests. “Come on, Colly, let's go and let our guests in.”

This left Eli and Sam on their own. The boy kept looking at Sam curiously. Heaving a sigh, Sam knelt down next to his son. He had noticed this odd behavior months ago, but he never dared to approach Eli. In his experience, curious glances from _anyone_ meant embarrassment, humiliation or soul-baring situations for Sam. Still, he had been buying dresses for his son yesterday. It couldn't get that much worse now, could it? Staring intensely into those inquisitive, dark eyes, he grunted.

“Okay, spill it. Whenever you and your sister are in the same room as me, you get that look”, prompted the son of Ares. “Is this a sibling-rivalry? Because I've been anticipating the jealous, older brother for two years now, to be honest. _No one_ can be such a perfect, little boy.”

“I—It's not that!”, exclaimed Eli. “I love Colly. It's just... Why can she call you mama and I can't...? D—Do you love her more than me that you want to be her mama but not mine...?”

And urgh, that went straight to the feels, how could the kid deliver such a low blow? “I don't love her more than you, Elijah. You're both my precious, little angels. I just... Uh...”

How was he supposed to explain to his son that him and Trend had agreed to be pa and dad when they had first had Eli and that only Colene's close friendship to the di Angelo-offsprings and her logical mind – which three-years old had such a logical mind anyway, damn Trend and his Athena-genes for that – had come up with a logical conclusion. Not just that man-woman couples were dad-mom, but that Luke and Thess as well as Sander and Donny were dad-mom couples too. Which had made Colly consider that she was being robbed of something important. A mom. Everyone had a mom and a dad, why did she only have two dads? That was unfair. Since moms were tender-fussing-cooking, her daddy had to be her mom, right? Since that had dawned on her, she had been very persistent. Eli had never questioned anything before. He was just happy to have his parents. But right now, Sam could practically see that whole thought-process from Colly go through Eli's head too. Why did everybody have a pa and a ma but not him?

“I give up”, sighed Sam and shook his head. “You rascals do whatever you want _anyway_. I lost my say in this household the moment you arrived. You can... call me ma too, if it makes you happy.”

Judging by the sparkling of Eli's eyes, it _did_ make the boy happy. Wrapping his arms around Sam's neck, he hugged his parent tightly and placed a sloppy kiss on Sam's cheek.

“I love you, ma”, declared the five-years old.

“Yeah, yeah”, muttered Sam, ushering his son off. “Go and see to your friends, mh?”

As he stood again, he found himself pressed against a strong chest. Cocking one eyebrow, he glared at his husband, who was just staring at him with those adoring eyes he sometimes got, as though Sam was a saint or angel or shit like that and Trend was the luckiest person alive to have him. It really freaked Sam out, but on the same time, he also kind of enjoyed being looked at like that. As though he was something valuable and precious and worth loving.

“You know, ten years ago, you would have punched anyone in the face who'd call you a girl.”

“First of all”, grunted Sam with a sharp glare. “At _no point of my life_ would I have punched a small child, especially not my own. Secondly, this is a sign of how secure I am in my masculinity and nothing else than that, you hear me, wanker?”

“Wanker, eh?”, grunted Trend, displeased that Sam was still going with the insults. “Mh, with the fuck and the dick-head from earlier, that makes three points on the naughty-list, Sammy.”

A faint blush graced his cheeks as Sam wrapped his arms around Trend's neck. “Well, let's see how the evening continues. Maybe I'll earn myself a Christmas-spanking by the end of the night?”

“If you continue like that”, chuckled Trend and kissed his husband. “Now come, the others wait.”

 

/break\

 

A half-dead Donny was draped all over Sander's lap, his cheek resting against the strong chest and he was pretty sure he was leaving little drool-strains on the dress-shirt, but damn, Celine had cried all night and the twins had constantly talked this morning without giving him a break. Donny wondered how his mom had coped with seven children, he was already at his end with four.

“You still with us, mio mare scuro?”, whispered Sander's dark voice.

And mh, did that sound wonderful. “I'm fine. Just tired. Nothing a little wine and Sam's cooking won't be able to fix again. Tell me where our children are.”

“Celine is sleeping in the living room. The triplets are in the kitchen, most likely trying to steal some of the cookies and dessert. And Cal is with Tom, looking for Eli”, listed Sander dutifully.

“Speaking of our boys, do you know where Sam and Trend keep vases?”, asked Thea.

“Why is Herc carrying two flower bouquets?”, asked Donny with a yawn. “Upper cupboard kitchen, by the way. Are those for Sam? You know he doesn't like being treated like a girl.”

“No flowers for the hostess”, chuckled Thea amused. “They are from Tom. For Cal and Eli.”

“Such a thoughtful husband”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes as he entered the dining room.

“Yeah, Cal said something along those lines earlier too”, grunted Sander confused. “What's that supposed to mean? He was talking about you telling Tom that he isn't married to Cal and Eli...?”

The son of Ares motioned for Thea to sit down as his husband joined them, carrying two vases. The two flower-bouquets at least were a nice table decoration. The long table was set for six people – after Trend had removed the settings for Joe and Nico. A smaller table was set for six people too, but with plastic cups and not so sharp knives (in three cases, no knives at all).

“Last time your sons were over, they decided to play wedding with Eli”, answered Sam, throwing an accusing glare at Herc. “And Tom decided that Cal and Eli are his wives now.”

“That's my boy”, snorted Herc, holding his stomach in laughter. “Awesome.”

“No. No, not awesome at all”, grunted Trend, glaring darkly and dangerously at Herc. “If-”

“Oh, calm down, Raser. Rasers. Both of you”, laughed Donny softly. “They're just kids. Eli is five, Cal is only six and even Tom is only eight. This is just fun. Let them play.”

“It's all fun and games until it isn't anymore”, muttered Sander slightly displeased.

 

/break\

 

Cal was blushing brightly as he clutched his new teddy to his chest. Well, as good as possible, because that thing was nearly as tall as his mamma. He was obediently following Tom up the stairs on their quest to look for Eli. Only uncle Trend and Colly had greeted them. Where was Eli?

“Why isn't he anywhere?”, asked the eight-years old blonde in front of him with a pout.

The two were standing in the middle of Eli's room, looking around confused. Tom glared and dumped the giant tiger on the bed, sitting down right next to it with his arms crossed. Cal cautiously laid the teddy down on the floor in front of the bed and plumed down on top of it.

“He's supposed to be here!”, huffed Tom, uncrossing his arms to wave them around in annoyance. “He is being an awful wife! He shouldn't let his husband wait! You're good! You're here.”

Cal nodded slightly, crossing his arms under his chin and staring up at Tom. The bag with his presents laying next to him. Biting his lower lip, he turned toward it.

“Papà said being weddinged doesn't work like that”, mumbled Cal softly.

“Of course it doesn't! We forgot the most important thing!”, exclaimed Eli as he entered his room.

“There you are!”, grinned Tom pleased. “Look! I got you a tiger!”

Eli froze and stared stunned at the giant plush tiger taking up all of his bed. Cal scrambled off his own stuffed animal to get his own present for Eli out of the bag. Blushing furiously, he thrust the framed photo out for Eli to take. The younger boy gave him a brilliant smile and pecked his cheek before crawling over the tiger to get to the pinboard hanging over his bed, where he put the photo.

“Look, Tommy! It's us”, pointed Eli happily out, tugging on Tom's hand. “It's really pretty!”

“Uhu”, nodded Tom, having the same picture hanging in his room since this summer already.

Humming softly, Eli snuggled up to the amazingly soft and fluffy tiger-plushy. “Mh, I like this.”

“Good”, grinned Tom pleased. “I got you flowers too, but mom said they need to be put into water so they're downstairs. See? I'm being a good, proper husband! I got you stuffed toys and flowers!”

Like they had seen in the cheesy movies uncle Donny liked to watch where the boyfriends always took their girlfriends on fairs and they won stuffed animals for them and bought them pretty flowers. Eli giggled at that, but before he could say anything, he had Cal tugging on his dress. Blushing a little self-consciously, Eli sat up and straightened the knee-long skirt.

“You're wearing a dress. But we're not playing house”, pointed Cal out, obviously confused. “Oh! But it'll look good with my present for Tommy! Sit still, Eli.”

Cal got the head-band out and tied it around Eli's head, with a broad bow sitting on top of the brunette, shoulder-long hair, the wavy curls being tied back some by the elusive bow. Cal looked immensely pleased with himself once the bow was straightened some. And then he turned toward Tom, with his hands on Eli's shoulders, grinning broadly at the blonde.

“Here! My present for you, Tommy!”, declared Cal. “Because I don't care what uncle Sam says!”

“Hey!”, protested Eli with a glare. “Don't say such things about mama!”

“Shush”, chided Cal. “You know what I mean! What uncle Sam said about our wedding!”

“Oh...”, mumbled Eli. “Well, he was right. It wasn't really-real, we forgot the important part!”

“We didn't”, objected Tommy confused. “You were wearing white dresses, like real brides, and I was wearing a proper suit-jacket-thingy, like a proper groom. And we did the kissing too!” Both younger boys blushed furiously at that and nodded. “See? We did everything right.”

“No, we didn't”, argued Eli and scrambled off to get to his desk. “The most-most-most important part are the rings! I noticed when I looked at pa and ma! They have matching rings!”

“So do mine”, nodded Cal thoughtful. “And yours too, Tommy. Eli is right.”

“Huh”, grunted Tom, displeased that he had forgotten such an important detail.

“And that's why I got you these for Christmas!”, declared Eli with a bright smile.

He held two little black boxes in his hands, presenting one to each of the older boys. Cal slowly opened it to stare in awe at the ring inside. It was a skull-ring, like the wedding rings of his parents and his grandparents and his uncle Thess. But its eyes weren't matching. One was a ruby, one a sapphire. Peeking into Tom's box, he noticed that his skull-ring didn't have matching eyes either, but his were an emerald and a ruby. That was when the ring on Eli's finger caught his attention too. But like Tom's and his ring, this one had mismatched eyes too. A sapphire and an emerald.

“Auntie Nico and auntie Joe made them for me when I explained everything to them”, explained Eli, excited and proud of himself. “Since auntie Nico and auntie Joe have skull-rings too, auntie Nico explained to me that this is a serious family-tradition so she said to make it skull-rings too!”

“But why are they missing our favorite colors? I mean, our own ones”, frowned Cal confused. “Mine doesn't have a green stone even though it's my favorite color in the world and Tommy's doesn't have a blue one and yours doesn't have a red one. That doesn't make sense.”

“But yours both have a red one each, because you're mine! And my ring and yours, Cally, have blue ones because we're Tommy's. And Tommy's ring and mine have a green eye because we're yours, Cally!”, explained Eli with a nod. “That's what auntie Nico said. And then she laughed and said that she can't wait to see our parents' faces, but I don't get that either.”

“So... That means that now we're propper-married, right?”, asked Tom thoughtful.

“Well duh, now we have the rings!”, nodded Eli vigorously.

“Elijah! Calogero! Tomazius! If you don't come down right now, we'll eat without you!”

“Yes, mom!”, called Tommy back, grabbing Eli's and Cal's hands to tug them along.

 

/break\

 

The couples were seated to face each other, Donny having Thea and Sam on either side of him as he stared lovingly over at Sander. Not that his husband was aware of that, because he was too busy stuffing his face with the results of Sam's amazing cooking-skills. It was too cute.

“And tomorrow you're going to your parents' place?”, asked Sam casually.

“Yes. Mom and dad will have a full house with all of us”, chuckled Donny. “And the day after tomorrow, we'll be at the Rodriguez' place. What about you? Any plans for the rest of it?”

“Ma is putting together the biggest family reunion since... well, since my grandfather's passing”, answered Sam a little strained. “Our flight is scheduled for later this night.”

“What? You can't take Eli to England without us!”, exclaimed Cal with a crestfallen look.

Trend turned to glare at the young di Angelo, eying him suspiciously. The six children were sitting together, the di Angelo twins opposite each other, with Colly and Eli next to them and on Eli's other side was Tom, opposite Cal. Both Tom and Cal were staring at him accusingly. He wasn't sure if he liked what was cooking there. But Sam's foot cunningly creeping up his leg distracted him.

“It's only for a couple of days, boys. I promise we'll bring him back in time for New Year”, assured Sam, his eyes locked with Trend's as he smirked at his husband. “What about you, Graces?”

“My parents tomorrow and Thea's parents the day after”, answered Jason shortly. “And while we're in New Rome, we'll check in with Nico and Joe, see how they're doing.”

“So... I'm not sure if we're talking about this, but I just need to ask”, mumbled Sander, his voice low as he leaned over to Trend next to him. “Why is your son wearing a dress?”

“I have no idea”, shrugged the son of Athena, looking at his husband. “He hasn't told me yet.”

“Because Eli likes wearing dresses”, answered Sam simply. “And you're not one to talk, di Angelo-in-law. I caught your son in one of my daughter's dresses too a couple of days ago.”

“That was a one-time-thingy!”, defended Cal, red as a tomato as the adults suddenly all looked at him. “And it was Tommy's fault! He said to become his wife, I need to wear a wedding dress!”

“ _That_ right there is something we seem to agree on, Calogero!”, grunted Trend. “It's Tom's fault.”

“I don't care”, huffed Tom. “They're my wives now and no-no-no one can change that.”

“What exactly did we do wrong when we raised them? I mean, honestly”, muttered Thea.

“Must be punishment for how horrible we annoyed our own parents”, mused Herc thoughtful.

“Talk for yourself. I was an angel”, snorted Sam with a glare.

“We all know that you were mommy's little boy”, grinned Donny teasingly, elbowing him.

“Right”, laughed Sander. “Because you're one to talk, love.”


	46. The Case S. Raser (Parental Life Part VII)

46\. The Case S. Raser (Parental Life Part VII)

 

“Why does this feel like dressing for my funeral?”

“Travis, stop being a baby about this. You told the twins you would talk to the di Angelos, now stay true to your words”, warned Connor, straightening Travis' shirt. “And if you want to be buried in these clothes, we are going to have a serious conversation first, because _that_ is not happening.”

“Why? I love this shirt”, protested Travis with a frown, checking himself in the mirror.

“It's a Hawaiian shirt. In turquoise. With turtles on it”, pointed Connor out, deadpanning.

“I like turtles?”, defended Travis himself, pouting slightly.

“And I like rump-steak. Do you see me walking around with a shirt with little rump-steaks on it?”

“Well, I also happen to like _you_ ”, whispered Travis with a grin, pulling Connor into a hug.

“You have a shirt with me on it”, reminded Connor, wrapping his arms around Travis' neck.

“Thanks to the twins”, nodded Travis, his grin softening into a loving smile. “It's my favorite night shirt, after all. With our family on it. You and the twins, you're my life. You know that, right?”

Connor grabbed Travis' shoulders and pushed him off some, staring at his older brother with one cocked eyebrow. “Yeah. I'm still not taking that bullet for you. _You_ said you'd talk to Nico. I'm not suicidal enough to talk to that guy about his children's safety and well-being. That's even more hazardous than talking to him about Percy's ass.”

“You don't love me”, whined the older son of Hermes and took his jacket.

“Shut up and get going”, snorted Connor and rolled his eyes fondly. “See you at your funeral!”

With that and a broad smile did he wave his older brother off. He made a mental note to do laundry while Travis was gone. If they reached the part of their closet with the embarrassing Hawaiian shirts that always found their way into their closet when either one of them was drunk and online, then they were _really_ running out of clean clothes. Shaking his head, he closed the door.

 

/break\

 

Nico leaned back some, cocking his head curiously. He rubbed his chin absentmindedly with one hand, noting somewhere in the back of his mind that he really needed to shave. His free hand was holding a folder while his eyes scanned the content.

_Samuel Elijah James Raser the Third, son of Ares and Jolene Raser, European Demigod_

Or, for short: Percy's newest project. If Percy liked the boy and wanted to keep him around, then Nico needed to check the kid first. Good thing he was head of the Demigod Protective Service and had free reign over the records of the different demigods residing in New Athens. But this one was quite the interesting story. The kid had been more places than Nico. And Nico could shadow-travel. What with his mother being a marine, he had been living in so many cities, everywhere where his mother had been stationed. Which was a curious thing, considering that he had been born in Ireland. Most likely so he would have dual citizenship, mused Nico. What with the boy's mother having family and roots in Ireland herself, but being a US Marine. Still being. Alive. Which was a rare status for mortal parents of demigods. Then again, looking at the family records, Sam seemed to have quite the large mortal family. Which made Nico question why his beloved husband had decided to take Sam under his wings. If the boy was orphaned, without any family at all, Nico would have had an easy time relating to his lover's reasons, but the boy seemed to have quite the happy home-life. His gut instinct told him that he would have to dig a little deeper. He knew that Percy had a thing for kicked puppies, in the metaphorical sense. If he'd look closer, surely he would find the reason why Percy wanted to take care of the son of Ares.

A hunch made him grab the medical records and skip through them. The usual. A high number of broken bones and stitched-up skin, the occasional concussion. Hero injuries. And children of Ares were especially prone for getting into fights. Added the fact that Sam Raser was quite the name – the next great hero, the new Percy Jackson, was what they whispered on the streets – well, let's just say most of the injuries didn't strike him as odd. At least not until he reached the earliest dates.

The hand on his chin stopped its movement and slowly got lowered to grab the sheets of paper so he could take a closer look. Without really noticing it did his posture straighten. Nico had been the head of the DPS for long enough to see the different shades of injuries for what they truly were. Fighting. Training. Monster attacks. But they weren't the Demigod _Protective_ Service for the nice ring of the name. There were enough demigods who were stuck in bad foster families, or with an abusive step-parent like his own beloved husband. Nico knew what abuse looked like when he saw it. Taking a look at the dates, he noticed curiously that all were dated for the summer of 2027. Putting the medical files away, he grabbed the record once more to see what had been so special about the summer of 2027. After all, the first quest-inducted injuries had only happened over a year later. Mh, how curious. 2027 had been the only year Sam had spend at Camp Jupiter. Nico grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, scribbling a note to himself – _Call Will. Ask about Sam '27_. Surely Doctor Mason knew a thing or two, after all it was his signature under the medical files.

“Nico? Why are you still here? It's already getting dark”, chided the voice of his best friend.

Lifting his gaze, he stared doe-eyed up at the daughter of Hecate. Lou Ellen only arched one of her eyebrows in an elegant way. A word Nico would have never thought he'd use for the witch. A fond smile slid onto his lips as he remembered the rebellious punk girl he had bonded with over their status as outcasts – the weird witch and the odd underworld brat. Now she was an elegant woman, in a fitted skirt and blazer, professional, her hair still short and tomboyish, but not dyed in dirty, different colors anymore. Stuffing the note into his pocket, he stood.

“You're right. Percy is probably already waiting for me with dinner”, muttered Nico and joined her, leaving the office at her side. “I have to find a way to make up for this. He _hates_ cooking.”

“How about you take him out for dinner for a change?”, suggested Lou, linking their arms. “You don't have time to cook in the evening these days, what with the daughter of Persephone around now, and he hates cooking and still did it the past couple days. Take him out, some place fancy. That way you two can dress up, enjoy a delicious meal none of you had to prepare first and you can cut straight to the dessert without having to care about cleaning the kitchen afterward.”

“Clever”, commented Nico with a sly smile.

 

/break\

 

“-And then they just stared up at Chiron with their big, pleading eyes and the old centaur was all 'Okay, fine, forget it'!”, laughed a loud voice that certainly did not belong to Percy.

Nico frowned as he opened the front door of their house. More laughter ringed in his ears. Shedding his jacket, he made his way through the hall and toward the kitchen. What he found there was not entirely what he had expected or hoped for. He had expected a table, set for two people, and Percy, smiling at him and kissing him. He had hoped for a naked Percy on the table, ready for more than just kissing. What did greet him however was entirely different. The table was set for four people and three of the plates were already half empty. Percy was not alone. Next to him and opposite of him was each one Stoll-brother, all three laughing and drinking wine. An empty bottle already on the kitchen counter, the one on the table half-empty too.

“It's so nice to come home from a long day of work to find unexpected visitors eating my dinner.”

“Oh, shut up, mio angelo”, chuckled Percy teasingly and stood to kiss his husband. “Travis came to talk to you. But you had to work long again. So he stayed. Until Connor followed, worried that you may have already killed his brother off. Connor helped me with dinner and when you _still_ didn't come, we decided to start eating without you. Now sit down before your food gets cold.”

“No. No, I think I'd rather hear what exactly Travis wants from me that makes his brother assume I killed him”, pointed Nico out, glaring skeptically as he sat down next to Percy. “Well?”

“So... Yeah...”, started Travis, leaning back some, farther away from Nico. “Well...”

“Spill it before I spill your guts all over my kitchen floor”, warned the son of Hades casually.

“He wouldn't do that”, smiled Percy innocently. “He wouldn't want to clean that mess.”

“Now that is reassuring...”, muttered Travis with a crestfallen look.

“It's about your son, the youngest that is, and our sons”, clarified Connor, elbowing his brother.

“Jack? And Hunter and Hayden?”, asked the son of Poseidon confused. “They got into trouble? Again? Oh dear, what is wrong with you tricksters and the trouble you attract...”

“Nothing! And they don't mean to!”, defended Connor with a glare. “But... they're really worried.”

“Worried?”, asked Percy curiously, cocking his head. “What about?”

“Jack said the last time they got into trouble, you told him to stay out of trouble”, answered Connor.

“Well, obviously”, snorted Nico, shoveling the delicious pasta into his mouth. “He's our son. He's five-years old. And 'trouble' at camp normally means pain and injuries.”

“Your son however drew the conclusion that staying out of trouble meant staying away from our sons”, countered Connor with a glare. “Though that didn't last too long. But the next time they got into trouble, all three of them got all wide and fearful eyed, because they thought you'd not allow them to be friends anymore because the Hoods got your boy into trouble again.”

“What?”, asked Percy, blinking a couple of times. “I would never do that. Why would Jack think that? Of course he can hang out with your sons. I mean, nothing stopped me from being friends with you two either, even though you only meant trouble.”

“Then _please_ tell that to all three of them”, sighed Connor exhausted, running his fingers through his hair. “Because Hayden and Hunter are... they are really attached to Jack. They're really afraid that they could lose him. I don't... I don't like seeing them afraid...”

“Don't worry”, smiled Percy kindly, leaning over the table to grab Connor's hand. “I'll take care of that. Of course they can be friends. There's nothing wrong with that. Just... it would be nice if your boys would try getting into a little less trouble, at least while Jack is with them...”

“Yeah, I'll try telling them that”, laughed Connor amused.

“How are your sons anyway?”, asked the son of Poseidon curiously. “I mean, it must be hard, after everything they've been through... How are they adjusting to life here? Life with you?”

Travis turned his gaze away from the glowering glare he was receiving from Nico to look at his younger brother. The younger Stoll deflated, barely noticeable, but very visible to his brother. Reaching out beneath the table, Travis grabbed Connor's free hand, squeezing it.

“I'm not sure”, answered Connor, his voice soft. “I mean, it's been two years now and I figured they got it. I mean, that we love them, that we're family. But... when we talked to Chiron, the twins were seriously worried. Afterward too. Like they thought we'd... give them away. I love Hun and Hay as though they're my own, they're more than just two other children of our father, they're _mine_. I would never, never send them away. I just... I just want them to understand...”

Gritting his teeth, even Nico had to tune his glare down some. He wanted to be angry with the Stolls and with their brats for corrupting his beloved, little angel – out of all of their children, Jack was the most innocent and also the most obedient. Before this summer, he had never made any problems. It was hard to be angry with the Stolls though when they looked like kicked puppies. The Italian didn't even want to imagine what it must feel like to have his children fear that he would give them up.

“I think we need something stronger than wine”, grunted Nico and stood up.

 

/break\

 

“So... How is Leo holding up?”

Will's voice was soft and low as he entered the bedroom. One blonde eyebrow was cocked curiously as he stared over at his husband. Shedding his scrubs, he joined Jake on their bed. The tinkerer grunted and turned to stare up at his blonde. Making grabby-motions, he managed to convey the message. Laying down, Will snuggled up to Jake, resting his head on the broad, strong chest.

“Exhausting”, was the simple answer. “He's throwing such a fit over this. Esperanza is a big girl, she'll be fine. Damn, she's eighteen. By the time you and me were eighteen, we already fought the Titan War and the Giant War. And Leo? He had been fifteen when he kicked Gaia's ass back to sleep. I mean, I understand that he's worried. I would be worried about Lizzy too if she was part of a dangerous quest, but I would still trust her abilities, you know?”

Humming contently, Will closed his eyes and nodded. “Of course, love.”

He tried to concentrate on Jake's voice, but that was hard. Working double shifts at the hospital in New Rome these days, it was exhausting. Not that he didn't love his work, but there was a shift in the air. The pending of a fast-breaking winter was taking its toll on the demigods of nature. And the satyrs. And the nymphs. All in all, the hospital was short of bursting.

The couple had moved to the Roman side of things not too long after the Giant War. But when Austin, Nyssa and Kayla had left the US to help build a camp in Europe and thus also abandoned Nyssa and Jake's plans to start an own car shop in New Athens, they only had one member of their little family left. Leo Valdez. Jake and Leo adapted, opening their own shop in New Rome together, while Will got the necessary medical education to work at the Apollo's Heart Hospital.

“Are you even listening to me, Will?”, asked Jake after a while.

“Mh? Yeah. Totally”, nodded the son of Apollo before shaking his head. “No. Sorry. It's just... been a stressful day and I'm really fucking tired... But I want to listen to you, you know that...”

“Yeah”, chuckled the tinkerer amused, running his fingers through blonde curls. “Sleep. We can always talk in the morning. It's been an exhausting day for all of us, after all.”

“Uhu”, agreed Will and leaned up enough to peck Jake's lips. “Tomorrow is Sunday. Let's bake a cake and visit the Zhangs, mh? Maybe some other comfort-food too.”

The son of Hephaestus smiled a little. He loved Will for understanding the deep bond the children of Hephaestus had. Beckendorf, Nyssa and Leo, they had been more family to him than just cabin mates. With Beckendorf dead and Nyssa off – oh, she still frequently called and visited and never forgot the birthday of her niece Lizzy – Leo was the only family Jake had left from back then.

 

/break\

 

The next morning, in the late hours closer to noon than morning really, when a totally hung-over and screwed-over Percy was sprawled all over the bed and sleeping like a stone, Nico sneaked out of their bed. He was pretty sure the alcohol and the three rounds of sex that had followed after the Stolls had left would leave Percy knocked out for at least another couple of hours. Enough time to go and talk to Will Mason about a certain son of Ares.

“The fuck are you doing, creeping around in our bedroom, Ghost King?”

“A good morning to you too, Jake. Is your husband here too?”, asked Nico amused.

The son of Hephaestus flipped him the finger as he hastily got dressed, ruffling his sleepy-messy hair before leaving the bedroom, Nico hot on his heels. The duo climbed down the stairs and walked straight into the kitchen, where Will was happily baking away, with powdered sugar on his nose and a pink apron on. Nico regretted not having a camera with him.

“Morning, Will”, greeted the son of Hades. “I need to talk to you.”

“Okay. The last time I heard that tone of voice, you asked me if it would be alright for your husband to take my daughter to the underwater palace”, noted Will, cocking one eyebrow and abandoning his baking. “That's the serious-worried voice reserved for the kids. What's wrong?”

Up until that moment, Nico had not even been aware of having such a voice. “It's a case.”

That answer seemed to make Will even more suspicious and attentive. “With 'for the kids', I meant our kids. You never get invested in your cases, it's why you're so good at your job. That aside, you don't take Roman cases. You have a whole division in New Rome for that. Who is it?”

“I suppose you're right”, whispered Nico thoughtful, tilting his head. “But this is different. It's about a boy Percy got invested in. I checked him, he seems to be a good kid. Then again, as much is clear due to his reputation. But then I noticed something curious in his files, five years ago, when he had been here in New Rome. You were his doctor back then, Will. I'm talking about Sam Raser.”

“Huh, I was his doctor not even a week ago too, I was a little surprised to have the great Greek hero knocked out by a cold”, noted Will amused and leaned back some. “He changed a lot, but yeah, I remember him. Poor kid. What do you want to know about him, Nico?”

“What happened to him? If I can tell the difference between 'got hurt during training' and 'abuse', then you as a doctor did too. Why didn't you report to the local DPS?”, asked Nico sharply.

“He didn't want it”, shrugged the son of Apollo, a dark shadow passing over his eyes. “Don't think I didn't want to. But he begged me not to and first of all, I'm still obliged to my patient. Besides, he didn't tell me anything anyway. Didn't trust me. Or, well, anyone for that matter. When he came to the hospital, he was... upset, devastated, in tears. I checked him, diagnosed him. But when I talked to him, asked him who did it, he shut himself off. He only told me that it was over. There wasn't much I could do. I kept an eye on him, checked him every week after that, but the old injuries slowly faded and no new ones joined, so I figured he was right. I _did_ talk to Jason about it, by the way. So don't accuse me of not alarming the DPS. He had no leads, no suspects and Sam refused to talk about it, so there really wasn't anything we could do.”

Nico nodded slowly, thoughtful. Without any leads and without the victim's cooperation, there was not much anyone could do. It was utterly frustrating, even more so than the horrid cases itself. Not being able to actually _help_. It was why Nico tried not to let the cases get to him.

“Well, I don't want to be a bother. And I have a husband to return to. Thank you, Will.”

 

/break\

 

Percy moaned into the pillow he was pressing over his face to keep the evil light away from his sensitive eyes. He was also trying very hard not to move, because it send jolts of pain through his backside. But damn, had last night been worth it. Grinning stupidly, he craned his neck in a nearly painful way (not as painful as _actual_ turning would have been) to look into the general direction where he could feel his lover's water. Nico was leaning against the wall, watching him.

“You can just keep sleeping, it's Sunday”, chuckled Nico and approached him.

“What's up with you? You've had your head in the clouds yesterday”, noted Percy, resting his head on Nico's lap once the Ghost King was sitting on the bed. “Now too. What is it, mio angelo?”

“The kid you want to keep around”, murmured Nico, burying his nose in Percy's hair as he pulled his husband closer. “I checked him. What is it that made you want to keep him around?”

“He reminds me of myself”, shrugged the son of Poseidon leisurely. “He's a hero, I think we could have used someone like him during the war. Any war. But he doesn't know where he fits. Or with who. And there is this... lingering pain. I can see it in his eyes. He has been through something horrible, something that scared his soul. He's a lot like me, but unlike me, he's not trying to get through his pain by surrounding himself with loved ones and drowning in their love, he's hiding himself away. So I want to help him see that love beats pain and fear.”

The lingering pain of Percy's past. His childhood with Gabe. Luke's betrayal. The wars.

“Ti amo, mio amore eterno”, whispered Nico as he tenderly kissed Percy's forehead. [trans: _I love you, my eternal love_ ]


	47. Three Angels and Three Heroes for Sam

47\. Three Angels and Three Heroes for Sam

 

It was not quite the kind of wake-up call he had expected after last night, to be honest. Sam had been serious about wanting cuddles. Then again, it didn't come as much of a surprise because since Alaska Sam had proven that he really enjoyed just being held. So falling asleep with Sam pressed against him, resting his head on Trend's shoulder and clawing at Trend's shirt as though it was a life-line, yes, that had been all shades of nice. But being woken up by a constant poking of his cheek and Sam's endless chant of 'Trend-Trend-Khan?-Trend-Tre~end-Damn it, Ignatius, wake up' was not sweet. Not at all. And he could suddenly understand why his future self enjoyed spanking Sam.

“Really?”, grunted Trend with a glare as he cracked his eyes open.

“Don't give me that look, dick-head”, muttered Sam with a glare of his own.

With that said and another accusing glare, Sam leaned down to kiss Trend roughly. “So... That's it? You woke me up because you wanted to kiss me? Because I think I could live with that.”

“No, moron”, huffed Sam a little embarrassed. “I tried kissing you awake. In fact, I tried until my lips were numb. But you were like in a coma, damn it. So I poked you. And now I wanted that morning-kiss that didn't work to wake you up. But I woke you because breakfast will be ready soon so move your ass out of my bed, get dressed and wake the others.”

Trend's mind was slow on the in-take because he was still tired and Sam looked just too cute and delicious right now, wearing red sweat-pants that hung loose and low on his hips and Trend's favorite hoodie that was about two sizes too large for Sam, causing the son of Ares to fidget with the too long sleeves a little nervously as he looked up at Trend from beneath the gray hood.

“So, Disney-kisses are not a thing, but stealing my clothes? That's a thing?”, asked Trend casually.

It seemed to resolve the tension, because a cocky grin slid onto Sam's lips as he straightened some in confidence and spread his arms out. “Totally a thing. And you don't get to complain about it. I know you like when your stuff smells like me, you weirdo. Now get up.”

 

/break\

 

About half an hour had the six heroes stumbling into the kitchen under Trend's lead, all in different states of sleepiness because none of them had found much rest the previous night. Sander was clinging to Donny's hand just as Herc had his arms wrapped around Thea's waist, Nico walking slightly behind Herc, her head cocked. Each was wondering to themselves how to approach Sam. They weren't completely sure what they had expected, but what greeted them was so not it. Sam was standing in front of the hearth, with his back to them, swaying his hips to the song coming from the open laptop that stood next to him while singing along in a soft and somehow raw voice.

“I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath, scared to rock the boat and make a mess. So I sat quietly, agreed politely. I guess that I forgot I had a choice. I let you push me past the breaking point. I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything...” What had started off wounded and low grew darker and more confident. “You held me down, but I got up, already brushing off the dust. You hear my voice, you hear that sound, like thunder gonna shake the ground! You held me down, but I got up. Get ready cause I've had enough. I see it all, I see it now, I-”

Sam stopped abruptly as strong arms wound around his midsection and pressed him against a hard chest. So lost in the song, in his memories, he went completely rigid for a moment, as though his body shot down completely in defense. But the scent of a wild forest and old books and pure manliness filled his nose and made him relax into the embrace, taking a deep, calming breath.

“I didn't mean to startle you”, apologized Trend softly. “I just don't think I like that song.”

Sam frowned at him as though he didn't understand what Trend was talking about before brushing the blonde off. “Right. Whatever. Just go and sit down. You guys too, stop awkwardly lingering.”

“Did you _actually_ cook?”, asked Thea slowly as she took a seat. “I mean, we have the horn.”

“Well duh, without the horn I would have had a hard time cooking. We don't normally keep the fridge stocked when no one is staying here”, snorted Sam and turned the music off.

“Then why didn't you just... summon the food?”, asked Hercules confused.

“I... like cooking. It calms me”, shrugged Sam as he started to carry the food over to the table to place each thing in front of the right person. “Brownies and no-baby-making tea for Donny. Double-chocolate muffins and hot chocolate for Sander. Strawberry cupcakes and orange juice for Thea. Eggs sunny-side up with ham and a coke for Nico – how can you not like bacon?! Pancakes and orange juice for Herc. And cereals with coconut splices and milk with honey for Trend.”

The other teens stared a little doe-eyed at him as he casually handed out their favorite breakfast-dishes. But Sam was already turned back to the stove, still cooking something in a large pan. Trend took a slightly disappointed look around at how Sam had placed the food and thus, their friends. Donny was sitting on one of his sides and Herc on the other. No room for Sam. Then again, he could have figured on his own that Sam wasn't ready to actually tell their friends. He probably wanted to keep his distance to not look suspicious. There were enough questions already.

“I never would have figured you for someone who enjoys cooking”, smiled Donny softly.

“Oh please, be grateful to me, Disney Princess. Without me, your man would have starved on each and every quest so far”, snorted the son of Ares, still with his back to them, before his voice softened a bit. “Besides, it's... a coping mechanism, kind of. My ma, when she first came back from a mission overseas, she was... lost. This PTSD-thing, kind of. She just... lost it, some times. So when she first noticed my nightmares, she figured it was kind of a demigod-PTSD-thing from the quests and I didn't correct her and she told me what she did to get through it. Cooking.”

“Cooking? As what? A kind of therapy?”, asked Thea, equally confused and intrigued.

“Not really. Well, kind of”, answered Sam unsure, slowly turning around to face them as his own food was ready. “It's... a distraction, more or less. It's simple. Not that cooking is simple, but the rules. There's a guidance-line that you need to follow, you have clear instructions and if you follow them, you can't fail. It's safe. A routine you can abide to. Something you have to focus on. And you're forced to be patient, to wait through certain parts. It's good, it doesn't... It's good.”

He walked over to the table under the watchful eyes of his friends, slowly placing his plate between Donny and Trend. As the two boys looked at him quizzically and Sander on Donny's other side even made a move to get another chair for Sam, the son of Ares simply and unceremoniously collapsed square on Trend's lap, leaning his side and his cheek against Trend's chest. Locking eyes with his best friend, he slowly wiggled his toes under Donny's thighs, causing the Disney Princess to grin a little and wrap his hand around one of Sam's ankles, caressing it soothingly, telling him that it was okay, that he understood. And he did. He understood that Sam wanted to actually face this mess and that Sam needed the reassurance that the two people that were most important to him in this room would back him up. Smiling softly at Sam, he kept running soothing circles around Sam's ankle.

“Are you... Do you really think this is a good idea?”, whispered Trend unsure.

“Don't be an idiot, Khan”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes. “I'm wearing your clothes and you had yourself pressed up against my back not five minutes ago. They're not complete morons.”

Stunned, gray eyes stared around the table to get a collective nod from their friends as though they wanted to say 'Yes, Trend, we're not complete morons'. Not that it was really his fault, because he couldn't think clearly. The only thing in his mind was the pressing need to keep Sammy safe and make sure the smaller boy was comfortable and at ease. His arms found their way around Sam's waist and Trend was quite content with the thought that somehow, that had become their default place to be. Sam leaned up until his lips brushed against Trend's ear.

“Besides, if I have to face them and their questions and their inquisitive glances and their whatever it is they have to say, then I-”, whispered Sam so lowly that even Trend only barely caught it, pausing slowly as though he had to fight to get the rest out. “I need you to hold me, okay?”

“Of course, Sammy”, murmured Trend softly and tilted his head so he could kiss Sam's temple.

Donny cooed at that, staring at them happily. After everything Sam had been through, the brunette deserved to be happy and to have the man he loved holding him and being there for him.

“So... We're really doing this? I mean, talking about... well, _this_ ”, inquired Nico unsure.

“Those stupid ghosts were right with one thing”, muttered Sam with a glare. “We're on a quest and we need to function as a team. We can't function as a team if I have to doubt how far I can trust you and you don't know how far you can trust me. Oh, don't start. I could feel your fucking pitiful and guilty and inquisitive glance the whole time and you're doing it again. You can't trust me at the moment because you think I'm weak and defenseless and broken. And I can't trust you because you think all those things. So for us to continue this quest together, we got to clear this matter. Y—You know now anyway, so yeah. I'd rather... rather talk about this than have any of us injured or dead because we can't work as a team during a fight and rely on each other.”

He did not sound as though he'd rather talk about it, but he was a professional hero, he would never let anything come between him and the success of an important quest. Snuggling more up to Trend as though he was trying to hide in the blonde's chest, Sam grabbed his plate and placed it on his knees. Slowly shoveling the fried rice with squid and beans into his mouth, he ignored them.

“No bacon today, Raser?”, asked Herc with a slight grin, trying to get Sam to relax a little.

“Naw. Contrary to popular belief, I don't solemnly live off bacon”, huffed Sam and rolled his eyes before flexing the muscles of his arms. “I wouldn't be able to keep my body in shape if I'd only eat unhealthy stuff. I'm on a very balanced diet, barbie boy.”

“I do not believe that”, mumbled Thea as she shoved cupcake after cupcake in. “Someone who bakes like that can not have a balanced or healthy diet because it would be a total waste of talent.”

“Yeah, I think you should keep your girl away from me if you don't want her to develop like a muffin”, snickered Sam amused. “Oh, I'll make something with squid for lunch, by the way.”

“Totally okay by me”, nodded Nico. “We do have enough squid left, I guess.”

“So...”, started Hercules in an unusually soft voice as he noticed that Sam looked more at ease. “How did you end up with him? I mean, he's had the reputation of being a jerk back then too.”

Trend cocked one eyebrow curiously, studying the other blonde intensely. He had been around Herc relatively often, what with the legacy of Jupiter dating Thea and Thea sharing a cabin with Trend, so the Roman was often around their cabin. But Hercules and Sam didn't have much to do with each other, mostly because Sam saw Herc as a rival for Sander's affection – in a bro-way of things, Trend tried to keep in mind. But right now the Roman was being very tentative and cautious with Sam. Just like he had been willing to participate in murder yesterday for Sam's sake.

“Not when he wants to get into your pants”, shrugged Sam casually, staring at his food. “Roy can be really sweet and charming when he wants to. I was already more than impressed with his body and I guess I wasn't really good at hiding that so when he noticed it, he came onto me. The whole deal. Flowers, chocolates and all that shit that got to me. He was my first crush, he was tall and strong and confident and handsome and I was just a scrawny kid. I couldn't believe that he'd actually want me. So when Roy asked me out, I agreed, even though I was bursting with nerves.”

“So... he actually wooed you?”, asked Nico quizzically, a little ridiculed by the idea.

Sam arched one eyebrow all the way up to his mohawk while he shrugged. “Like I said, he could be a true gentleman if he wanted to be. When he needed to be. It's why no one ever called him out on his bullshit, because even though he's a jerk, he can still be nice enough that everybody just shrugs it off in a 'Oh well, tinkerers aren't good with people'-kind of way. The problem is that he's _brilliant_ with people. With manipulating people. The first, I don't know, week and a half, we did everything I wanted. Dinner, movie, walks along the fucking beach. You know, everything I knew from the stupid romantic comedies Sel always forced me to watch.”

“Who's Sel?”, interrupted Sander confused, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from his boyfriend.

While Donny was glaring at Sander for interrupting – it was already hard enough for Sam to tell them _anything_ at all, he didn't need to be interrupted damn it – Sam only chuckled amused by them.

“Sel is kind of my jerky-older-sister-like cousin”, answered Sam softly. “When my aunt used to babysit me, Sel always forced me to watch those stupid girly movies and anyway, they just made me expect stuff from a relationship. Ridiculous, cheesy Hollywood-stuff. Anyway, Roy went along with all that shit for the first part of our relationship and I was just fucking happy. I never felt that way before, as though I had a person all to myself. But, well, he was fifteen and he was horny and he had been patient for all of ten days or so. Which was long, for him.”

By now, Sam was only picking at single corns of rice, shifting them around on his place, completely lost to his memories. Donny tightened his grip on Sam's ankle in fearful anticipation. The others were only absentmindedly chewing too, if at all. Nico had pushed her half-empty plate away to cross her arms and rest her chin on them, staring up at Sam with wide, worried eyes. Trend had buried his nose so deep in Sam's mohawk that he felt as though it would break any second, but he couldn't help himself. He needed to hold Sam, to know that right now, Sam was safe, was with him.

The son of Ares craned his neck enough to take a short look at the others. Damn it all, Chase was already crying. Girls were really weird. Then again, Donny had those watery eyes too, even though he already knew the story, or at least parts of it. The guilt and worry in Nico's eyes was kind of unsettling and he had no fucking idea what to make of Sander and Herc, because they just looked angry and he wasn't sure how to deal with 'angry' and were they angry with him...? Shaking his head, he decided that staring at his rice was far safer, so he turned back toward it.

“He is... really good at manipulating people”, whispered Sam hollowly. “We were making out, when he suddenly wanted, well, to go down deeper than normal. I told him I wasn't ready, we had only just started dating and he was my first boyfriend after all so I wanted to take things slow, besides I'm just twelve a—and I don't know how those things work and...”

“Sam, hey, calm down”, interrupted Thea in a firm and motherly voice as she noticed how the younger teen was slowly ranting himself into a panic attack. “Breathe. Deep, slow. In and out.”

Donny leaned over and took the plate from Sam's shaking hands, the brunette lifting his head enough to stare at him with wide, fearful eyes. Running his fingers through his mohawk, Sam rested his head on his knees, hiding from the eyes of the others as best as possible.

“You don't have to tell us if it makes you that uncomfortable, Sam”, whispered Sander softly.

“No”, objected Sam, shaking his head. “I never... I never talked about it a—and Donny's right, I probably should. To get it... away from me. I think... I think I need to get it out.”

“It's okay, Sam”, assured Herc in a tender voice. “We won't judge you for it, you can trust us.”

Trend arched his eyebrow up some more. He had never noticed that Hercules could be that caring.

The son of Ares took another couple of calming breaths, his arms around his knees as he rested his chin on them. “He said I should stop being such a pussy about it and that after everything he put up for my sake, I should do something for him in return. I told him to wait until I'm ready, more comfortable with us and everything. He... doesn't do waiting. H—He... held me down and I just... I was too weak to even remotely fight him off a—and he said I'd... I'd learn to enjoy it too, but he lied... I—It hurt and I just... couldn't stop crying... I've never... been in that much pain, not even when the fucking minotaur impaled me on his horn through my guts, damn it. But he just... pulled out and left, told me to get cleaned up for training and stop crying. I wasn't sure... I didn't... I was confused. And in the evening he took me out for fancy dinner and was being a gentleman again. I didn't get it. I thought that maybe, he'd be back to normal now that he had gotten his sex. He proved me wrong later that night. A—And in the morning. All I wanted was to get out of that house, I—I just wanted to get away from him at that point and it hurt so much and everywhere a—and he kept saying all those... awful things... T—That we were dating and it was my _duty_ t—to... to serve him and that I should stop being a girl about this. When he got out for training, I showered and left.”

“Where to?”, asked Donny, unable to hold that question back.

“I was staying with Sara”, shrugged Sam, tilting his head. “She freaked out when I got home.”

“Huh? Why?”, asked Nico confused, knowing Joe's best friend rather well; not one for freak-outs.

“She... saw the bruises”, whispered Sam, averting his eyes again. “She's not stupid, even though she was only ten. Dragged me to the hospital and ranted the whole fucking time about how I am not allowed to ever see him again if I didn't want her to kick my ass.”

“Wait, Sara knows?!”, exclaimed Sander wide-eyed, staring completely stunned.

“She knows that Roy beat me up once, she doesn't know... the rest”, answered the son of Ares. “But when I was on the way back from the... hospital, after Sara left, because she had to attend a swords class, he caught up with me. I told him to leave me alone... and he didn't. Dragged me back to his place a—and... and he was just too strong and all I could do was keep crying and telling him to leave me alone and that I didn't want him and... When he was finished, he said it had been a good-bye fuck, because he was sick and tired of my constant whining.” There was a pause in which no one knew what to say or do, until a bitter laughter ripping from Sam's throat. “H—He broke up with me because he didn't have enough fun raping me. How fucked-up is that...?”

Sniffing slightly, Sam rubbed the tears off his cheeks with the sleeve of his hoodie. Suddenly, he didn't like his place anymore. On Trend's lap, with the blonde holding him. He felt as though he was suffocating and this feeling of being restrained didn't help his panic-filled mind. Shrugging the son of Athena off, he stood. His heart was hammering hard in his rib-cage as he started pacing the room.

“Say something”, growled Sam after what felt to him like hours. “Don't just sit there and stare at me with those fucking pitiful eyes! I don't need pity! If I had wanted pity, I would have broken down crying after it had happened! I'm n—not _weak_. I did everything, I trained every day, I didn't back down until I was strong enough to defend myself! I'm not a victim! I'm not defenseless anymore, I'm not weak anymore! Stop fucking look at me like that! L—Like I'm weak... I'm not that boy anymore and I never want to be that boy again so _stop making me feel like that boy again_!”

He was shaking, his facial expression a mix of fear, rage and something that could only be described as abandonment. His fists were balled beside his body and they all knew that it was currently taking all of his will-power not to smash his own kitchen, because using his fists had been his means of defense for just too long now. Donny was the first one up and the first one attached to Sam's hips, his face buried in Sam's chest as he hugged the taller boy closely. Sam looked a little lost for a moment as he stared down at the boy clinging to him. Not that he was given much time, because within seconds, Thea attached herself to him from one side and Nico from the other. He was still a bit confused, but he slowly wrapped his arms around them in a hug as they all started crying on him and how weird was it for him to comfort them now? He shook his head.

“I'm sorry”, mumbled Nico into his chest (and that girl could give tight hugs, damn it). “For not-”

“Oh shush it, Esperanza”, chided Thea as she rubbed her red-rimmed eyes. “He said he doesn't want pity so don't give him the 'If I had noticed, I could have helped'-self-blame. He has us now.”

Sam was still too busy staring at them in confused amazement as the girls (the Disney Princess was totally one of the girls) stepped away some. Instead, Sander and Herc stepped closer and for the first time in his life, Sam felt actually intimidated by the other heroes. But Sander did what Sander did best, wrapping one arm around Sam's shoulders, pulling him close in a half-hug and ruffling his mohawk in that praising-loving way Sam knew it was meant as. Though as Herc wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and the son of Ares suddenly found himself sandwiched between the two heroes, he slowly started to wonder how in the world he deserved such caring and understanding friends. Instead, he leaned forward to rest his forehead against Trend's chest. And standing there,


	48. Adjustments, Bonding and Cuddles

48\. Adjustments, Bonding and Cuddles

 

After the very delicious breakfast (for which the other six had praised Sam until he turned about fifty shades of red in embarrassment and swore that if they wouldn't stop, he won't cook for them again – effectively shutting them up), the seven heroes were sprawled out in the living room. One of the living rooms. Sam had shown them around a little until they came to agree on a 'base' to operate from. They chose the living room that was in direct line of sight of the Argo II.

Donny was comfortably laying half on top of Sander and half on Sam, his head on his best friend's lap and his feet on his boyfriend's. Which was great, because Sam was absentmindedly playing with his curls and Sander was giving him the best foot massage ever. And the cherry on top of this quite lazy and comfortable setting was the fact that Sam himself was sitting on his own boyfriend's lap. It made him nearly as happy to know that Sam finally had Trend as it did to know that Sander was his. One of Trend's legs was stretched out along the back-rest of the couch, Donny could feel it against his back, the other leg was dangling over the edge of the couch and Sam was sitting between the legs, leaning against Trend's chest as though he was trying to melt into it. Trend's arms were possessively wrapped around Sam's waist, his fingers tracing the brunette's six-pack.

“You're like an affectionate puppy, Disney Princess”, commended Sam softly.

The first spoken words since they had left the kitchen – agreeing on the living room had been done by looks and since then, they had fallen into a companionable silence, mostly so to give Sam time to adjust. Herc, Thea and Nico were on the other couch opposite theirs, Thea half laying on her boyfriend while browsing something on Daedalus' laptop while Nico was busying herself with scribbling stuff into her analog notebook. The others tried to be discrete as they lifted their gazes to look at Sam. Not with guilt or pity or any of the other things Sam had been annoyed with earlier, but with open curiosity and interest. Progress, in Sam's books. Huge progress and it made him smile slightly, because they were trying, trying hard, just to make him comfortable. Not because they pitied him or worried that he'd break under the pressure or shit like that, but just because they _cared_.

“Oh, don't give me the puppy-eyes. That's not helping your case any, di Angelo”, teased the son of Ares softly, poking Donny's nose. “Is he always that cuddly, Sander?”

“Uhu”, nodded Sander obediently, still focused on Donny's feet. “But I think that comes with being a cute bottom. Cute bottoms are _always_ cuddly. At least all I ever met were, I guess... Huh... Ouch!”

“Talk about your past conquests while giving your fiance a foot-massage, moron”, huffed Sam and rolled his eyes while Sander rubbed the back of his head where Sam had hit him. “Seriously.”

“It's not my fault! You asked”, whined Sander with a pout. “Besides, you're one to talk! You've been like cuddled up to Trend since you caught that cold in Alaska. Don't glare. Ouch! Don't _hit_!”

“Pussy”, muttered Sam and rolled his eyes again for good measure. “That was nothing.”

“Sammy”, chided Trend, grinning against Sam's mohawk. “No hitting our friends. Even if they're being total morons. Of course Sam is cuddly, he _is_ the cutest, after all.”

“I'm not cute”, complained Sam in a barely audible mumbling.

“I would have rather expected a 'I'm not a bottom', to be honest”, commented Thea offhandedly.

“I'm done lying”, shrugged the son of Ares honestly, albeit with a faint blush. “I just... always topped because I was... too afraid to trust someone again in the way I had trusted Roy... But that didn't make me happy either. I'm done with this shit now. If I can admit to what happened, I can admit that I want a strong boyfriend to hold me, cuddle me and _fuck_ me.”

“That was _way_ more information than I needed”, grunted Nico and shuddered. “But congrats.”

“Thanks”, grinned Trend, beating Sam to the punch.

“She was talking to me, moron”, snorted the son of Ares and raised one eyebrow.

“The way I see it, I'm the one who deserves the congratulations for having the cutest bottom ever”, whispered the son of Athena softly into Sam's ear so the others wouldn't hear it.

“Urgh, Donny, can we switch?”, grunted Sam in mock-annoyance, flushed brightly. “Yours is nice and gives foot-massages. Mine is just teasing me. Hand over your man, he seems more useful.”

“No!”, whined Donny with a playful glare, caressing his engagement ring. “Mine! My precious!”

“Aw, has someone been watching old movies again”, cooed Sam, poking Donny's nose again.

While Sam and Donny fell into a playful banter, Trend and Sander exchanged a look that very much conveyed the message 'Damn, how did we get so lucky and how can they be so ridiculously cute?'. There was still soft music playing in the background, coming from Sam's laptop which he had brought with him from the kitchen. It was red, which was really not a surprise. Donny tilted his head curiously, briefly contemplating if Sam had the same thing for red as his mom had for blue and then he grinned broadly. He was _so_ going to summon an all-red dinner tonight!

“What are you grinning like that for, my Dark Sea?”, questioned Sander a little worried and grabbed Donny around the waist, pulling him flushed up against his chest. “That's your Evil Plan Face.”

“Me? An Evil Plan Face? How dare you!”, huffed Donny, still with the same grin, and kissed him.

Rolling his eyes at the other two boys, Sam adjusted himself, now that he didn't have the weight of Donny's head on his lap anymore. Throwing one leg over Trend's, he half-straddled the blonde's lap. Trend's arms rearranged their position, riding low on Sam's hips, the fingers locked behind Sam's back. And if he wished in the back of his mind that Trend would just loosen up and place those big, strong hands on top of his ass, then well, that was just his horny teenage mind. He _finally_ had a boyfriend, a boyfriend that loved him – and who Sam also _believed_ that he loved him and wasn't just saying it to get an easy lay. There were things Sam _wanted_. Had wanted for years now. And while Sander and Trend had been out and about, taking whatever came their way and while Marshall and Sara as well as Herc and Thea had practically always had each other for these kind of things, Sam had always only briefly wondered in the back of his mind how it would feel, never brave enough to even properly think it, much less to act on it, too afraid he'd get hurt again. But Trend? Yes, he trusted Trend enough, he knew Trend wouldn't hurt him. He knew he could try all those things – mh, on second thought, maybe not all... there were things that would surely disgust the blonde. At any rate, he _finally_ had a boyfriend he knew he would enjoy sex with. He just knew.

“So... what's the plan? For now, I mean”, questioned Sander, looking from Thea to Nico, trying to distract himself from his train of thought before he got a hard problem. “You look... planning.”

“In the making”, muttered Nico with a frown. “I surveyed the damage and, well, half the ship has been torn off and even though I can stitch it up again, I guess it'll be too much work, too time and material consuming, to get the cabins in proper shape again. We lost the infirmary and four bedrooms. Which means, and damn it all, you guys got to pair up and I _will_ be Noah.”

“Poor, unfortunate thing. If you'd just give Joanna the time of day finally, you wouldn't have to”, commented Sam matter-of-factly. “That girl's been suffering from blue balls for _ages_ now.”

“W—What?”, yelped Nico wide-eyed and with literally burning ears.

“If you burn down the mansion, my ma will have your ass”, warned Sam with one cocked eyebrow. “Sara spends like all our IMs complaining about her poor, best friend's unrequited love. Urgh.”

“Why are you telling me that _now_?”, exclaimed Nico and waved her arms around wildly.

“Because we're currently in a state of no-secrets, right?”, snorted Sam, sounding just a bit cynically. “So why the fuck not? Besides – and no offense there – but I really didn't know you or cared much before this whole quest, but by now I came to the conclusion that you really need a good romp in the sheets, girl. You have all that depressed 'Everybody is happy but me' thing going on and that's just a buzz-kill. So, since you're like one of my boys now, except that you're a girl, I plan on resolving that unresolved sexual tension. If Donny can kick ass and Sander can get engaged to a kick-ass Donny, then you can damn well ask your girl out.”

“Why does he make it sound as though me getting engaged with you is a miracle?”, pouted Sander.

“Ti amo, mio eroe”, smiled Donny soothingly, escaping the answer and kissing him distractingly.

“Because you're a fucking coward that spend ten years trying to figure out how to say 'I love you'”, snorted Hercules instead, earning himself hard glares and his girlfriend's elbow to the ribs. “Ouch.”

“So what, I'm one of your boys now?”, snorted Nico, still flustered.

“Yeah”, nodded Hercules, again cutting in on answering. “What? You _do_ need more friends. Sander and Donny don't count, they're your cousins. The guys from Bunker don't count either, you're more like a forced-to-work-together thing. You basically only have like Blance, Kara, me and Thea. And Thea only because she's my girlfriend. And Kara doesn't really count because she's the crush you're trying to get over – oh, don't give me that look, everybody knows _that_. You tinkerers are horrible with emotions and even worse with hiding them. So you basically only have the Ice Princess, which is kind of the weirdest friendship I've ever seen because seriously, it's the Ice Princess. And she doesn't get that nickname from being the daughter of Chione alone. She's emotionally crippled.”

“Leave her alone, Grace”, warned Sam unexpectedly sharp. “She's been through shit too.”

Suddenly – and much to Trend's dismay – Nico lunged at the son of Ares and pulled him away from the others, tight grip on his upper arm, staring at him with wide and paranoid eyes.

“You... know”, noted Nico, her voice surprised and kind of flat. “H—How do _you_ know?”

“I don't know, exactly”, shrugged Sam casually. “But I ran into her when she was with Loki a couple times and, well. You know the whole gaydar thing? Maybe there's a rapedar too... I just... when I look into her eyes, I can see that shattered-glass-expression there...”

“Do you... think you can talk to her?”, asked Nico softly, her eyes filled with worry. “She doesn't talk to _anyone_. Not me, not Loki. She's just... keeping it bottled up. I really don't know what happened or with who, but she... Maybe you could... I mean... relate... Please? She's my best friend and like Herc just pointed out my only friend... I want to help... I just can't.”

Instead of answering, Sam just cocked one eyebrow and turned toward their friends (who were the worst spies in history as they tried to listen in on their conversation). “The way I see it, you got a handful of friends. And Hercules wouldn't be worried for your lack of social activity if he wasn't your friend. Besides, Donny and Sander count too. You don't have to have a good relationship with your cousins, after all. So that you do, just proves that they're your friends. By Ares, I thought I was thinking negative thoughts. But you're just plain horrible.” Here, he flipped her on the forehead with his fingers. “Stop being so negative and I'll... talk to Blance. Urgh. I hate you.”

“I think you like me”, grinned Nico and wrapped her arms around him in a grateful hug. “Otherwise I wouldn't be one of your boys now, eh Raser? But don't call Thea one of your boys, she'll kill you.”

Her voice grew louder again as the two returned to the vacancy of the couches. Sam grinned slightly and ruffled her hair affectionately before obeying the pouty glare from Trend and returning to his place on the blonde's lap. The son of Athena gave a content sigh, burying his nose in the mohawk.

“Don't worry. Thea is one of my girls. But you're not... girly, so you can't be one of the girls, I guess. Which means you're one of the boys”, answered the son of Ares casually. “Like Sara.”

“I could be girly too!”, exclaimed Nico a little taken aback.

“Then try that”, suggested Donny with a small smile as he freed himself enough from Sander's grasp to cuddle up to Sam once more. “More hair petting, please?”

“Affectionate puppy”, snorted Sam and caressed the soft curls.

Donny basked in the attention. He had his head back on Sam's thigh and Sander, obviously tired of giving him a foot massage (but damn, Donny was so going to require more of those), was lazily laying down between Donny's legs, his head on Donny's stomach and his arms around Donny's waist. Those were things he would have never thought he'd have. A bro. Not just a friend, or a best friend like Thea, but someone he shared a connection and banter and even a little affection with. And a boyfriend. No, not a boyfriend. A fiance. The most wonderful and amazing fiance possible. And friends. Because what Herc had said was true – not just for Nico. He too used to keep away from people, retreat instead of even trying to form friendships. Now he felt like an idiot for that.

“What do you mean 'try that'?”, questioned Nico, looking just a bit peeved.

“Being girly!”, huffed Donny and rolled his eyes. “I mean, if you like that girl. Joanna?”

“Joe”, corrected Nico and blushed slightly as she said the name. “I... uh... Well...”

“That's embarrassed-person-crushing-on-someone for 'Yes'”, translated Thea amused.

“Yeah, I'm still fluent in that”, joked Donny with a grin. “So... You're always hard work and tinkering. Try being not so much about business then. Try loosening up some. Maybe be a little girly, try wooing her, or something. Oh! Thea, Sam and I can help you pick out clothes!”

“When did _I_ become one of the girls?”, huffed Sam, just a bit irritated. “Fuck this. No. Just no. I don't do shopping. And after that horrible, horrible experience with you, Thea and your mom, I will _never_ go shopping again. In my whole life. Just because I want to bottom doesn't mean I'll turn into a girl like you, Disney Princess. You do that on your own.”

The rumbling of Trend's laughter vibrated through Sam's whole being. “Good to hear. Because if I wanted a girl, I would have asked Donny out and not you, Sammy.”

“Hey! I'm laying _right here_ , you know that, yeah?!”, exclaimed Donny with a pout.

“You're easy to tease”, shrugged Thea casually and shared a grin with the others. “But to get back on track, I think you're right. Girling up won't hurt you, Nico. Just a bit! I'm not talking about pink dresses with ribbons and lace or red lipstick and nail polish and high heels, but maybe something else aside from baggy dungarees and grease in your hair? A push-up bra and a tight top and maybe shorts, you _do_ have amazingly long legs, after all. Waxed legs, I'd hope for Joe's sake.”

“And this is where I would ask you to _please_ stop talking”, interrupted Herc with a grimace.

“Agreed”, chorused Sander, Trend and Sam loudly.

Silence befell the friends again as they sluggishly returned to their cuddling-arrangements. Trend had his eyes closed blissfully as he enjoyed the way Sam's scent surrounded him, the warmth of the brunette's body on top of him. Sam's legs were sprawled on either side of Trend, his cheek glued to the strong chest and his arms around the blonde's neck. Small shudders ragged Sam's body every now and then just as Trend's hands trailed up and down Sam's sides in a tender caress.

“You're my new favorite pillow”, declared Sam softly. “Mh... You feel _so_ good...”

“You need to make him give you a massage”, advised Donny. “ _That_ feels really good.”

Sander chuckled slightly as he adjusted his lover, who was wiggling his toes a little. Laying on top of Sander, Donny kept shifting until he finally had Sander's hands resting on top of his ass. A content hum escaped Sander's lips as the brunette started to give that sweet body-part of his love a massage too. Now that was Sander's second favorite part of Donny's body, right after the innocent, lovely eyes so full of emotions. Pushing himself off Sander's chest, he leaned over so he could kiss the brunette softly. Their lips moved against each other lazily.

“I love your taste”, murmured Sander and licked his lips. “Salty pomegranates... mh...”

“Ew”, grunted the son of Ares, craning his neck to stare at the other couple and wiggled his nose. “Doesn't sound all that delicious. Khan? What do I taste like?”

“Blood and bacon”, answered Trend promptly. “Not that much of a surprise. And me, Sammy?”

Sam made a thoughtful face, tilting his head for a moment to contemplate. “Licorice. And love.”

That stunned them all a little. Donny curled together in Sander's lap so he could look at Sam.

“What does love taste like?”, asked the Disney Princess a bit confused.

“Dunno”, shrugged Sam casually. “But Trend tastes like it.”

Donny frowned in high concentration before grabbing Sander's face and pressing a more fierce and passionate kiss onto those warm lips. His tongue slipped into Sander's mouth, tracing along Sander's teeth, trying to determine what exactly Sander tasted like, because he had never thought about it.

“Is love that sweet candy-like note?”, asked Donny curiously, looking at Sam.

“A bit like honey on chocolate but with a hundred shades of berries”, nodded Sam and grinned.

“Huh. Then you taste like love too, San”, declared Donny with a broad grin of his own.

“You're both weirdos”, snorted Thea and rolled her eyes. “More important things than what you taste like, please. What about your plans for ship repairs, Nico?”

“I'm not sure if what I have will be enough”, sighed the Latina and shook her head. “When the beast ripped the ship apart, we lost many of the parts I brought for possible repairs.”

“Well then, come on”, grinned Sam wickedly and stood. “We have a garage that'll make you wet.”

Nico snorted and hit his upper arm, but she still followed curiously, together with the others. Donny was so fascinated by the mansion itself, he drank in every corner of it, every stained-glass window and beautifully carved wooden-door. They left the mansion through a smaller, nearly hidden backdoor that made Donny giggle because it reminded him of the hidden secret passages in the old castles. The room was chilly, making Donny shudder. Sander next to him shed his sweat-shirt and easily helped Donny into it. Humming softly, Donny snuggled into the worn-out fabric. Sea-green eyes widened in surprise as Sam turned on the light. The garage seemed endless, three cars and two motorbikes hidden beneath old, dusty clothes. Wooden planks leaned against all walls, a work bench right next to the door with all kinds of fancy tools. Curious as all demigods, the six that did not live in this mansion walked over to the hidden machines and lifted the covers. A pink and a red Ducati, as well as one old timer Rolls Royce and two typical family cars.

“Do not touch the car”, warned Sam sternly as Nico reached out for the old timer with shaking hands. “It was my... grandma's. We don't touch it. It just sits there and makes us feel sad.”

The Latina bit her lips, crossing her arms behind her back to keep from touching the pretty thing. Thea, Hercules and Sander all the while paid more attention to the two motorbikes. While the legacy of Athena was flirting heavily with the pink Ducati, the boys circled the red one.

“And what about this hot thing? Allowed to touch that?”, asked Hercules. “Because I suddenly have the urge to marry a machine. I think I want a threesome with this thing and Thea. Is that weird?”

“If you touch my baby with your dirty fingers, I'll break them”, warned Sam.

“Wait. You have a motorbike?”, asked Sander slowly, not even having the money to buy a regular bike. “How is that any fair...? And how rich is your family exactly?”

“It's not that much money, okay? And I don't plan on leeching off it. The bike was a birthday present for my sixteenth birthday from my uncle, because my cousin Sel had gotten one too for her own Sweet Sixteen three years prior”, shrugged the son of Ares casually before walking around the garage some. “We have enough engine parts and really much spare wood from our repairs to the house and shit. Uncle Liam likes to work on the cars. And the house, actually. But I doubt he'd mind if we take some of the stuff. Feel free to take anything you need, Nico.”

“Great! So repairs can start tomorrow!”, exclaimed the legacy of Hephaestus and clapped her hands in excitement, her eyes sparkling with plans. “And you'll all help.”

While Nico started to babble on about what they needed to do, Trend stepped up to Sam, his arms once again around the slender waist. The blonde wasn't even sure himself why he liked holding Sam like this so much, but it just felt good, his hands just above Sam's hipbones, with the barest pressure. The way Sam arched into this touch and gave just the slightest whimper told Trend that this was a spot Sam enjoyed. Grinning slightly, he made a mental note of that before leaning in.

“I really want to see you ride that machine”, whispered the son of Athena hoarsely.

“Ew, really now you pervs?”, grunted Donny and hit them. “You're talking about sex now?”

“Not _that_ machine”, snorted Sam amused and rolled his eyes. “My machine. The bike. Little perv.”

“Oh...”, mumbled Donny and blushed embarrassed.

“Your mind is so dirty these days”, laughed Sander and kissed Donny's neck softly. “I like that.”

“Can't you two just fuck?”, huffed Nico annoyed. “I'm trying to explain something here! Try focusing on something else aside from each other's cocks, yeah? Boys! The death of me.”

“Sorry”, chimed Sander, Donny, Trend and Sam in guilt while Herc and Thea laughed amused.


	49. The Complexity of Sexuality

49\. The Complexity of Sexuality

 

Sam took a deep breath as he leaned forward, trying not to feel as uncomfortable as he did. It was just, there was the _wrong_ blonde pressed against his backside, with his arms encircled around Sam's waist, his breath puffing against Sam's neck. He was actually mesmerized that he wasn't in the middle of a panic-attack. It just showed how much he had learned to trust his friends, to trust Herc.

“Are we there yet?”, called Hercules against the wind, shifting some.

“You're the one who wanted a ride on my baby, are you complaining now?”, teased Sam, letting the engine of his Ducati roar like the wild beast he knew she was. “Soon. Another ten minutes or so.”

Hercules nodded and rested his head against Sam's back, between his shoulder-blades, feeling the taunt muscles against his forehead. His grip on Sam's waist tightened a bit more as the path became more rocky. Not much of a surprise, because there was no path.

 

/break\

 

Sander and Nico were in the middle of adjusting another plank of hard wood against the giant tear in their ship. Four days. They had been going at the measuring, cutting, nailing and general fixing for four days now. Trend wondered briefly if this was normal. Wasting so much time on a quest. It was driving him completely crazy, this sitting around and doing nothing. He knew Donny was inside on kitchen-duty. Mainly so because after their first day at the Raser Mansion they had noticed that a self-cooked meal tasted so much better than anything summoned. Thea and Trend were sitting in front of the laptops – Nico, bless her, had managed to upgrade Sam's laptop, not completely to Daedalus-status, but still good enough so both Athena-brains could do the necessary researches.

“What's bothering you, Trend?”, asked Thea softly and nudged him.

They were sitting on the window in the living room they had deemed their home base, staring out at the ship where their two comrades were busy. Trend shook his head and turned toward her.

“Your boyfriend, actually”, answered the son of Athena with a bit of reluctance.

“How so?”, frowned Thea and actually closed her laptop, sensing the seriousness.

“What is his deal with Sam?”, wanted Trend to know, cautious with his words. “I mean, the two of them never really had much to do with each other. I know that. I _know_ that. So why is he suddenly all over Sam? I've never seen Herc being that caring or cautious or anything around anyone aside from you. Why the sudden interest and tenderness?”

“Oh, that's not sudden”, waved Thea off. “He's had a crush on Sam ever since they first met.”

“W—What?”, grunted Trend and blinked doe-eyed. “He's _straight_. And with you. And you're just spurting that out as though it's no big deal? What is wrong with you?”

“Uh, where to start?”, muttered Thea thoughtful and crossed her arms over her chest. “Right. He's had that crush on Sam ever since before _I_ met him. And it isn't a big deal. It's like... hero-worshiping. A hero-crush. Everybody at either camp is or has been crushing on either Sander or Sam at one point of their lives. They're the greatest heroes of our generation, it's simple. I had a crush on Sander too, after all. It's like a celebrity-crush. You don't get jealous over your partner fancying a movie-star or singer either. Besides, I know that Herc loves _me_. And he respects you and your relationship with Sam too much to actually try anything at this point. Besides, if he'd never even had the guts to _talk_ to Sam in the past four years – seriously, this quest, I think it's the first time the two of them _spoke_ with each other – then he sure as Hades won't just walk up to Sam and ask him if they'd want to have an affair with each other. Or, short: I trust my boyfriend.”

“But... he's straight?”, repeated Trend a little unsure. “I mean, I always thought-”

“Oh, Athena boy, not so wise after all”, teased the legacy of Athena amused. “It's in our genes. Like our brains being hard-wired for ancient Greek, like our deep-seated battle-reflexes. I doubt you'd find a single completely straight – or completely gay – demigod or legacy in either camp. In the old days it was completely common for the gods and demigods to have lovers regardless of their gender. I mean, come on, I think we're the only religion that has a god of bisexuality. Because none of us are a perfect score, we are all over the Kinsey scale. I've seen you with a girl or two too, Austin. Some have a certain preference, but... due to our heritage, we're all inclined not to discriminate in bed. Be glad you're not in love with a horse or something.”

Trend frowned thoughtful and turned to stare out of the window. Sander had been with his fair share of girls too. Some settle at one point, but thinking back, he really had a hard time coming up with someone who was _completely_ straight or gay. Percy Jackson too had his record with females, even though he had ultimately settled with a man. Hercules, the first one, not the Grace-one, Achilles, Zeus himself and many more had shared their beds with male lovers and female lovers alike. Still...

“You're telling me your boyfriend has a thing for my Sammy?”, grunted Trend with a glare.

“A hero-crush”, shrugged Thea casually. “It's really nothing to be worried about. I actually think it's kind of adorable. After... everything Sam told us, Herc is being really protective of him. You should be glad. Not about the crush, duh, but that Sam has friends who want to protect him.”

Trend had to nod reluctantly. Knowing of Sam's fear of rejection, Trend was immensely relieved and glad that the others had accepted Sam and developed a worried protectiveness over the son of Ares. Still, he was so going to have a serious conversation with Hercules once the boys would be back from their little shopping-trip. A very serious conversation.

 

/break\

 

“Darling, lunch is ready. I made you a sandwich”, chimed Donny, doing his best to sound like a fifties housewife as he brought a plate of sandwiches outside. “Ham and cheese. Bacon and barbeque sauce, but that one is to be saved for Sam. Turkey and salad. Tuna and dill. Salmon and horse-radish. Tomato and mozzarella, though that one is mine. And salami and bell pepper.”

“Aw, thank you, sweetheart”, grinned Nico teasingly and pecked Donny's cheeks. “I take ham.”

“Hey! _My_ sweetheart!”, pouted Sander and pulled Donny onto his lap. “Thanks, my Dark Sea.”

The Latina laughed and plunged down next to Sander on the make-shift work-bench they had standing outside. She watched her two cousins while devouring the ham and cheese sandwich. Donny was leaning against Sander's chest, putting the plate down beside them, smiling. Nico was happy for them, they deserved to be happy like this.

“You will be such a lovely wife, Donny”, teased Nico fondly.

“I hope so, otherwise I'd feel bad for Sander. After all, he's stuck with me now”, grinned Donny and showed off his engagement ring once more. “I love this thing. I really can't wait to show mom.”

“Yeah, I'd love for you to wait with that as long as possible, please”, muttered Sander miserably. “Your dad _is_ going to kill me. I mean, you're his little boy and I just... oh gods...”

“He's _still_ going on about that?”, snorted Nico and cocked one eyebrow. “It's been four days. Can't you two just fuck until he forgets it? Because honestly, it starts getting annoying.”

“W—We're not having sex”, confessed Donny, blushing brightly. “And now that we're engaged, we figured we'd be... old-fashioned and wait until our wedding night. Makes it more special.”

“Well, then look at it from this angle: Uncle Nico will _totally_ appreciate that”, grinned Nico.

“Yeah, _he_ sure will”, muttered Sander, looking just the slightest bit put out.

The Latina smiled amused. She was pretty sure Sander had never waited that long with having sex with a boyfriend before and now to wait until after their wedding? It made her question when they wanted to get married. Not that she wanted to ask. Somehow she figured that if she'd ask now, Donny may fall into a wedding-frenzy. And right now, they needed Donny focused on their quest. Any wedding plans needed to be put off for once they'd be back home.

 

/break\

 

Herc had his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he trailed after Sam like an obedient lap-dog. Due to him having absolutely no talent for wood-work and tinkering, as well as being useless in the kitchen and not a brainiac, he had ended up accompanying Sam to a shopping trip to the next village. Now they were standing in front of a whole shelf full of different nails.

“Well, Hercy-boy”, drawled Sam as he came up opposite the blonde, resting one hand on Herc's shoulder and staring him dead in the eye. “Now that we're alone, I think it's time to talk.”

“T—Talk?”, asked Herc slowly, blushing faintly.

Damn, he knew he was being too obvious. But Sam wasn't making this any easy! For the past years, Herc didn't have to worry, because Sam and him didn't have anything to do with each other. But stuck on a ship with Sam, on a quest with Sam? And after the things Sam had told them. It was really hard not to act protective. They were actually _talking_ (it had been so hard not to squeal like a little school girl and ask for an autograph when he had sat with Sam in the kitchen on their first night at the Raser mansion – the fact alone that he was staying at Sam Raser's home!).

“Calm down, Grace”, snorted the son of Ares amused, cocking his head in a way that should not look as cute as it did. “We gotta talk about my boy. Donny. And why you don't like him.”

“Huh...?”, grunted Herc confused and relieved at the same time.

Sam slipped his arm around Herc's shoulder as he steered the blonde through the aisles. “You and Sander? Best friends, sealed deal. You and Thea? Totally Prince-Charming-and-his-Princess-romance shit going on there. Whatever it is you and Nico have going on, it sure is a solid friendship too. Not sure about you and Trend, but I'd call you relatively-good-acquaintances-with-a-chance-of-friendship. Now the question I have is; What do you have against Donny? Because Donny is my boy and if you and me are going to be friends, you have to stop being weird around Donny. I'm not sure why, but you seem to ignore him. It's weird, you know. You children of the last generation seem to be a tight-knitted bunch as though the last great heroes raised you in a our-kids-gotta-be-best-friends-forever kind of way. So, what's going on with you and Donny?”

The mixture of dread and relief was an odd one, but truly, Herc was so relieved, it was a miracle he wasn't collapsing right away. Herc wasn't seriously in love with the other boy or anything, it was more of a worshiping-the-ground-Sam-is-walking-on kind of crush. The one where he was reduced to a stuttering teenage girl, unable to even _talk_. Or at least it used to be that way, which was kind of the reason why the two had never become friends. Sam most likely had thought he was an arrogant prick for not talking to him, so Sam had given up talking to him years ago. But now this quest, it left Hercules with all kinds of confusing feelings. So it was good that Sam hadn't caught on with that. The problem however was the dread. Because yes, somehow Donny di Angelo had managed to become Sam's 'boy', whatever that was supposed to mean. So he needed to be nice to Donny.

“It's... nothing personal”, shrugged Herc, blushing again as he felt the warmth of Sam's body heat so close to him. “More... genetics, I'd guess. He's Greek, I'm Roman. That alone brings for a bit of animosity. A bit, mind you. But... well, he's Hades and Poseidon. I'm Jupiter. Kids and legacies of the Big Three don't mix well anyway normally, but he's uniting _both_ other aspects and to top it off, their Greek versions. The... Jupiter within me is raging whenever I look at him. You know that out of the Big Three, Zeus or Jupiter is the most... spiteful, you could say. Our parents were... different. You know my dad and Donny's dad had kind of a bromance going on themselves and dad may have been a little reluctant about Percy Jackson, but they still got along well. I just guess it's different. I don't hate Donny, really. It's just a little different to look at him sometimes, especially now that he's becoming more powerful. He makes me feel uneasy. Threatened. That answer enough?”

Sam cocked an eyebrow curiously at that. He got it, somehow. The Big Three weren't known to be the most loving brothers ever and although Poseidon and Hades were united by the cause of keeping their grandchildren safe from Zeus, they were still far from being best friends forever or something like that. There were natural animosities in their genes, Sam was aware of that, but...

“If a son of Ares can date a son of Athena and if a son of Hades can _marry_ a son of Poseidon, then you can try playing nice with Donny too”, stated Sam seriously before giving Herc the best puppy eyes he could muster. “Please. He's a good boy, he's sensible. It hurts him that you don't get along so well. Give it a try, get past your nature. For me? I'd really like to be friends with you.”

Surely, the son of Ares had no idea what he was doing to Hercules. The blonde Roman found himself nodding hastily, unable to disobey that cute look. The two of them reached the checkout counter. Letting go of Herc's neck, Sam placed their items on the counter.

“Hello, Missus O'Brien. How are your grandchildren?”, asked Sam with a polite smile.

“Oh, if it isn't little Samuel Raser! I haven't seen you around in a while. You've grown, my boy. Rose is getting married next month and Johnny is attending college now, it's so nice of you to ask!”, smiled the tiny, old lady before eying Hercules curiously. “What about you? Is this your... special friend? He looks fine. Very nice. Oh, but of course you'd have taste. Your grandpa, I tell you, he had such a good taste too. Odette was the prettiest girl in town and your grandpa just swept her off her feet. Tell me, did the young man sweep you off your feet too, Samuel?”

Herc was staring slag-yawed at the talkative, old lady, his face burning with what must have been the darkest blush possible. Sam's bright laughter didn't help the matter any. This was officially the last time he would go supplies shopping with Sam.

 

/break\

 

Trend and Thea had joined in to help Nico and Sander so they would at least finish what they had set as a goal for the day. Donny was standing a little off, feeding the horses. And trying to keep Arion and Tempest from killing each other. Which was more fun than he would have thought.

“ _I like the stormy one. He keeps the horny one away from my mate_ ”, commented Trick pleased.

“ _Yes. But that's because the horny one keeps saying bad things about uncle Blacky_ ”, said Shadow.

Smiling amused, Donny caressed his shadow-pegasus' mane and observed the amazing fight between the storm-spirit and the speedster. It was like a force of nature to watch them.

“ _If Tempest would just finally mate with Blackjack, this whole mess wouldn't be a problem_ ”, sighed Fighter irritated, the brown pegasus shaking her head. “ _Stallions are such stubborn beings_.”

“ _They are young, Fighter_ ”, laughed Nightowl next to her, nudging her softly. “ _Don't you remember being young and in love? The courting and wooing is half the fun._ ”

There was a wistful look in Fighter's eyes as she gave a low yet loud whine. A mate-call. Donny had heard it before, mostly so coming from Shadow whenever Arion got a little too touchy-feely with him. Trickster would come as fast as possible then. Cocking his head, Donny stepped closer.

“You have a mate, Fighter?”, asked the legacy of Poseidon curiously.

“ _The most handsome stallion_ ”, smiled Fighter softly. “ _But years ago, I left him to tend to our foal. Sam was too young to live alone. He needed me more than Rush did. Rush is not... fond of demigods. He doesn't trust your kind, so when I told him that our foal would be moving to a city full of your kind, he told me that he would wait for me and that he understood._ ”

A sad smile found its way onto Donny's lips. He found it endearing that Fighter always referred to Sam as her foal. The two of them truly shared an amazing bond. Still, being separated from her mate must be hard for Fighter. Caressing her mane, he pressed a kiss to her side.

“I'm sorry for you”, whispered Donny softly.

“ _Do not worry. But... try keeping your mate_ _ **and**_ _your foals close. It's hard to decide._ ”

Donny nodded and blushed before leaving the pegasi on their own and joining his comrades once more as he heard the roaring of an engine. It seemed Sam and Herc were on their way back. The four sweating and grease-strained teens slowly put their work aside as the Ducati came to a sudden halt in front of them. Trend glared at Hercules, who was entirely too tightly pressed against Sam's back. But once the blonde was off the machine, Trend took all the time in the world to appreciate the sight in front of him. Sam, in leather pants and with a leather jacket, cocky grin attached to his lips as he held his helmet in his arms, one eyebrow raised amused as he locked eyes with Trend.

“Like what you see, Khan?”, challenged the son of Ares amused.

“You have no idea”, muttered Trend and shook his head equally amused. “Come here, Sammy.”

The brunette smiled brightly as he climbed off his Ducati and walked straight into the open arms of his boyfriend, sealing Trend's lips in a rough, hard kiss. Shifting uncomfortably, Herc walked over to the others and dumped his backpack with the supplies next to the plate of sandwiches before grabbing one himself and sitting down next to his girlfriend, who gave him a cheeky grin.

“Groped a feel?”, whispered Thea with a good-natured teasing to her words. “Oh come on, don't look like a kicked puppy, Herc. You know I love you and trust you. Besides, after... what happened to Sam, you wouldn't molest him. You're too much of a goody-two-shoes, Hercules Grace.”

“You're amazing”, murmured Herc and pulled her closer to place a tender kiss on her lips. “You're the most amazing woman on this planet. I can't even express how much I love you, Tee.”

“I know you do, stupid”, grinned Thea and wrapped her arms around his neck as she straddled his hips and leaned in to whisper into his ear. “Besides, you know it kind of turns me on to imagine you with another guy. And Sam _is_ very cute. Mh... Aw, come on, I'm only joking. I know you'd never try anything with him, especially now that he has a boyfriend. Like I said, goody-two-shoes.”

“What are you two love-birds whispering about?”, asked Sam with a grin as he grabbed the bacon sandwich and plunged down beside them. “Oh! You won't believe what happened. Missus O'Brien, the sweet old lady that owns the shop, she assumed Herc's my very 'special friend'.”

“Wait, really?”, asked Donny surprised, chewing on a piece of mozzarella.

“Sure”, shrugged the son of Ares, leaning over to take a bite from Donny's sandwich, which earned him a loud 'Hey! Mine!' from Donny. “I mean, most people around here know that I'm gay and that I have a thing for blondes. Which makes it more ridiculous that my grandpa still hasn't caught on.”

“Really? This old lady, she thought that _Hercules_ is your _boyfriend_?”, growled Trend displeased.

In the second Trend's eyes locked with Hercules', the Roman knew that the son of Athena _knew_. There was murder and threat in those dark, gray eyes, a silent promise of much pain if he'd ever even touch Sam. And that was not what Herc needed. It wasn't as though he planned on starting an affair with the gorgeous son of Ares, he was quite content – overjoyed even – to just be friends with Sam, because ohmygosh, that's _Sam Raser_! Damn, he was feeling like a twelve-years old girl meeting that lead singer of the boy-band she had been singing to in the shower.

“Ah, Missus O'Brien is a little matchmaker”, smiled the son of Ares amused and pulled Trend closer to lean against the blonde's chest once Trend came to stand behind him. “She set my grandma and grandpa up, you know? Introduced my aunt to my uncle. She also claims to be the only one who ever saw my ma with my pa. Loves playing with other people's love-life. How about you come with me to the village next time, Khan? I'd love to see her face when she realizes she was wrong.”

This seemed to please Trend immensely, because he shifted his deadly glare toward Sam and turned it into one filled with love, his arms sneaking around Sam's shoulders possessively. Donny grinned amused by this. He had always figured the son of Athena to be possessive, but that he would get jealous over _Herc_? That was taking it a little far. Finishing his sandwich, Donny crawled over to sit on Sander's lap and glare at the salmon sandwich distastefully. His boyfriend, and he had to love fish. There was an irony in there somewhere, he saw it. Leaning up, he kissed Sander's chin. The brunette looked confused for a moment, but then he smiled broadly, happy about the affection.


	50. The Honey to My Milk

50\. The Honey to My Milk

 

Trend took a shaking breath as he entered the garage. The place where the horses were resting for now. Shadowchaser and Trickster were standing awfully close to each other, looking at him curiously, just as Nightowl did, his head cocked. Arion and Tempest were out – as they often were, which was the safest thing for everyone, to be honest. But those didn't interest Trend. He was here for Fighter and her mate. Three days ago, the gray pegasus stallion had arrived at the Raser mansion and Donny had told them with teary eyes about the pegasus after Thea had inquired why the stallion wasn't with his mate at Camp Half-Blood. Rush, as the stallion was called, had been badly mistreated by demigods in the past, which was why he didn't trust them. Yet he seemed to care deeply for Sam, just as Fighter did. Trend had seen the hurt in Sam's eyes – the son of Ares was blaming himself that his companion Fighter couldn't be with her mate and he was missing Rush himself too. Now, being the good and loving boyfriend he was, he decided to intervene.

“Rush”, whispered Trend firmly. “I'm Trend. I... I really dislike horses. And you dislike demigods. But this is not about us, I want to talk to you about Sammy. You love him, don't you?”

The gray stallion whined, still staring at him cautiously, Trend saw this as a good sign. “And you love Fighter. I get that you don't want to go to Camp Half-Blood, I know in the open stables, where every camper has to take care of the pegasi, not everyone truly cares about your kind. But if you had a companion, you could stay in the private stables, with only one demigod responsible for you. I know Sammy would have taken you in, but the laws only allow every demigod to have one companion. Understandable, how is someone supposed to fly on two pegasi, after all?”

Rush gave an annoyed whine and a glare. “Sorry, I'm rambling. I'm just nervous. I'm really not comfortable with horses. But you're not comfortable with demigods, so I think we're a fitting match. Become my companion, come with us to New Athens and you can stay with your mate and with Sammy. _He_ can take care of you. You trust him, after all. And I would only be your companion on the papers then. I'm only doing this for Sammy, because I love him. He's my... well, in your terms, he's my mate. And I want him happy. To lift this guilt off him would make him happy. Help me make him happy. You'll be safe. You'll be with your mate. Please.”

He reached his hand out, standing a few feet away from Rush. His own heart was racing with nerves. Horses really made him uneasy, but Sam loved them. Those two especially. Looking into those large eyes, he could see similar thoughts running through Rush's head. How uncomfortable demigods made him, but how important Sam was. Rush's muzzle pushed against Trend's hand. The son of Athena smirked. At least until he got thrown off his feet by a happy Fighter.

“You know, just because I call you Khan doesn't mean you have to sleep in the stables.”

Trend craned his neck from where he was sitting on the ground, staring up at Sam, who was holding a basket of apples in his arms and stared at the blonde curiously. Coughing to cover his embarrassment up, Trend stood and dusted off his pants.

“I had a conversation with Rush. We agreed to be quite the compatible companions.”

“You two?”, asked Sam stunned and stared from one to the other for a moment, before grinning. “Aw, you two are just cute. You did that for me, didn't you? What? I know both of you better than that. I'm not stupid, you know? So... Thank you. That's, once again, one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. You just keep doing that stuff. Get back to my room and get comfortable. Breakfast in bed, as a reward for being a thoughtful boyfriend.”

The son of Ares leaned up and kissed Trend shortly before continuing to the horses.

 

/break\

 

The last week had been a little bit like a dream to Sander. Yawning widely, he stretched on the comfortable bed. He was engaged to the most beautiful boy in the world and during the last week, they had shared a bed and a room. Donny made him breakfast or lunch and cared for him, they fell asleep arm in arm and woke up the same way. He knew that, if everything worked as planned, they would finally be able to leave this evening. Still, he cherished this last week of living together with his best friends and with the love of his life. Scratching his stomach, he turned to look at Donny. Sea-green eyes stared up at him adoringly, a smile on Donny's lips.

“Morning, my Dark Sea”, yawned Sander. “Why are you awake? Why didn't you wake me?”

“Because I like watching you sleep”, grinned Donny happily. “You have that adorable dopey grin when you have a nice dream. I like it. Reminds me of a puppy. Makes me love you even more.”

“Nothing could make me love you any more, it's impossible to be any more in love than I am already with you”, murmured Sander and kissed his fiance. “After all, I'll be coping without sex for two years just for you. Uff, that's going to be one heck of a case of blue balls...”

“Who said anything about two years?”, asked Donny confused, cocking his head.

“Well, you said you wanted to wait with sex until we're married and I figured what with... you being sixteen and me being seventeen, you'd want to wait until we both finish high school and-”

“Chrysander”, chuckled Donny and sat up, straddling Sander's thighs, his hands resting on the delicious sixpack. “You said you carry the ring with you because you know how dangerous the lives of heroes can be. Any quest may be your or my death. And, as much as I pray that it won't be the case, I don't want to be your fiance if one of us dies. I want to be your legal husband. I want for us to get married this year. Winter. A wedding with snow and all its beauty. Ice-skating!”

“O—Oh”, stuttered Sander wide-eyed, staring at his lover surprised.

“And”, whispered Donny with a cheeky grin, leaning up to lick the shell of Sander's ear. “Just because we're not going to have proper sex until then, we can still... do other things. The jerking each other off was fun. But... I want to try something different. If you allow me.”

“What's that?”, asked Sander intrigued, shifting some.

“I want your cock in my mouth”, grinned Donny broadly, licking his lips hungrily. “I want to know what you taste like, what you feel like inside of me. In some way, at least.”

“What is there to allow?”, grunted Sander doe-eyed. “H—How could I say no to that?”

“Yes!”, exclaimed Donny, fisting the air as though this was a huge success for him, before growing a little more self-conscious. “Uh... I... never did this before. You surely already had plenty of awesome blowjobs, but I... want to... Don't be disappointed, okay?”

“Hades Poseidon di Angelo”, huffed Sander with a stern glare, grabbing Donny's face with both his hands and looking deep into those sea-green eyes. “I love you and nothing you could do would ever disappoint me. The simple fact that I'd be having your lips around my cock would already be a hundred times better than any blowjob I ever had. Because I love you, with all my heart.”

A bright blush lit up Donny's face as he slowly started to trail kisses down Sander's torso. He had some trouble getting rid of Sander's boxershorts, but Sander lifted his hips off the mattress in cooperation and off the bothersome piece of clothes went. Biting his lips nervously, Donny started to teasingly play with Sander's balls. Slowly leaning in, Donny placed feather-light kisses along Sander's shaft, making the brunette whimper. Giving it one lick from the base to the head made Sander buck his hips upward eagerly. This was fun. He loved how receptive his hero was. Wrapping his lips around the head, he teased the slit with his tongue, causing Sander to moan louder.

“Ow yes, please more”, gasped Sander hoarsely, fisting the sheets.

Humming in agreement – and that seemed to affect Sander too, quite a bit even – Donny slowly slid his lips down more, taking more and more of Sander's cock in. Much to Sander's embarrassment and Donny's pride, the curly-haired boy only had to bob his head a couple of times, with his tongue swirling around the hardness, before Sander came with a scream. Donny chocked slightly, coughing a couple of times as the hot and salty seed shot down his throat, but he swallowed as much as he could. Licking his lips with a satisfied grin, Donny plumped down next to Sander.

“So that's what a hero tastes like”, giggled Donny delighted. “I think I like that.”

“Me too”, nodded Sander, his cheeks flaming red. “I—I'm sorry... for coming without... warning.”

“Don't worry, mio eroe”, laughed Donny and kissed Sander's cheek. “You're cute when you're embarrassed, you know that? I feel totally proud that I made you come so fast!”

“I just hope I'll manage to get better at holding it together...”, muttered Sander frustrated.

“Well, we just have to go round after round. Once you're more spend you may last longer?”

Donny gave him a cheeky grin and kissed him again before snuggling up against Sander's side. The brunette wound his arms around his lover and both just cuddled and enjoyed the aftermath of what they had just done. Sander's mind drifted off to what Donny had said before.

“You want to get married after the quest?”, asked Sander softly, unsure.

“With the allowance of our parents, we can”, nodded Donny slowly. “I mean... If you want to. You said you wanted to propose because of how dangerous our lives are. And... if... something is to happen, I want to be a 'Beloved Son, Brother and Husband', not fiance. We _do_ live a dangerous life. And as short as it may be, I want to spend it with you, as your husband.”

“Huh”, grunted Sander and blinked a couple of times. “I was mistaken. It is possible to love you even more. Wow. I just... you're perfect. You're everything I could ever want.”

“Yeah... Now let's go back to sleep. And then I want you to... repay me”, ordered Donny and giggled, blushing a little. “You looked so... pleased. I want to know what it feels like too.”

 

/break\

 

Taking a deep breath, Sam tried to calm his nerves. The tray in his hands was shaking, because he was shaking. This was no good, he needed to calm down. It was just, he wanted today to be special. Nico had promised on everything holy to her that she would get to finish the repairs today. Which meant they would leave. And Sam wanted to have his first time with Trend in his own home, in his own bed, where he knew he was safe. Where it meant something special. The only problem now was to convince Trend of this. The blonde was awfully polite. They were touching all the time, yes, but Trend's hands _always_ stayed above Sam's waist. It was innocent cuddling and hugging and caressing, nothing even with a sense of sexual content. So Sam was set on changing that. Today, he had sworn to himself, he would lose his virginity. Well, he knew that technically, he already had, but after countless conversations with Donny, the younger boy had convinced Sam that rape didn't count, that he still had his first time ahead of himself.

“You took your sweet time with that promised breakfast”, teased Trend with a grin.

“Burned the pancakes the first time”, shrugged Sam and placed the plate on Trend's lap.

“You never burn food”, pointed Trend out, giving him an inquisitive glare.

“Shut up and eat”, ordered Sam, picking a strawberry up and holding it in front of Trend's lips.

The blonde chuckled softly and obeyed. Strawberries and pancakes with strawberry syrup. Fresh and sweet. Healthy and unhealthy. But all in all, delicious. And of course, milk with honey. Trend smiled slightly, wondering if Sam even knew why Trend liked that so much. Solemnly because the smell was the smell of Sam and Trend loved everything about Sam. Especially his cooking, as it turned out. Closing his eyes, Trend could totally picture coming home from work to a delicious, self-cooked meal from his husband. Future Trend surely was a lucky guy, he mused.

“You brought an awful lot of honey for that small cup of milk”, noted Trend once they finished eating, eying the glass vase of honey curiously. “Or do you have more milk stashed here?”

“I... had other plans for that honey...”, mumbled Sam, mildly nervous.

“Well, what's that?”, asked Trend softly, caressing Sam's mohawk tenderly.

“There's that... fantasy I have, had for a while now...”, drawled the son of Ares slowly. “I... really want to lick honey off those amazing abs of yours. I want to drip honey down your torso and lick it off your sixpack and out of your naval and just... lick it off your amazing body... Can I?”

There was doubt in Trend's eyes and Sam was pretty sure the blonde was going to shake his head, but instead, the son of Athena nodded slowly and pealed his shirt off. Sam licked his lips just looking at the deliciously defined body of his boyfriend. Trend leaned back, propping himself up on his elbows (which made the muscles in his arms bulge in that mouth-watery way – and yes, Sam was extremely horny, damn it). All in all, it was really easy to believe that Trend was related to the Greek gods. He was the true picture of a Greek Adonis.

“Well, enjoy your dessert”, chuckled the son of Athena after a too long moment.

There was a sparkle of excitement and arousal in Sam's dark, green eyes as he grabbed the vase of honey to pour it along Trend's collarbone. The thick golden liquid slowly ran down Trend's muscular chest, filling out the dips of Trend's sixpack and pooling in his naval. Licking his lips once more, Sam put the vase aside and supported his weight on either side of Trend's waist. This was it. Sam knew how good he was with his tongue – Johnny used to say that his tongue was his most effective weapon and would gain him anything he ever desired. So his tongue should work quite fine and finally get him to have sex with Trend too, right? Stealing a last kiss from his blonde, Sam traced Trend's pulse with his lips and found his way to the dip of Trend's collarbone, where a certain amount of honey was pooling. Dipping his tongue in, he started to lose his nervousness. This was Trend, it was alright. Everything was alright with Trend at his side. Now that he wasn't as nervous anymore, he got to truly enjoy the mingled taste of honey and Trend's skin, the softness of that skin, the hardness of the amazing muscles beneath his tongue. Occasionally, he scratched the skin with his teeth, in a more teasing manner than truly hurtful (though he did leave a bite-mark or two here and there – got to mark what's his, after all). Yes, this was as good as he had pictured it to be. And if the work of his tongue on those abs wasn't enough to make Trend pin him to the bed and fuck his brains out, then Sam truly was out of ideas here. Once Trend's chest was mostly clean, Sam sat up between Trend's legs, grinning broadly and licking the last honey off the corner of his mouth.

“Yep, that was good”, decided the son of Ares, leaning back to marvel at his work.

Trend was flushed and his torso did spurt a couple more hickey-bruises than Sam would have thought (so maybe he wasn't as good at not-marking as he had thought). Sam was pleased with himself. Any second now, he would have Trend all over him and they would have hot-amazing-awesome sex with each other until Nico came rattling at their door. Any second now.

“Good then. I'll go hit the showers. I feel kind of... sticky.”

Forest-green eyes were wide as Sam stared surprised at the retreating back of Trend, who practically fled the bedroom. Ouch. Frowning confused, Sam sat up just as the door closed behind the blonde. How was he supposed to deal with this rejection? Well, lucky for him, he had found a way of coping with things he didn't know how to cope with. Donny. Within seconds, Sam was barging into his cousin Selene's bedroom, where Donny and Sander were laying under the pale, pink silken sheets. The two boys yelped surprised and dove apart from where they had just been in the middle of making out. Sander blushed furiously and grabbed his sweat-pants, hastily getting them on so he won't be naked anymore. Donny cocked his head, staring at his obviously upset best friend.

“Sam? Is everything alright? Did something happen?”, asked Donny softly, patting the bed.

Heaving a sigh, Sam instead stalked up and down next to the bed, waving his arms around wildly and shaking his head while muttering incoherent stuff. Donny turned to look helplessly at Sander, but the legacy of Hermes looked just as confused and shrugged.

“Uh, Sam? What happened?”, wanted Sander to know, sitting back down on the bed.

“He doesn't want me!”, spat Sam and turned toward them, trembling a little.

“Who? What? What are you talking about, Sam?”, inquired Donny in a tender voice.

“Trend!”, growled the son of Ares frustrated, clawing his fingers into his mohawk.

“That's nonsense, Sam. Trend loves you”, grunted Sander confused, cocking an eyebrow.

“I know that”, grunted Sam and let himself fall onto the bed with a heavy sigh, leaning his head against Donny's shoulder. “But there is a difference between loving someone and being sexually attracted to someone. He loves me, but he's completely disinterested in me when it comes to sex.”

“What makes you believe such a thing?”, asked Donny, tenderly patting Sam's hair.

“He hasn't touched me _once_ since we got together! And I mean in a more intimate way, I'm aware that we're constantly touching. But it's only holding hands and hugging and hair-patting. Not that I mind any of these actions, but it's the... He never touches me _below the waist_. Like a hand on the knee, at least. Or what Sander always does with you! He always has his hands on your ass! All the freaking time! Trend didn't touch my ass even once since we got together!”, rambled Sam annoyed.

“That doesn't have to mean anything, Sam”, tried Donny to sooth his friend.

“I just licked honey off his body”, snorted Sam with a glare. “I literally had my tongue all over his body. You know what he did? He went to take a shower. A fucking shower. I wanted him to have sex with me, damn it! I thought maybe he needed a slight nudge, but he just... doesn't want me...”

The annoyance and glare melted away, leaving an oddly empty feeling behind. Collapsing against Donny, Sam slowly started to sob into the younger boy's chest. Staring worried down at the crying brunette, Donny wrapped his arms around the son of Ares and hugged him closer.

“I knew it, should have known it”, sobbed the son of Ares. “I—I just... I'm not cute enough to be a bottom anymore, right? He doesn't want me, not like that...”

Sander could only helplessly watch how Sam cried into Donny's chest. Sam didn't cry. Ever since Sander had met him, he had only seen Sam cry twice. One of those two times had been last week when Sam had admitted to what had happened to him in the past. The other had been when his mother's troop had been lost for nearly a week without a word. And back then, Sander had pretty much left it to Sara and Trend to cheer him up (looking back at it, Sander should have _seen_ what that may have meant even back then. Then again, he could be relatively blind to such things). He wasn't good with crying. So he did the only thing he could. He sneaked out of the room.

 

/break\

 

Cold showers were good. At least for incredibly insistent boners. Trend started to feel as though he alone was using up as much water as his six companions together. His hands were trembling at the mere thought of what Sam had just done to him. One would think that Sam's tongue was sharp when it came to spurting insults, but oh damn, that thing could work miracles outside any conversation too. Trend liked to think of himself as a man who could detain himself, a man with strong will. He started to doubt himself the longer he was faced with the temptation that was Samuel Raser. Fidgeting with the button of his jeans, he left the bathroom. Just to run straight into a fist. Grunting at the surprising hit, he stumbled back against the wall.

“What the fuck, Rodriguez?”, grunted Trend, rubbing his chin.

Sander stood in front of him, glaring and shaking his certainly aching hand. “Asshole! You—Argh! What the fuck is wrong with you, Austin?! I think I forgot to mention this before, so let me be clear now: If you hurt Sam, I'll hurt you. So, consider this the payment for making Sam cry!”

“I must have hit my head against the wall just there, because I think I just heard you say that I made Sammy cry”, muttered the son of Athena and shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

“Sam is laying in our bed, crying into Donny's lap because he thinks you don't want him in your bed for, you know what!”, hissed Sander and blushed slightly. “He thinks you don't want to fuck him.”

“W... What...?”, asked Trend slowly, highly confused. “Of course I want to have sex with him. There is nearly nothing I would want more than that. Fuck, he's the sexiest guy in the world.”

“Then why won't you just do it?”, inquired Sander, feeling highly uncomfortable having this conversation with his friend about another friend. “He's feeling undesired because you're not even trying to have sex with him, even though he just... did he really lick honey off your body?”

“Uhu”, nodded Trend, running his fingers through his hair. “That was easily the most erotic thing anyone has ever done for me. And you know how good Derek is at stripping.”

“Wow”, grunted Sander surprised – knowing very well how good their ex was with that.

“Yeah, wow”, agreed the son of Athena and heaved a sigh. “I want him so badly, but... You know what happened to him. I just... Every time I want to touch him, to fuck him, I have to think of what Jones had done to him. I just... feel like I'd be forcing myself onto him and I don't want to...”

“You're an idiot”, interrupted Sander, with a nearly fond smile. “It's sweet of you, but also incredibly stupid. Sam is strong, don't doubt he'd break your hand if you'd put it places where he doesn't want it. He's seventeen. He wants to have sex just like everyone else, idiot. Or do you seriously think he would lick stuff off your body if he wasn't ready for the consequences? He'd have to be an idiot not to see that such actions would lead to sex. And you _are_ an idiot for cockblocking him and yourself. Seriously. And an asshole for making him think shit again. I thought you were the one responsible for making him feel good about himself again. Lousy job you're doing there.”

A son of Athena, outsmarted by a legacy of Hermes. Trend cursed beneath his breath, pushing himself off the wall, he walked past Sander without a second glance, determined.

 

/break\

 

“He would be happier with someone like you”, whispered Sam softly from where he was curled together against Donny's side, his head resting on the younger teen's thigh. “You're cute and petite and shit. You're like a bottom should be. Like out of the guidance book of bottoms or shit like that.”

Donny had long since stopped giving his own input to the things Sam had to say, because these seemed to be things Sam needed to get off his chest. It hurt Donny to hear them, but he hoped it'd help Sam to finally say them out loud. Donny, like their friends too, knew that Leroy had done much harm. But Donny had always thought Sam was confident in his body. Well, he was. He just thought it 'unfit' for a bottom and with trying to be a top for the past five years, it had been 'fit'. It angered Donny all the more – to hear Sam belittling himself for training so much, for being too strong now to be wanted in the way he wanted to be wanted. Leroy Jones would pay dearly.

He jumped slightly as the door nearly got ripped out of its angles. A guilty and angry looking Trend entered, followed by a pleased looking Sander. The brunette sat back down next to Donny while Trend came to stand in front of Sam and Donny. Confused, forest-green eyes looked at him.

“Go away”, growled the son of Ares, sitting up.

“No. I'm not going anywhere”, grunted Trend and shook his head, going into his knees to be on eye-level with the younger boy. “I'll _never_ be going anywhere. Because I love you. I love you so much.”

“I know”, nodded Sam, staring at his hands. “I know that. And I get that... that you don't want me. It's okay. You love me, that's more than I'd have hoped for. I understand that you don't want me, I'm just not... not like the pretty, little bottoms you normally have beneath you. I'm not desirable...”

“I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry”, whispered the blonde, his eyes showing his pain.

Sam just wanted to open his mouth to reassure Trend that it was okay – even though it hurt. But in that time, Trend had already stood again and suddenly shoved his one arm beneath Sam's knees and curled the other around Sam's back, easily lifting him up bridal-style. Sam gasped surprised.

“What are you doing, Khan? Put me down, I'm not a fucking girl!”, growled the son of Ares.

“But you're my very desirable, pretty, little bottom”, smirked Trend and placed a kiss on Sam's nose. “So let me carry you to your bed where I'll be showing you just how desirable you are.”

Sander grinned broadly, very pleased with himself as he leaned back against the headboard of the bed, watching how Trend carried Sam out of the room. He wasn't good with crying, but he was good at fixing stuff and setting his friends straight when they were on a bullshit-path. He startled slightly as he suddenly had a lap full of Donny and soft, fierce lips upon his own. Grunting, Sander nearly fell over as Donny so passionately wrapped himself around him.

“Okay?”, mumbled Sander against his fiance's plumb lips. “What did I do to deserve that?”

“You really have to ask?”, laughed Donny, his eyes sparkling with pride and love. “You did what I couldn't. I can sooth and comfort, but I'm not good at talking things out and... taking care like that. You fixed them. You made Trend see reason so _he_ can make it up to Sam.”

“Of course I did. Sam's my friend. I don't like seeing him upset”, grunted Sander.

“No, that's not it”, chuckled Donny amused, kissing along Sander's yaw. “I just... I had to think what a great dad you'd be. Calling any guy who'd hurt our children out on their bullshit.”

“Oh...”, nodded Sander slowly and blushed. “Well, you'd be a great mom. The way you cooed over Sam and listened to him and held him. I can't do stuff like that. I'm rubbish at it.”

“I guess that makes us a perfect fit then”, smiled Donny softly. “So... How do you feel about repaying me now, mio eroe? You really made me horny with being so fierce and protective.”

Grinning broadly, Sander turned them over, supporting himself against the headboard with one arm so Donny could stare up at the arm doe-eyed. Sander knew how much Donny loved strong arms. Out of all body-parts, the boy really had a thing for muscular upper arms. Tilting his head, Donny licked his lips and kept staring, absentmindedly tracing the flexed muscles.

“Anything for you, my... What's it in Italian? Dark Sea?”, asked Sander thoughtful.

“Why?”, laughed Donny amused. “You don't even speak Italian.”

“Well, got to start with something, right?”, grinned Sander with a shrug. “I mean, we're going to be married soon. And I know you and your siblings learned Italian from your dad. Your mom learned it before his wedding to your dad, right? So... I... Well... I mean, you just said I'd be a good dad and I guess _one day_ we are going to have kids. Future day. Wa~ay after our wedding and graduation and all. But just, in that far away future where I'm an awesome and protective dad and you're a fussing and amazing mom, I figured you'd want to raise our children bilingual too.”

“You are so incredibly cute when you ramble out of nervousness”, giggled Donny delighted, kissing Sander once more. “I love you so much. Incredibly much, mio eroe. Dark Sea is mare scuro.”

“Okay”, nodded Sander with an embarrassed smile. “T—Ti amo, mio... mare scuro. Right?”

“Right”, confirmed Donny, touched and proud at the same time.

Very proud of himself now, Sander self-confidently went down on his fiance, freeing him from the bothersome night-clothes he was still wearing (though Sander was grateful that at least one of them had been dressed when the devastated Sam had interrupted them). The gorgeous olive skin was fully revealed to Sander and the legacy of Hermes was as pleased as always. And as worried. Because he knew the implication of Donny's fully tanned skin. The boy was somewhere enjoying the sun naked. Somewhere where others may see him! Shaking his head, he instead tried to focus on the hard member pointing his way. Licking it up and down like it was a delicious Popsicle, he teasingly fondled Donny's balls, his middle finger occasionally stroke the space between Donny's balls and his entrance, which earned him the cutest whimpers from his lover. In one go, he engulfed Donny's cock fully in his mouth, grateful for his lack of a gag-reflex. Donny gave a surprised yelp at that. Right, the boy had never gotten a blowjob before. Sander grinned around the cock in his mouth at the thought of being Donny's first. He would make this the very best blowjob he had ever given, because this one was for his Donny. Though the amazing sounds his fiance was making were truly distracting and made him wonder how in the world would the Sea Prince sound once they'd actually have 'proper' sex? Sander grunted surprised as the warmth of Donny's load shot down his throat without much of a warning aside from a sweet whimper from Donny.

“S—Sorry... it's just so... warm and wet and different from hands?”, mumbled Donny flustered.

“Heh. No problem”, laughed Sander and licked his lips. “Besides, you taste great. Like... you.”

“You're so sweet”, grinned Donny amused and kissed Sander, tasting himself on the brunette.

“Only to you, mio mare scuro”, declared Sander, proud that he had managed to memorize the words for the time being. “It's all you. You make me... I don't know. Happy. Content. Complete.”

The smile on Donny's lips was hard to top. To hear these words, to hear how much he meant to the boy he loved. It was amazing. Grabbing Sander around the waist, he pulled the brunette close to use him as a pillow. Once his head was comfortably rested on Sander's chest, he sighed contently.

“More napping?”, asked Donny with a grin. “And then maybe... more fun? I just... really want to use this last day we'll have with a proper bed and enough corridor and rooms between our bedrooms to have some privacy. Tomorrow around this time, we'll be stuck on a ship with the others again, we'll have the mission and the quest at the forefront of our minds once more. Being here was a little like a vacation and I want to make the best of it for as long as it'll last us, you know?”

“Yeah”, laughed Sander, amazed. “Just what I was thinking earlier. Let's recharge some.”

“Recharge, yes”, nodded Donny and closed his eyes. “And then you can spank me.”

Sander, who had just closed his eyes to do the napping-part of this, suddenly opened his eyes so wide, they nearly rolled out of the sockets. How in the world was he supposed to rest _now_?

 

/break\

 

Now he was back to being nervous. Pressed against Trend's chest as the blonde was carrying him back to his bedroom. His arms were wound around Trend's neck, his cheek against the chest.

“You don't have to. I mean, I _really_ want to have sex with you, but I'd be content with just... having you loving me. I just need to _know_ , you know? It just hurt because I had-”

“Please stop rambling like an insecure, little girl”, interrupted Trend and shook his head. “That's not you. You're – you. The stud with the hot body and 'have you seen those arms?'. You love your body and that is completely okay because fuck, your body is amazing. I'm sick and tired of fragile, little bottoms that bitch around all the time. I want someone who can stand their ground and who won't get squished when we go at it a little rougher. I... thought you could stand your ground. But you rather go and _cry_ in Donny's arms than tell me what you want? I tried being a gentleman. After... what... I didn't want to come off as though I'd be forcing myself onto you.”

Just as he finished talking, he slowly placed Sam on the bed. The son of Ares blinked and snorted. As the brunette sat up some, the blonde stared confused and sat down next to his lover.

“You don't want me to act like a crying, little girl. Then don't try being a fucking gentleman for me”, barked Sam out. “If I wouldn't trust you, I wouldn't be with you. I _know_ you would never force yourself on me. Roy... had been five years ago. Five years for me to heal. A—and... I _really_ want to have sex. Real sex, the way I want it, with someone who'll respect me. So... how about we do that? Respect each other. I tell you what I want and you tell me what you want. So we won't need Sander to play the messenger for us, mh? I'll start. I want to have sex with you. Your turn.”

“I want to have sex with you too”, chuckled Trend, a little amused. “I just... I was afraid, okay? I love you so much and I don't want to hurt you. Not just physically, I mean emotionally. I know you could fight me off if I'd do something you don't like, but that would still leave the situation at me having done something you don't like. And I want to avoid that.”

“You can't keep walking around me on eggshells, idiot”, whispered Sam urgently. “That just won't work, Trend. You and me, we're both just humans, okay? And humans do stupid stuff. We'll always do stupid stuff and sometimes we may make mistakes and hurt each other. If you don't want that, then we can just end this relationship right here before someone gets hurt. Getting hurt is part of life. I've been handling this for five years now and I get that it's still new to you and you're still trying to get used to the idea of what... Roy had done to me and I appreciate that you try making me comfortable. But don't treat me like a broken porcelain doll you can't play with anymore so you put it into a vitrine to look at so it won't be damaged any more. If you love me, then treat me as an equal in this relationship and let me decide for myself when I'm ready for something instead of just avoiding the situation itself in case it may perhaps make me uncomfortable.”

Trend remained silent for a long moment before he leaned in and kissed Sam harshly. “You're right. I'm sorry. Wow, for being the son of Athena, I sure feel like the dumbest one around today.”

“That's because you're _over-thinking_ things. Athena-problems”, smiled Sam softly. “Well?”

“You're right. Completely right. I'm over-thinking and I think I'm still trying to figure stuff out. But I want you and I want to have sex with you. I just... No. You're right. So you're fine with it?”

“More than fine. I fucking love you. And your body”, answered Sam seriously. “I want to have sex with you. With that fucking amazing cock of yours, deep inside of me. I want to do plenty, plenty of naughty things with you, okay? That's why I asked you for the honey-thing. Because that is my most favorite fantasy about you. Because I thought having my tongue running over your body would send a very hard to be misinterpreted message. Congratulations on failing there, brains-boy.”

“Shut up, or no sex”, threatened Trend with a grin, pinning the brunette onto the mattress.

“Meanie”, teased Sam and smiled. “So does this mean you and me... We're going to have sex?”

“Why are you in such a rush though?”, questioned Trend with a hint of worry. “I mean, it's only been a week that we have been dating. That's why I tried being a gentleman too.”

“Because I... it's been five years and I _want_ to have sex, real sex, sex that I can enjoy too, but that doesn't change that I am nervous, okay?”, mumbled Sam and blushed slightly. “This is my home. Out of all the places I've lived at, this is the one I will always be returning to. This is my room. My bed. My territory, so to speak. I feel safe here. I want to lose my virginity in my own bed, not some bunk bed at camp, or the apartment in New Athens, or the cabin on the Argo II.”

“And...?”, inquired Trend with one cocked eyebrow. “Come on, I know you. There's an 'and'.”

“I... sleep better, with you at my side, but that doesn't change that I _still_ have the nightmares and I guess you figured out what they're about by now anyway, but... I just... I thought maybe, if I would know what it could feel like, that sex doesn't have to hurt so fucking much, that my partner can whisper sweet things instead of insults into my ear, that I can feel _good_ , maybe then the nightmares won't be so bad anymore. Maybe if I knew how good it can be, I can... forget the bad...?”

“Then let me help you forget about the bad”, offered Trend softly, caressing Sam's side. “But first... The honey-thing. I have kind of a similar fantasy. Can I...? I mean, we have some honey left.”

“Be my guest”, grinned Sam broadly, pointing at himself as though he was today's dinner.

“And... you're going to tell me right away when I make you uncomfortable?”, asked Trend slowly.

“Believe me, you'll be the first to know”, snorted Sam amused, balling a playful fist. “Well now?”

Trend helped Sam out of his clothes and shrugged out of his own jeans until both of them were sitting naked on the bed. Both their eyes roamed each other's bodies hungrily. Not that they hadn't seen each other naked plenty of times, but this time it was coupled with the feeling of anticipation of sex. Sam shuddered as Trend's hands slowly wandered down his sides. The son of Ares laid back onto the bed, leaning onto his elbows and staring up at his blonde. His cock was already hardening by the sole thought of Trend finally touching him downstairs. But just as every freaking time before, Trend's hands stopped at Sam's waist, thumbs resting against his hipbones. A frustrated groan escaped the brunette's mouth, but his lover only laughed softly and flipped him over. Sam yelped and craned his neck enough so he could look quizzically at the son of Athena. A grin easily matching that of any predator laid on Trend's lips as he grabbed the vase of honey.

“You trust me? Because this is probably going to be a bit weird at first. I promise you that it'll be good though”, prompted the son of Athena in a soft voice. “And I promise I'll make you feel good.”

“I trust you”, nodded Sam slowly. “But... give me some pointers? What am I supposed to do?”

“Hips up”, ordered Trend and pushed two pillows under his lover so his ass was quite nicely pointing up. “And now I just need you to lean back, relax and let me take good care of you.”

After a reluctant nod, Sam turned back and grabbed another pillow to have something to hug, because he was still feeling a bit nervous. Burying his face in the pillow, Sam took a deep breath.

“Are you going to do _anything_ , or what?”, grunted Sam after what felt like minutes.

“Sorry”, mumbled Trend, a note of embarrassment to his voice. “I was just... admiring the view. You're so incredibly beautiful, Sammy. It's hard not to stare with your ass in front of me like that.”

To hide the bright blush, Sam buried his face deeper in the pillow. Which made the image all the more perfect to Trend. The blonde cocked his head some, eyes still trained on the heart-shaped, firm behind in front of him. Sam's legs were spread invitingly, calling to Trend. Gulping hard upon being faced with what he had desired for so long, Trend's hands were trembling as he placed one reluctantly on the very firm and soft cheek. A shudder wreaked Sam's body at the touch, making Trend smile slightly. Using the hand to spread Sam's cheeks, he slowly poured the honey.

“What in the names of all gods are you doing with honey down there?!”, yelped Sam.

“What do you think?”, chuckled Trend and put the vase down, before freezing. “Or... too much?”

A moment of silence followed and Trend felt horrible, that feeling of having gone too far gripping his heart. Though then, just before he fell into a rant of how sorry he was, Sam turned enough to face him, his face beet red, but tenderness and love shining in his dark eyes as he nodded slowly.

“It's okay”, whispered Sam embarrassed. “I... uh... If you want to. It's just... weird, you know?”

“I know”, reassured Trend in a tender voice as he placed his hands on Sam's thighs, rubbing them slowly in a mild caress. “But believe me, it'll feel good to you. If not, say the word and I'll stop.”

“Well, then show me how good that's supposed to feel”, ordered the son of Ares.

Staring a little fascinated at the honey running down between the crack of Sam's cheeks, along the already hard shaft of his lover even, Trend leaned in. He started at Sam's cock, agonizingly slow licking the shaft up to the base, teasingly sucking on the brunette's balls, which earned him quite the heated hiss. In one nearly innocent touch, Trend licked along the crack. Sam gasped. Trend repeated the action, this time however slower. Sam moaned. A victorious grin slid onto Trend's lips as he went back down to the sensitive part between Sam's entrance and his balls, tickling it with the tip of his tongue as he wandered up. He circled the tight, puckered hole with barely a bit of pressure, followed by a nearly frustrated moan from Sam as the brunette bucked back against him. Trend's hands on Sam's ass, pulling his cheeks apart, held the son of Ares quite in place though.

“C—Cac”, hissed Sam, making Trend laugh a little. [trans: _Shit!_ ]

So the son of Ares was already losing the ability to form coherent words? Could the boy get any more adorable? Putting some more pressure into it, he circled the puckered muscle-ring once more. This time closer to the hole. And another time, teasing the hole itself. Sam whimpered once more. Having mercy with his lover, Trend pushed in. Spreading the tightness with his tongue as he swirled it around. His lips pressed against the ring of muscles, he gave a deep, hungry kiss to the hole he desired so much. Licking along the walls, stretching his lover while doing so, he felt Sam relax beneath him. Smirking against the skin, Trend gave it all.

“Póg ma thoin, mo chuisle”, panted the son of Ares, a slightly amused note to his voice. [trans: _Kiss my ass, my darling_ ]

The blonde blinked a couple of times before pulling his tongue out of his lover's tightness. Sam made a frustrated sound at that, but didn't say anything, obviously hoping Trend would get back. Shaking his head a bit confused, Trend went back to his lover's ass, working the tight muscles until Sam was finally in a state of being truly relaxed. Time for some real preparations now.

“Gods, you're so beautiful. Turn around and spread your legs some. I'll give you a blowjob while preparing you”, whispered the son of Athena with a small smile. “How's that sound, Sammy?”

“Is ea!”, gasped Sam and nodded hastily, licking his lips. “Dúil mo bod.” [trans: _Yes! Suck my dick_ ]

Trend's own cock gave a twitch in reply. The foreign language made Sam's naturally rough voice sound like an echo of nature itself, ancient and powerful and yet tender and strong. It send shudders of want through the blonde. He was pretty sure Sam wasn't even aware of what he was doing. Deep-throating Sam's cock without a second thought, Trend propped the now a little loosened hole with his honey-dripping fingers, slowly and tenderly scissoring Sam. One finger, two fingers. Two from the other hand too. Stretching him as good as possible – after all, his cock was a little more than the average thing and he wanted this to be the smallest amount of pain possible for Sam. Caressing Sam's prostate, Trend's tongue coaxed Sam closer and closer to his orgasm.

“A—Ah!”, moaned Sam hoarsely, arching his back. T—Táim ag teacht! O—oh!” [trans: _I--I'm coming!_ ]

Swallowing the warm seed, Trend supposed that had been his warning. Well, it would have helped more if he had understood it. He made a mental note to memorize and ask for translations later. The foreign words sounded far better, far more feral and primal. Sam collapsed on the bed, panting completely breathless. With four fingers inside his lover, Trend was relatively pleased. He hoped it was good enough to fit his six inches girth in. Just as the blonde lubed his twelve inches of length up with the honey that was still left, Sam grabbed his neck and pulled him into a heated, harsh kiss.

“Táim I ngra leat, mo fiórghrá”, whispered Sam softly, his pupils blown with lust, breath ragged. [trans: _I'm in love with you, my true love_ ]

The words were nonsense to Trend, but the message surely not lost. The love shining in the untypically bright green eyes, the son of Athena didn't have a hard time figuring out the meaning. His honey-sticky hands slid up and down Sam's thighs as he parted them more and positioned himself between them. The son of Ares stared up at him, a layer of sweat covering bronze skin.

“Craiceann a bdualadh”, growled Sam, grabbing Trend's neck and pulling him closer. [trans: _Let's have sex_ ]

The tip of Trend's cock brushed Sam's entrance and yes, that was quite the clear message. Trend slowly pushed in, taking his sweet time, inch by inch, distracting Sam with more heated kissing and soft words. It took minutes until the blonde was completely seated within Sam, but Trend didn't mind. He wanted this to be slow. He knew 'slow' wasn't exactly Sam's pace. But Sammy's first time shouldn't be fucking, it should be love-making. So Trend made love to Sam. Slow and tender, thrusting deep and hitting target, filling his partner out completely with his length. Trend's lips wandered over Sam's torso, leaving marks along the way. Payback for earlier. Especially Sam's neck seemed to be a sensitive spot, because Sam nearly broke his neck, trying to bare it to Trend and give him better access. Not to mention the sounds the brunette made upon being bitten there. Though he didn't stick with it, because there was the earlobe to be teased and the collarbone to be nibbled. And kissing, very important were the heated, long-lasting kisses between them. Whatever it was Sam wanted to say in warning this time around was swallowed by Trend's lips as the brunette came hard. As though the son of Ares hadn't been tight enough before, but now clenching down on him, it was surely the tightest feeling Trend had ever felt around his cock. It only took him another couple of thrusts before he emptied himself deep inside the brunette, their tongues fighting a fierce battle. One that he easily won as the unusual feeling of being filled up with cum distracted Sam and made him yelp and blush brightly. Laughing amused at the embarrassed expression on his lover's face, Trend slowly went to lay down behind Sam, wrapping his arms around the brunette's waist.

“So... How was this for a first time?”, asked Trend softly. “And _please_ answer in a language I also understand. As hot as it sounded to hear your voice like that, I really want to hear the answer.”

“It was great”, purred Sam, arching his back so he was completely pressed against the blonde still within him, before he froze up. “Wait. What? Oh, come on. I did that again, didn't I?”

“Did what?”, asked the blonde curiously, kissing Sam's neck.

“I... uh... Well, in moments of... ecstasy, I sometimes, well, slip into Irish”, mumbled Sam, his cheeks aflame. “You have to tell me shit like that, idiot. I don't really notice. I mean, it's kind of second nature still, even though I barely use it anymore. I don't notice when I slip into it.”

“Like I said, it was hot”, laughed Trend, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “What did you say?”

“I don't know. I was just babbling, I guess. I mean, I was a little distracted by your tongue up my ass to really know how to form thoughts”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes. “Not to mention your dick.”

“Well, good thing then that I have an excellent memory for the things I hear”, smirked Trend wickedly, biting Sam's shoulder. “What's 'Cac'? It was the first thing you said.”

“Swearing”, laughed Sam and shook his head. “Means shit. I told you, babbling nonsense.”

“And what about 'Póg ma thoin, mo chuisle'?”, inquired Trend further.

“Kiss my ass”, grinned Sam broadly. “I found that funny. Kinda fits. But chuisle is... hard to translate. Means pulse. Is kind of a... petname, I guess. Like, how the pulse connects to the beating heart and shit like that. It's meant to be romantic, sounds kind of weird in English though.”

Sam turned around enough so Trend could kiss his collar and neck. “Dúil mo bod?”

“Suck my dick”, answered Sam, his grin a notch more wicked. “You're good at phonetic copy.”

“Thanks. Brains-boy, remember”, chuckled Trend and cocked one eyebrow. “Next. Though I have a suspicion about it. Táim ag teacht. Something about you coming, eh?”

“Yep”, nodded Sam, his grin turning completely satisfied. “Means I'm coming.”

“The last one, it was something like... Craiceann a bdualadh?”, asked the blonde next.

“That was me kindly asking you to have sex with me”, answered Sam cheekily. “Anything else?”

“Yes...”, nodded Trend slowly, a little unsure. “Táim I ngra leat, mo fiórghrá.”

The cheeky grin slipped from Sam's lips as he turned a light shade of red and turned his head away shyly. Frowning confused, Trend cupped Sam's cheek and turned his head, kissing Sam's nose.

“I'm in love with you... my... true love”, whispered the son of Ares softly, looking at him with half-lid eyes, the love shining in the dark green orbs. “I... didn't mean to tell you during sex though.”

“Mh...”, muttered Trend and smiled slightly. “That's good then, because I'm completely head over heels in love with you too. And I really liked hearing you speak Irish. Why don't you ever do it?”

“Why should I?”, shrugged Sam. “No one to talk to. You may have noticed that my family is kind of really into tradition and shit and what with them moving to Ireland hundred years ago, they of course ensured we kids learn Irish too. Totally unimportant because most people actually speak English, but yeah. Why not. Anyway, I just... I sometimes forget which language I speak when I'm distracted with pleasure, okay? So please, just tell me the next time. That's embarrassing.”

“Let's compromise”, suggested Trend with a smile. “If you're uncomfortable to talk that much during sex, okay. But... Can we have the di Angelo thing? In Irish instead of Italian, obviously.”

“What's the di Angelo thing?”, asked Sam confused. “You mean the stupid petnames.”

“You just called me your pulse”, pointed the blonde out with a triumphant smirk.

“Go hifreann leat”, groaned the embarrassed brunette, hitting Trend with a pillow.

“What was that?”, asked Trend teasingly. “My Irish is a little rusty, _my pulse_.”

“Go to hell”, spat Sam and glared at the blonde, hitting his chest. “You're such an asshole!”

“I love you too, my pulse”, chimed Trend, having way too much fun with this.

“Okay, okay, okay. Just stop it, please?”, groaned the son of Ares with a glare.

“Sorry”, laughed the son of Athena, slowly pulling out of his lover to pull him up against his chest.

“Aw...”, huffed Sam with a pout. “I like that cock of yours inside of me.”

He stared down at the blonde's member wistfully and with hunger. Trend chuckled amused.

“That's good then. Because I really liked being inside of you”, pointed the blonde out, leaning down to kiss the corner of Sam's mouth. “You're... amazing. I really love having sex with you. You too?”

“Yes”, nodded Sam slowly. “I... You felt amazing inside of me. I mean, uh, it... kinda hurt, at first, but... you were so... tender. And slow. It was wow. I didn't know it felt that way for my exes. I mean, wow. A—And when you came... Wow. I mean, you cock alone! I've made fun of Derek for being so head over heels with it, but this is like... it was filling me out completely. I don't think I could ever have sex with something smaller. _This_ is perfect.”

Dark green eyes sparkled with hunger as Sam eyed Trend's cock, licking his lips. Long fingers were tenderly tracing along the length. Trend raised one eyebrow surprised, looking at the son of Ares. Adjusting his arms, he pulled Sam close enough to kiss the brunette and get his attention.

“You're a size queen”, whispered Trend against Sam's lips, grinning amused.

“Fuck you”, hissed Sam and turned crimson red. “I just... It hurt so much with Roy, even though he's like a carrot compared to your cucumber or shit like that and I thought that it'd... well, that it would hurt a hundred times worse considering your... size. But it was just... amazing.”

“That's... good”, nodded Trend slowly, placing one hand in Sam's neck and the other on Sam's lower back, hugging him close. “I'd never hurt you, Sammy. I'll always do everything to make it good for you, to make it the damn best thing in the world. Because you are the damn best thing in the world.”

“Are you going to always turn into a sap after we have sex?”, questioned the flustered brunette.

“Get used to it. That's totally a thing now”, shrugged the son of Athena amused, kissing Sam.

Sam laughed as his words came back to him. Shaking his head in amusement, he cuddled up to his boyfriend, wiggling his ass a little demandingly while burying his face in Trend's neck.

“Can you... This sounds weird, even in my head. Can you... hug me and leave your hands on my ass? Like Sander always does with Donny?”, asked the son of Ares softly.

“Of course, Sammy”, agreed the blonde and kissed the top of Sam's head, his hands sliding around Sam's waist and resting on top of the two firm cheeks. “I love you, Sammy.”

“Is tú mo ghrá”, whispered Sam into Trend's ear, a grin on his lips. [trans: _I love you_ ]

 

/break\

 

Stretching sluggishly from one end of the bed right over to the other, Donny slowly opened his eyes. This whole sex-thing was really exhausting. And this bed was way too comfortable. And he enjoyed laying in Sander's arms too much. Okay, so maybe he was just searching for excuses to stay in bed with Sander. So what, sue him. Turning around, he looked at a wide-awake Sander.

“Hey. Have you slept at all? At least dozed off some?”, inquired Donny curiously.

“How was I supposed to sleep when the last thing you say to me is that I get to spank you once we're awake again?”, huffed Sander and stared at him ridiculed. “I was awake with anticipation.”

“You're so adorable”, laughed Donny softly and sat up.

“You... were serious...?”, asked Sander cautiously, staring at his fiance. “I mean...”

“It was my well-kept dark secret, after all”, shrugged Donny, now feeling a little awkward and blushing. “It was... the thing I first came to. My first fantasy was of getting spanked by you. The first thing I ever masturbated to. So... now that we're dating, I would like to know what it really feels like, to lay on your lap and have you spank me... Please? T—That doesn't mean I want one of those weird BDSM-relationships and things like those!”

“Okay...”, nodded Sander slowly, feeling a bit nervous himself now. “Uhm... come here.”

He had done this dozens of times already, but as everything with Donny before, this felt different too. More serious. Mostly so because this was _Donny_ , one of the purest, most innocent beings Sander had ever met. Then again, after what they had done earlier today... Not all that pure and innocent after all. Sander straightened his back and patted his lap encouragingly.

“I... love you”, whispered Donny softly and crawled over to his fiance. “I trust you.”

“Good”, said Sander, his grin slightly dopey. “I promise I'll never hurt you. So, even though you're not into 'those weird BDSM-relationships', we need something from them. A safeword. So I will know that it's enough. That you've reached your limit. I mean, you've never been spanked before. If it's too much, if you notice that it's not your thing after all, you say your safeword and I stop. Pick a word that's not usually woven into conversation or sex-talk, please. You understand that?”

“Y—Yes”, nodded Donny slowly, frowning thoughtful. “Horseshoe. As a safeword.”

“Horseshoe?”, laughed Sander. “Okay. Yeah. That'll work. Horseshoe.”

“Okay”, said Donny, taking a deep and calming breath before laying down.

“Get comfortable and relax, love”, grinned Sander, caressing Donny's curls in a soothing manner. “Take your time. Tell me when you're ready. Just relax, my Dark Sea.”

Closing his eyes, Donny calmed his racing heart and snuggled up to the warmth of his fiance. “Okay. I think I'm ready. I just... I'm nervous, you know?”

“Yeah, I get that”, nodded Sander in understanding. “Relax and use your safeword if it's too much.”

His hand caressed the soft skin of Donny's heart-shaped bottom. After a couple of strokes, he slowly lifted his hand off and let it come down for a first time, not all that hard. Still, in the big bedroom with the high ceiling, the slap echoed, together with Donny's surprised yelp.

“Huh”, muttered Donny, eyes wide. “Uh... Do that again?”

“With pleasure”, grinned Sander broadly, placing a slightly harder slap.

The surprised yelps soon turned into more pleasurable gasps the farther they went. The gasps turned into full-blown moans as Donny's ass turned a brilliant shade of red. A delicious red. And even though Sander would have loved to see it even darker, he knew that for the first time, this was enough. Stopping, he rested his hand against heated flesh, caressing it softly.

“Why did you stop?”, whined Donny and bucked up against Sander's hand.

“Because it's enough now”, grunted Sander determined. “First time. No overdoing it, love.”

“Okay...”, nodded Donny in understanding, but he was still pouting.

“Come here, babe”, grinned Sander softly, cradling Donny in his arms and leaning back down. “Damn, I love you so very much, Donny. Wouldn't have thought your ass was capable of looking any hotter than it already did, but damn, red is so your color, love.”

“You're such a charmer”, laughed Donny and kissed Sander's chin. “More napping...?”

“Well, starting tonight, we'll be back on the quest so we won't know how much sleep we'll get from then on, so... Yep, more napping”, agreed Sander, getting more comfortable. “Love you.”

“Love you too”, yawned Donny softly.

 

/break\

 

“They are aware that the walls aren't soundproof in this very old house, right?”

The Latina looked highly annoyed as she glared up at the ceiling, taking a long sip from her tea-cup. Thea next to her giggled amused and shook her head, nibbling a cookie. Tea and biscuits were in front of them on the table as they had just decided to take a break.

“I don't think so”, grinned Thea amused. “But that sure sounded like they were having fun.”

“Fun doesn't even cover it”, grunted Herc and shuddered. “What the fuck were they doing...? No, I take it back. I don't want to know. I just want them to stop. This had been going on for hours.”

With a look at the clock they noticed that yes, it was way past noon by now. It had been hours. Nico glared slightly. She wanted sex too. It had been too freaking long now. And how was it fair that the four boys got to screw around all day while she slaved away with the ship? Not that she wanted any of them close, because the last maintenance things to be done were matters of fine-tuning and working with the engine. No way in Pluto was she going to let them anywhere close to Festus' mainframe. This last bit was hers and hers alone. After all, this was her mamá's baby and she was feeling way too guilty that the Argo II had been hurt at all.

“How much longer do you think you'll need?”, asked Thea curiously.

“I think I should be finished by sunset. But even if I finish early, I'd say we should wait until it's dark outside. Makes leaving easier until we're high enough. The cover of darkness and all”, answered Nico absentmindedly. “But I'll finish it. We are leaving today. So... Why don't you two go upstairs and enjoy the last day of having actual beds and all too? I can smell the hormones.”

Thea and Hercules blushed brightly and stared at each other before practically fleeing the room. Nico snorted amused and rolled her eyes fondly. Horny teenagers. Even though she remembered how it was as a horny teen, she was a little more mature than that. Damn, that thought made her feel old now. Technically speaking, she was old. She knew that in the days of her parents, it was unusual for demigods to even reach nineteen. Shaking her head, she stood. Time to get back to work.

 

/break\

 

Trend beneath him was fast asleep and completely spend. Good. Smirking wickedly, Sam sneaked out of the bed and hastily slipped into his sweat-pants. He tip-toed through the hall, over to his cousin's bedroom and entered without knocking. Sander was happily snoring already.

“Donny? Donny, are you awake?”, whispered Sam and walked up to the bed. “Disney Princess!”

“Mh...?”, grunted Donny and opened his eyes slowly. “What's it, Sam? Everything alright?”

“Yes! Everything's brilliant!”, exclaimed Sam with a broad grin and collapsed on the bed right next to Donny. “Trend does want me! And damn, he really wants me. And he had me!”

“Oh... So you two had sex?”, asked Donny, suddenly wide-awake. “Really? How was it?”

He sat up some more, pulling the blanket up to his waist, staring at Sam with curious eyes. The son of Ares was positively glowing, the brightest, happiest smile on his lips as he fell back and rested his head on Donny's lap. Grinning down at the brunette, Donny caressed the mohawk.

“Yes! We had totally amazing and mind-blowing sex!”, replied Sam with an enthusiastic nod. “I mean, I didn't know it could feel that way! I expected it to hurt like a bitch, what with... well... I mean... Leroy. And Roy was _way_ smaller than Trend, so I thought it would really... hurt...”

“But it didn't?”, asked Donny tentatively, his eyes softening.

“Well, a little. But as soon as it started hurting, Trend stopped and kissed me and he whispered stupid cheesy nonsense and was being all sweet and his hands were so tender when he touched me”, whispered Sam softly, a melancholic and a little sad smile on his lips. “He's so big, but he really knows how to handle that thing. He was so careful and it was so... great.”

“I'm happy for you”, smiled Donny.

“Yeah. Me too”, nodded Sam and turned around, curling together around Donny. “So... You and Sander? Had sex too? Or are you just naked and sweaty for fun?”

“We had fun. But no sex. Well, not real sex”, replied Donny and turned pink.

“What's unreal sex?”, frowned Sam confused, cocking his head.

“We had oral sex. But nothing with, you know, penetration. So it doesn't count”, explained Donny embarrassed, scratching his neck. “We want to wait until we're married. With the real sex.”

“Oral sex is not real sex. Wow. Consider my mind blown”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes. “Idiots. Horny idiots that are not too embarrassed to find excuses for any shit. Who did the sucking?”

“Uh, we both did?”, yelped Donny, feeling the level of embarrassment rise. “I mean, first I did him... a—and then he did me. It was really... intense. I mean, having his lips down there and all.”

“Tell me about it”, snorted Sam amused, with a slight blush of his own. “Trend rimmed me.”

“He did what?”, asked Donny confused before glaring. “If that's something bad, he'll-”

“He had his tongue up my ass”, hissed the son of Ares, blush darkening. “ _That_ was intense. But good. The really good kind of intense. I think I've never felt that relaxed. If you're into your fiance's foot-massages, then get him to massage you down there with his tongue. That rocks.”

Donny made a face, unsure how such a thing could be good for either of them, but then settling for accepting that Sam had enjoyed himself. “You know, Sander did something to me that rocked too.”

“What was that?”, asked Sam, his curiosity picked, sitting up some.

“H—He... _spanked_ me”, whispered Donny softly, giggling. “Now that was wow-worthy.”

Sam remained silent for a long moment, staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling. “Spanking, huh?”

“Yeah. It was kind of... interesting. Not sure if I want it to become a regular thing, but... every now and then, yeah”, nodded Donny and grinned. “I can't believe how... amazing Sander is.”

“Sander is even more amazing when he's well-rested”, muttered Sander. “Can you two shut up...?”


	51. Family Matters

51\. Family Matters

 

Dinner was big. It was their good-bye dinner, in a way. Tonight, they would set sails. Sam had given it all and made the most delicious stuff they had ever seen. Steaks – all kinds of them, especially perfectly English rump-steaks – and vegetables. Not just the 'piece of meat, grilled, now eat'-kind of it, but the way he prepared them made Sander's mouth water just looking at it. Thea and Herc were setting the table, while Donny helped Sam – or rather, he got taught one thing or another by the son of Ares – and Sander and Trend just stared drooling at the food (and their respective others in an apron). Though Trend wasn't all too fond of how friendly and touchy-feely Donny and Sam were. Nico was the last one to arrive, grease in her hair and on her clothes as she sat down with a broad, relieved smile. It seemed she had finished everything up. The climate was calm and happy as they finished setting the table. The more surprising was it to hear the sound of the front door being thrown shut and loud footsteps accompanied by loud cursing. The teens all bolted up and drew their weapons, readying themselves for an attack. It had been suspicious enough for them that not one monster had attacked the property in the last week with seven half-bloods living here.

“Where you hiding, pipsqueak?”, called a female voice loudly.

Sam froze up and made a face. “Fuck no. And don't call me a pipsqueak, you cunt!”

“Sam?”, asked Donny slowly, with a confused frown, lowering Skotha.

“It's just my completely useless cousin!”, answered Sam, loud enough so his cousin could hear it too. “What the fuck are _you_ doing here? Can't you crawl back into the hole you came from?!”

Sam's friends hastily put their weapons down – no one needed a mortal-freak-out. Trend stared intensely at his lover, noting how tense and irritated Sam looked. Donny and Sander came to stand behind him, looking between Sam and the door, awaiting the other Raser any second.

“Missus O'Brien called ma and told her that her 'darling, little nephew' is staying at the mansion and that he has his 'charming, handsome special boy' with him”, called the female voice back, not even hiding the snickering. “What kind of cousin would I be if I wouldn't get over here the next possible chance? You _never_ brought a boy home and pa send me to investigate, see if the lad is alright. So here I am, approving or disapproving of your choice of lover in the name of the family.”

As though she had timed the speech, she suddenly stood in the doorway, gripping each side with her hands and leaning leisurely in, painting a picture with her body in the frame. Trend stared surprised at the girl. She was like a mirror-image of Sam, just as a girl. The right side of her head was shaved down to maybe five millimeters, the other side was shoulder long and wavy brown, just like he remembered from Sam back before he had his mohawk. The tips of the curls were dyed a stark pink. Same bronze skin and same dark forest-green eyes. She didn't have much on the chest – an A at best – but she had _hips_. And the same wicked smirk as Sam.

“Those genes of yours are strong, huh?”, noted Donny surprised. “Your mom already looked an awful lot like you, but you two look like twins...”

“Huh. You got yourself a harem”, grinned the cousin with a wicked snicker, looking around.

“Shut the fuck up, bitch”, snarled Sam, flexing a fist next to his body.

“You shut the fuck up, asshole! Not calling for months and then you parade a boy around without even calling us first?”, grunted the girl and cocked her head.

The other teens slowly sat down so they were out of the way – not sure what two Rasers would do. Just as Sam's cousin sashayed into the kitchen, Sam turned to a cabinet and got two glasses and a bottle of whiskey out, pouring two shots. Once they stood next to each other, the girl took one of the glasses from him and they linked their arms before emptying the whiskey glasses in one go and then banging their heads in a way that made the others flinch and wince.

“Fucking hate you, cunt”, snickered Sam, resting his forehead against his cousin's.

“Fucking hate you more, dick”, replied his cousin.

Wrapping one arm around her shoulder, Sam turned toward his friends. “Guys, my oh-so beloved cousin Selene O'Riley. Sel, my friends. Sander, Donny, Herc, Thea, Nico and... Trend.”

“Oh!”, exclaimed Sel, her eyes sparkling with mischief before she sat down on Trend's lap, all up in his personal space, grabbing his face and tilting it this way and that to inspect. “Nice.”

“Get off him, skank”, warned Sam with a glare.

“I feel violated”, noted Trend unamused. “But I'll be taking this as a compliment, I suppose.”

“Totally is. You look way hotter than the pictures Sam has on his laptop”, grinned Sel and stood up, just to pull Trend's shirt up. “Wow. Sa~am? Get me some pictures of all of that.”

Pouring two more drinks, Sam sat down between Donny and Trend, grunting slightly. “Fuck you.”

“Your family is rather... interesting”, noted Thea, tilting her head amused.

Sel pulled a chair over to sit between Sam and Trend, much to the boys' dismay, before grabbing the drink and lifting it up in cheers, clinging the glass against Sam's, the cousins grinning. “Sláinte.”

Once both glasses were empty and put onto the table again, Sam and Sel regarded each other like two predators, ready to pounce and take the other out. There was a tension in the air that reminded the heroes of training situations in the arena. Short of a fight.

“Converted any gays lately?”, asked Sam with a snarl, cocking one eyebrow.

“Not since your ex”, snickered Sel with a dare in her eyes. “Converted any straights lately?”

“Not since _your_ ex”, replied Sam nonchalantly. “What? A couple well-taken pictures, well-chosen words and he's been eating out of the palm of my hand. Been facebook stalking me since then.”

“Wait. Which one?!”, exclaimed Sel wide-eyed. “Not Joseph! He's the love of my life!”

“Bitch. All of them are the love of your life”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes, counting off his fingers. “Michael has been the love of your life and the two of you wanted to run away. Luckily enough, you two only made it to the Starbucks around the corner before you ran out of money.”

“Starbucks is fucking expensive”, groaned Sel with a glare.

“Then there was Tom, whose _name_ you got tattooed on your thigh”, continued Sam, not minding his cousin. “Good thing he was called Tom so we could fix it to 'Endless Temptation'. Weird 'e'.”

“It has a deeper meaning!”, huffed Sel, her glare slowly turning into a pout.

“And Jordan, who you wanted to _convert_ for. You already were waving the menorah in front of aunt Maley and had a Star of David around your neck”, snorted the son of Ares and laughed. “At least until you got around to the fact that Jews don't eat pigs.”

“No fucking guy is worth giving up bacon!”, mumbled Sel around the piece of bacon she had stolen from Trend's plate. “Not even the fucking love of my fucking life, you fucker.”

“You guys should start eating before it gets cold. Rump-steak cools down pretty fast”, noted Sam with one raised eyebrow, staring at his friends as though they were being weirdos. “And you. What are you doing here? You didn't just come here to inspect my man, right?”

“Well, he is very... inspection-worthy”, grinned Sel and pushed Trend's shirt up once more. “Pics. I need pics of those. But no, when pa heard that you're back from the states and I suggested to come over and bug you, he gave me a package for you. Said you've been waiting for it.”

She fidgeted with a small box and handed it over to her cousin before running her hands over Trend's sixpack again. The blonde grunted annoyed and caught her wrist, glaring.

“Stop molesting me”, warned the son of Athena darkly. “You're Sam's cousin and that's the only thing that kept me from breaking your wrist so far. So don't test me.”

“Wow. He's even hotter when he's angry”, pointed Selene out, staring in awe.

“What's in the box?”, asked Thea, her Athena-curiosity picked.

“My uncle is kind of a relic hunter, well I call him that. He calls himself a private investigator, became one to look for his long-lost half-brother. Once he found him, the two of them started their business together, _O'Riley/Torrington Investigations_ ”, answered Sam slowly, eying the package. “I asked him to look for something a couple months back, but it took longer than anticipated.”

“Yeah, pa and uncle Alabaster got distracted by some kind of lead concerning the Ark of the Covenant”, snorted Sel and rolled her eyes, before turning toward Sam's friends. “See, since my pa found that 'long lost half-brother' of his who no one fucking knew about, he's all weird about shit. They keep looking for freaky stuff. Like, they were hunting for Excalibur last year. Acting like that shit is real. Ma blames Sam. He's always had too fucking much fantasy. Contagious is what she says about it. But pa has fun like a little boy hunting for this shit and it brings a whole lot of money because there are enough freaks looking for shit like that, so she's fine. So yeah, even though pa has a whole lot of shit to do, he still did Sam that favor. And of course, Sam's new boy has to be checked. Because little Sammy is always been the most favorite darling of the family, right?”

“'Has always been' and fuck you”, muttered Sam embarrassed, elbowing Selene.

“Yeah, yeah. Shut up”, grunted Sel and pulled Sam up to push him over to Trend until the brunette was sitting on the blonde's lap. “There you go. Pose for the camera. Ma demanded pics.”

Donny leaned back some, observing with soft eyes how the cousins fell into another banter while Sel walked around the couple and took pictures from every angle. It was weird, he couldn't even begin to picture calling Bianca a cunt or anything alike, yet in their very own way, Sam and Sel reminded him of himself and his big sister. Just... more rude. It made his heart ache in a way, seeing Sam blushing and hiding his face in the crook of his boyfriend's neck while his cousin took pictures and babbled on about how she would definitely send them to her aunt Jolene too. Here Sam was, showing off his boyfriend of a week to his family and Donny hadn't even come around to tell his parents about his _fiance_ , even though Donny had always considered himself to be close to his parents and siblings. This wasn't him. Frowning upset with himself, Donny stood.

“Where are you going, my Dark Sea?”, asked Sander wide-eyed, grabbing for his hand.

“Something I have to take care of. I won't be long”, smiled Donny softly and left the kitchen.

Once in the hall, he looked for the darkest corner and left through the shadows. His landings still weren't perfect, because he ended up with his behind on a plate of salad right in front of his mom. Percy startled and yelped, staring doe-eyed at his son, before jumping up and hugging him.

“Oh my gods, what are you doing here, tesorino?”, whispered Percy relieved, hugging him even tighter. “Wait. What _are_ you doing here? You're supposed to be on a quest! Are you alright? Do you need help? Did something happen? Are the others alright?”

“Percy. Take a breath before you hyperventilate, love. And give our son the chance to answer.”

Donny nodded in agreement and looked at his dad grateful. Blushing slightly, Percy let go of their son, giving him enough space to climb off the table and pick the lettuce off his butt. Once he was cleaned off his parents' lunch, Donny turned toward his worried and curious parents.

“Well, why are you here?”, asked Percy once more, this time a little calmer.

“Because Sam and Trend are dating”, started Donny, not making much sense to his parents.

“That's nice! Tell Sam that I'm proud of him!”, exclaimed Percy delighted, yet confused.

“No, you miss the point! They only started dating a week ago and he already got to tell his family and I realized that dad doesn't even know that Sander and I are together and it frustrated me, because I love you guys and I normally always tell you everything first!”, corrected Donny.

“I know that you and the Rodriguez-brat are dating. Your mom told me”, chuckled Nico.

“Oh... Okay”, nodded Donny a bit relieved and embarrassed.

“That's it?”, asked the son of Hades curiously. “You shadow-traveled home just to tell me that you and Sander are dating? You're a sweet thing, just like your mom, Donny.”

“No. It's not just that”, mumbled Donny and blushed slightly. “We had this stupid task during our quest where we needed to reveal our best kept secret and Sander confessed that he was carrying an engagement ring around because he wanted to ask for my hand because our lives as heroes are so dangerous and then I just said yes, even though technically speaking, he never really asked me for my hand. But he wanted to ask me, because heroes live dangerous lives and every quest could be the last one and if one of us dies, we want to be special to each other, we don't want to be left alone as boyfriends, but as husbands. But then I had to think of how _every_ quest is dangerous and what if something happens during this quest and I don't make it and I never got to even tell you that Sander and I are engaged and that I love him more than my own life and you would never know and that would break my heart more than dieing would, because you're my parents and I love you!”

“Breathing. Just like your mother, you need to learn how to breath”, grunted Nico, trying to progress everything his son had just told him. “You're telling me that you're not just _dating_ Clarisse's boy, but that you two are _engaged_? And he never came around to ask for our allowance?”

“Well, he's going to, because we want to get married before Christmas”, mumbled Donny and blushed brightly. “Because of the dangers and all. He is the greatest hero, so... if next summer comes a quest that may... may cost him his life, I don't just want to be the heartbroken boyfriend. We want something meaningful. Something that lasts. Because _we_ will last.”

“You really love him”, smiled Percy softly, taking his son's hand to inspect the engagement ring. “Wow. That's a beauty. Well... Give me some time to cool your dad down enough so he won't grill Sander before you two come around _together_ , okay? But... I'm happy for you, Donny.”

The son of Poseidon hugged Donny tightly, kissing his forehead tenderly. Nico was a little frozen, but he saw the expression in his son's eyes. It was the same kind of love he had seen in Percy's eyes every day since they had gotten together. Donny loved like a Jackson, with all of his heart and soul. Regardless of how much Nico hated the idea of his baby boy already wanting to get married, he knew just how much a Jackson loved and he would not be the one to standing in the way of Donny's love. He just had to convey the message to Sander. Just how fucking lucky that boy was to have someone love him like that. Oh, that was going to be a conversation he was looking forward to.

“A—And Nico said it would surely calm you a little to know that San and I want to wait with... uh, well, sex until we're married?”, added Donny with the most furious blush possible.

Okay, so maybe the Rodriguez-brat wasn't all that bad. Nico nodded slowly, hugging Donny again.

“I love you, kiddo”, said the son of Hades softly. “And I'm happy for you. I'm still going to chew him out though, you know that, right? Now get back to your important quest.”

Donny nodded, giving his parents the most brilliant smile. It was a relief, knowing that they knew. Sharing his joy over being engaged to the most amazing guy on this planet with his parents. Still, shadow-traveling really exhausted him and he knew he was going to sleep through until they were in Germany, most likely. Receiving good-bye kisses on the cheeks, he left again.

 

/break\

 

Selene and Nico were dancing lasciviously on top of the table, two empty bottles of whiskey laying on the floor. Herc and Sander were cheering them on and laughing loudly while Thea documented all of it with Selene's phone, giggling to herself. They were all pretty wasted, but demigods had a rather high metabolism so Sam hoped they'd be half sober by the time they left. For now the goal was to get Sel so drunk she won't notice them taking off with a giant ship. He would leave her a note about how they had to continue their road-trip schedule and that was that.

“Where are we going, Sammy?”, asked Trend as he was pulled out of the living room.

“I... I have to give you something”, whispered the son of Ares, fidgeting with the package.

“The thing your uncle had been searching for your?”, grunted the blonde curiously. “What is it?”

“It's your birthday present, actually”, confessed Sam, obviously embarrassed, handing the package over to Trend. “I know it's like six months late, but I only got into it like a week before your birthday and uncle Liam and Alabaster had a hard time tracking it down and-”

“Sammy, slow down”, interrupted Trend amused, not yet opening the box. “What is it?”

“You remember a week before your birthday? When we and the boys were at the beach?”, asked Sam softly, earning him a nod from Trend. “How Derek asked you what you wanted, because he wanted to buy you a watch because you never wear one and how you answered?”

“Yes”, answered Trend slowly. “I don't wear watches because the only watch I ever cared about was my grandfather's pocket watch that I had to sell after my father died so... I could even afford to get from Seattle to New York. Having another watch would just be like... trying to replace them...”

“Yeah”, nodded the son of Ares, running one hand through his mohawk. “So I... talked to my uncle and told him that and he had some trouble tracking down the jewelry store in Seattle because Seattle has fucking many jewelry stores and then he had to track down the guy who had bought it and that jerk had already sold it to someone else and anyway, it was a little complicated so it took way longer than anticipated, even though I knew he wouldn't be able to get it in time for your birthday anyway. But he got it, obviously. And it's kind of hard to send it to me, what with me living in New Athens anyway, so I'm not even sure how long he's had it yet. Open the fucking package already.”

Sam was rambling so fast and nervously that Trend didn't even catch half the things he said, but the last sentence was Sam's no-nonsense voice, so he jumped slightly. While he opened the package slowly, the words caught up with him and his eyes widened in disbelieve. It couldn't be. But once the item within the box was revealed, Trend knew better. He stared wide-eyed, his fingers shaking a bit as he reached out and took the small, round metal-object out of the box. Pressing the button to pop the lid, he traced the all-too familiar Roman numbers around the elegant clock face. Slowly turning it around in his hand, he ran his fingertips over the engraving on the back. _Ignatius Austin_.

“S—Sam...”, whispered Trend, his voice cracking. “This is my grandfather's pocket watch... The one he had gotten from his father for his eighteenth birthday, the one he had given to my father on his eighteenth birthday, the one... he wanted to give to me... on my eighteenth birthday...”

“Thank the gods”, sighed Sam relieved. “It would have seriously sucked if uncle Liam had tracked down the wrong watch after all these months now. Then again, I figured there aren't that many guys named Ignatius Austin out there... You never said it's your grandfather's name.”

“I... Sam...”, started Trend, unsure how to phrase what he was feeling right now, but then just pulling Sam into a bone-crushing hug, resting his forehead on Sam's shoulder. “Do you have any idea how much this means to me, Sammy? This is...”

“Of course I do”, grunted Sam, voice soft and full of love. “It's the only thing you have left from your dad. From your grandpa. From your _family_. If I had only one thing to remind me of my family, I would give anything to get it back after losing it. After you told that story to Derek, I just... I had to find that stupid watch for you. Uncle Liam said it was a lost cause, but Alabaster was pretty determined, said if they had managed to find each other again, they could find a watch too...”

“Sam”, said Trend once more, as though just saying his name was all that needed saying.

“Stop saying my name. I know my name”, huffed Sam and pushed Trend off some. “Look, don't make a big deal out of this, okay? I just... It's something I had to do, you know?”

“No”, grunted Trend and shook his head. “I don't know. I mean, the only thing my _boyfriend_ did after I told him was buy me a watch. And you didn't _have_ to do anything.”

“I did”, corrected Sam and wrapped his arms around Trend's neck, pulling him close again until their foreheads were resting against each other. “Because I love you. Because I can't even picture not having my family and I was, no am, feeling awful that you don't have your family anymore.”

“That's not true”, whispered Trend, clutching the watch close to his heart, pressing his lips against Sam's forehead. “I have a family. I have you. And the others. Marshall, Sander... Our friends.”

“Yeah”, nodded Sam slowly. “Yeah, you got me. And you're not getting rid of me any time soon, just so you know it. I'm thick-headed. And this was totally egoistic, because I want you to give that watch to Eli on his eighteenth birthday. There, I said it and made a total fool of myself.”

“No, you didn't”, smiled Trend softly, kissing Sam. “Because that's totally what I'm going to do.”


	52. Seven Heroes Crossing Waters

52\. Seven Heroes Crossing Waters

 

It was dark outside, pitch-black even, as the seven heroes tiptoed out of the mansion. Selene O'Riley was snoring loudly on the couch. The perfect opportunity to sneak off. Sander was carrying not only his and Donny's bags, but also Donny himself. Shadow-traveling really knocked Donny out of his shoes, which really had Sander concerned. Why had his Dark Sea shadow-traveled to begin with? Once on board of the ship, Sander first headed to one of the four still intact sleeping cabins. He was looking forward to sharing a cabin with his fiance. Donny grunted slightly in his sleep as he was placed on top of the slim bed. Making grabby motions, Donny pulled Sander close.

“No”, chuckled Sander and freed himself from his lover's grasp. “Bad Dark Sea, out. I have to help getting the ship ready. You just stay here and rest, I'll come to cuddle with you as soon as possible.”

“Cuddle”, mumbled Donny sleepily and smiled contently.

Though just before Sander had a chance to leave, Donny tugged on his sleep. “What is it, love?”

“Do bad Dark Seas get spankings?”, asked Donny softly, staring up at Sander with half-lid eyes.

“Y—You're _horrible_ ”, grunted Sander and blushed. “Go back to sleep, naughty Disney Princess.”

“I love you too, my brave hero”, grinned Donny impishly.

Shaking his head, Sander hurried out of the cabin. He couldn't stay there with a horny, cheeky Donny. How were they supposed to finish this quest with their hormones raging like that? Grunting annoyed, Sander emerged on deck where everything seemed set for them to leave. Thea was in the crow's nest while Trend and Herc were readying the sails. Nico was in the middle of getting them off the ground. Who seemed to be the most interesting however was Sam, because the son of Ares was in the middle of a conversation with a ghost. Stepping up to his Greek best friend, Sander cocked his head, staring intensely at the ghost of Merlin.

“What are you doing here?”, asked Sander with a glare, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder.

He didn't like the ghost. This guy had made them bear their souls for a scrape of truth. Useless truth. It wasn't like Berlin was a small town or anything, after all. This guy had confronted Sam with that one thing the son of Ares had buried deep within his soul. And Sam was still digesting this confrontation, that much was obvious to Sander. Sam wasn't the type of guy to feel insecure and cry about it, yet that was exactly what had happened earlier this day. With Sam so distracted and out of it, their chances of success was more than slim, because Sam was their best hero. Sander was aware of that. He was only a legacy, but through Sam's veins pulsed so much more power.

“I'm here because I was feeling bad about how things went”, smiled Merlin. “So I figured I may owe you a little more. I have a prophecy for you. If you're interested in 'some shitty riddle', that is.”

“Whatever”, muttered Sam with a glare, shifting to lean against Sander.

“Seven Heroes Crossing Waters, Six Sons not Defied

Five Friends as Backup, Four Greeks not Allied

Three Hours Left Fighting, Two Sides of the Same

One Love Left Dying, Zero Ways Out of the Game”, recited Merlin before fading. “Good luck.”

“Well, ghosts can count to seven, wow”, grunted Sam displeased.

“I don't like the part about love and dying”, frowned Sander upset and wrapped one arm around Sam to steer him over to the other two boys. “Did you hear that? Our very own prophecy. Yay.”

“Hercules, if you could take over your girlfriend's shift, I would like to discuss this little nursery rhyme with her”, ordered Trend with hard eyes, sneaking one arm around Sam's waist.

“I'm not a teddy bear, guys”, grunted Sam and glared from Sander to Trend. “And Sander, why don't you take over Thea's shift? Donny is out and needs some rest after whatever weird shadow-traveling stunt he had pulled earlier so you and your dick don't need to distract him.”

Sander gave an embarrassed sound, close to a whine, as he turned toward the crow's nest. Trend cocked one eyebrow at that, staring curiously at his boyfriend. Popping his neck, Sam pulled his storm lighter out of his pocket, clicking it open. He pointed the tip at Herc.

“Prophecies make me uneasy. While you two brainiacs figure this shit out, I want to train”, declared Sam with a hard glare. “And when I train with Sander, it's only routines anyway. I've never sparred with Herc, so I think kicking his ass sounds like a relaxing task to end the day.”

Trend nodded in understanding, he knew that training was something Sam did to cope, because it made him feel stronger. And prophecies that already involved death-threats were highly concerning. Still, before he left, he pulled Herc aside, with a vice-grip on the other blonde's arm.

“If your hands wander places where they're not supposed to be, I will know and I will break them.”

Herc just stared at him wide-eyed and nodded. With an amused chuckle, Thea walked up to them and pulled Trend along to save her boyfriend from being killed by glares.

“Okay, so you guys just received a prophecy if I see that right?”, asked Thea curiously.

Trend nodded silently as the two of them entered the captain's cabin – the only room aside from the four sleeping quarters still left whole. If Nico had bothered repairing them fully, they would still be stuck in England. Once inside, the two pulled out their laptops. Well, Thea pulled out Daedalus' laptop and Trend pulled out the recently upgraded laptop of Sam. A smile slid onto his lips as the laptop was up, the new background shining at him brightly. He had uploaded the pictures Selene had taken of him and Sam onto the laptop right before they had left. The picture was perfect, a blushing Sam half hiding in the crook of Trend's neck, tugged under the blonde's chin. A fond smile that looked startling much like One, True Love laid on Trend's lips. He hadn't known that he looked that way when he looked at Sam, but if that was really his Sam-expression, then it was shameful for Sam not to have noticed Trend's feelings sooner. Seriously. There was a shy, tender smile on Sam's lips as he had his eyes averted. Probably out of embarrassment because his cousin had been bragging on how those photos would go viral through all of the Raser-O'Riley family and friends of the family (aka Mrs. O'Brien). Still, Trend loved that smile, nearly as much as the radiant one that could light up a room with ease. Because this one was the vulnerable smile, the one he had reserved for his ma. That Trend was allowed to see it too was a big honor and only one more proof of how much Sam loved him. Shaking his head, he tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Prophecy. Opening a new document, he typed the prophecy up and threw it onto one of the big screens at the wall, Thea's laptop connected to the other screen so both teens could easily see each other's work.

_Seven Heroes Crossing Waters, Six Sons not Defied_

_Five Friends as Backup, Four Greeks not Allied_

_Three Hours Left Fighting, Two Sides of the Same_

_One Love Left Dying, Zero Ways Out of the Game_

“Okay”, nodded Thea with a thoughtful expression, opening a new document of her own. “Let's start with the easiest part. The obvious part. Seven Heroes Crossing Waters. We sailed over the ocean to Europe. And we happen to be seven heroes. First part fulfilled, huh?”

She typed that down while Trend glared at the next. “What six sons though?”

“Brothers, perhaps? Maybe six gods or demigods or no idea... Maybe our enemy?”, frowned Thea.

“Fire Friends as Backup, Four Greeks not Allied”, read Trend to himself in a soft voice. “I suppose we're getting backup, but it's unsettling to know that we're going to need backup. And the 'not allied' part about the Greeks is disturbing too. Does it mean they're not our allies? Or that they haven't decided yet with who they're going to ally with?”

“Let's leave that out for now, get everything through once before we break our brains on the harder parts”, suggested Thea softly. “Three Hours Left Fighting, must mean... huh... our battle will be decided in a time frame of three hours? And are the two sides related to the time?”

“Maybe it refers to who will decide the battle? Two Sides of the Same sounds like siblings to me”, frowned Trend and clawed his fingers into his hair. “No... maybe not siblings. Two Sides of the Same. Like the two aspects of a god? A half-blood of the counter aspect of one of our parents? Like a child of Mars to oppose Sammy, or a child of Mercury against Sander...?”

“Over-thinking”, warned Thea sharply and continued. “One Love Left Dying, Zero Ways out of the Game. Which is pretty obvious. Someone has to die or we're stuck in the 'game'. The battle.”

“Someone has to die for love”, corrected Trend, minimizing the word document and staring at the laptop's background. “Take a look around. I can easily see any of us taking this line for themselves.”

“So, basically, we're screwed”, groaned Thea, hitting her forehead against the tabletop.

 

/break\

 

Sam was panting hard, highly satisfied as sweat was running down his face. He was sure to get back to Herc for future sparring. The way the Roman moved was edgy and sharp, Herc had complete control over his body when he was fighting. It was intense and interesting. New. Sam liked new.

“You're good. A little mechanical at times, but good”, grinned the son of Ares, clapping Herc's shoulder. “Now, how about we hit the showers? I for my part feel sticky.”

“No!”, exclaimed Herc wide-eyed and shook his head. “I mean-”

“You mean you don't want to share a shower?”, interrupted Sam half-amused, cocking one eyebrow.

“Uh... Well...”, muttered Herc, embarrassed and ashamed, brightly blushed.

“No problem”, grunted the son of Ares and shook his head. “I'm used to straights feeling uncomfortable about sharing a shower. I guess I get that you'd be uncomfortable, you _are_ my type, after all. Tall, blonde and handsome. You go first, I'll go and check on Donny. Give me a word when you're finished, yeah? And stop looking like a kicked puppy.”

Herc nodded numbly and stared after Sam's sweaty, retreating form. He did not stare at the way the muscles in Sam's back flexed with every proud stride or the way that perfectly shaped ass swayed.

“You know, I'm pretty sure that if Trend would be here at the moment, he'd tear your balls off”, noted Nico casually, grinning amused. “Your personal Elysium would involve a foursome with Thea, Sam and Sam's motorbike, right you little perv?”

“Fuck you”, muttered Herc miserably, combing his longish hair back with his fingers. “It's not that rare for our kind to be attracted to more than one person. Go shake your own family tree.”

Nico laughed amused and shook her head. Not everybody always got what they wanted, she knew that from her own experience all too well. A small smile remained on her lips. Wow, it didn't hurt as much to think that as it had a month ago. The thought of Kara with the rainbow-brat didn't cause that agonizing clench of her heart anymore. Which probably was a good sign. She had to tell Joe. Which probably was a concerning sign. That she always wanted to share all good news with Joe right away. The very last thing Nico needed was another heartbreak at the hands of a friend.

 

/break\

 

Donny was laying on his back, bored out of his mind. Too much shadow-traveling left him practically immobilized, which was boring as heck. It was why they were taking the ship to begin with. If Donny would be as powerful as his dad, he could have just traveled all of them to their destination. But even carrying himself was too much for him still. Staring up at the ceiling, he observed the seven beautifully sparkling fireflies as they performed tricks to entertain them.

“Hey, you're awake”, whispered a soft voice. “Can I come in or do you want more rest?”

“I'm not hurt, I just spend all my energy”, grunted Donny annoyed. “Get in here, Sam.”

The son of Ares flopped down on the bed within a second, crossing his arms behind his head. Grunting at how straining the movement was, Donny cuddled up to his best friend, resting his head on Sam's chest. Both their eyes fixed on the glowing insects above them.

“You're sticky and smelly”, noted Donny tired. “That's kinda ew. Did you and Trend have sex?”

“No, Herc's at fault for that sticky and smelly”, laughed Sam amused. “We trained together.”

“Mhmh...”, nodded Donny drowsily, snuggling up even more. “I told mom and dad about the engagement. I think they took it well. Though dad looked ready to shadow-travel himself and kick Sander's butt, at least until he looked at me. I don't know, he must have seen something that changed his mind. I... had to tell them, I mean, what if something happens during this quest...?”

“Don't say bullshit like that”, warned Sam annoyed. “Nothing is going to happen to you. I saw it in the future, I mean, I saw your brats. Which means you're both going to live for at least another ten years. So don't pull a sad puppy, di Angelo.”

“ _The future you have been shown is only a possibility. There are plenty more._ ”

Donny jumped slightly at the sudden voice, staring wide eyed up at the fireflies that seemed to return his stare intensely. Shuddering, Donny curled together in himself against Sam's side.

“What's that supposed to mean?”, asked Donny softly. “Plenty more?”

Sam opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but then he noticed that the Disney Princess seemed to be talking to the insects. Frowning curiously, he looked between them, waiting.

“ _By showing you the future, the Fee changed it, for humans tend to act irrational once they know their future. The future is a crossroads of possibilities. It is by far not written in stone._ ”

“Now that is really not reassuring”, sighed Donny, rubbing his nose against Sam's chest.

“Do I even want to know?”, questioned Sam with one cocked eyebrow.

“Not really, no”, chuckled Donny sadly. “Can you... do me a favor? I'm really tired, but there are things that simply need to go into my diary. Can you write for me and I dictate?”

“You trust me enough to take your diary?”, asked Sam surprised and sat up.

“Of course I trust you, stupid”, smiled Donny softly. “Besides, if you read it, I'll go all underworldly brat on your ass once I'm recharged. My diary is in my bag, all the way at the bottom.”

 

/diary|entry\

 

_Hello, Donny's diary, I am not Donny. I'm Sam and Donny said to write 'I'm Sam, Donny's best friend', but it feels kind of weird to say that about myself. So, Donny is kind of knocked out at the moment because the moron shadow-traveled to tell his parents about his engagement. Ouch. He just hit me. So I should probably start writing what he's dictating me. Wow, son of Ares, turned into the diary-writing-bitch of a whiny Disney Princess. Damn it. I'm still not going to write first person because that feels just weird and 'I' don't feel excited about 'my' engagement to Sander. Which, wow, weird thought. But Donny does. The brat is practically glowing. It's kind of sweet. I hope I get to glow like that too one day. Damn, nothing that belongs into Donny's diary. Fuck this. -S-_

_Hello, diary. Now it's really me. Sam handed me the pen and glared. He's not very good at writing down what others tell him to. Then again, he generally isn't good at doing what others tell him to do. Kind of reminds me of earlier today. I had sex with Sander! Uh, not that Sam reminds me of sex and I actually didn't really have real sex with Sander, we only sucked each other off and then there was the spanking! Which is what I just wanted to get at. Sander told me that generally seen spankings are more like a punishment and Sam and his big mouth make me think that maybe it would help his social skills if Trend would establish some punishments... -D-_

_Okay, I got to interrupt that damn Disney Princess right here. I. Do. Not. Need. Spankings. Fuck this. And I also don't need help with my fucking social skills, they rock. Especially not from Trend. How fucking ridiculous would that be? I am the one who taught him social skills, damn it. -S-_

_Which I totally doubt. And Sam needs to stop stealing my pen. Where was I? Right. I'm totally sure that Sam could use some 'discipline'. I TOTALLY SAW THAT CURIOUS GLEAM IN HIS EYES! -D-_

_There was no such gleam in my fucking eyes and Donny is a lying, little twat. -S-_

_This diary entry is going to confuse me to no end later on. Wow. So, the reason I had asked my dear best friend kindly to write the entry for me was that I'm excited about my engagement to Sander. We're engaged. Really, properly engaged. I'm engaged to the most amazing man ever. And I can already see my wedding. Black. I mean, who needs a white wedding? Everybody can have a white wedding. That's totally boring. I want a black wedding, though the bridesmaids need to wear blue. Bright, embarrassing blue. Nico, Thea and Sam are going to look so pretty in their dresses -D-_

_I am not going to wear a fucking dress on your wedding, Disney Princess. I'll be your best man. -S-_

_Nico and Thea are going to look so pretty in their dresses and Sam is going to be an awesome (and totally boring) best man. Or maybe Sander wants Sam as his best man...? I mean, I know that Sam and Herc both are Sander's best friends. I guess it's good that Sander and I are getting married, that way we don't need to get a custody deal on Sam. We're just going to share him. -D-_

_I fucking hate you, princess. Just... hate you. Do not sign me up as godparent for your brats. -S-_

_Sam went to the future and met mine and Sander's kids (which was one of the main reasons why it was so easy for me to say yes to Sander, because I'm eager for the future Sam saw). And Sam is going to be the godparent, whatever he may say. He doesn't have a say in this. He's mine, my best friend, like the very only friend I made all on my own. So he doesn't have a say in this. -D-_

_I feel emotionally violated by a possessive princess. I think I have to burn his diary, I have a suspicion that this thing includes more embarrassing stuff about me. Once again, I hate you. -S-_

_Sam doesn't hate me. I know deep down, he loves me. I mean, we did go on a date with me. I tell you, him and me, we would have been a total power couple without Trend and Sander in the way. Heh. The thought is kind of funny. The fireflies told me earlier that there are different kinds of futures out there. I wonder if there is a future where Sam and me would have stayed together. -D-_

_So, I didn't want to steal his pen again, but I have to comment on this shit. Which one of us would have bottomed, di Angelo? I mean, seriously? You're a bottom, I'm a bottom. We wouldn't work. -S-_

_For the record (even though we could as well **talk** about it because we're sitting next to each other), I would totally dominate you, Samuel Raser. You wouldn't just be my writing-bitch anymore. -D-_

 

/diary|end\

 

“You would totally dominate me?”, laughed Sam loudly, wheezing breathlessly. “Fuck, that's hilarious. You don't say shit like that! And seriously? _You_ would dominate _me_? Hah.”

“I just wanted to write an entry on my engagement with Sander”, whined Donny and curled together around Sam. “You had to distract me. If you would have just written what I was saying, this thing could already be finished. I think Trend really should consider disciplining you.”

“Fuck you”, snorted Sam, still amused as he was focused on Donny 'totally dominating' him.

“Though you have to admit that you had a curious look on your face when I told you that Sander spanked me”, pointed Donny out, smirking slightly, poking him. “Come on, we're best friends.”

Sighing in defeat, Sam took Donny's diary and laid it onto the nightstand before cuddling up to Donny, his arms around the smaller boy. “It's... I don't know. I mean, maybe. I never really thought about it, at least not... really. Not in a way that I'd admit to myself that I was thinking about it. But it's never going to happen anyway. I mean, look at how uncomfortable Trend was feeling about touching me because he doesn't want to hurt me or force me into anything. Like fuck he's going to even consider spanking me. Now go back to writing 'Donny Rodriguez' with little hearts into your diary, princess. We're done talking about my sex-life, you little perv.”

 

/diary|entry\

 

_Donny Rodriguez, Mh, no, I don't like the sound of that. Sander di Angelo. Chrysander di Angelo._


	53. The Exceptions of Sex

53\. The Exceptions of Sex

 

Donny was panting hard, completely breathless and feeling just the tiniest bit dizzy as he blocked another attack from Trend. The blonde was merciless, even though Donny was close to just falling over. But Trend had said that any enemy of theirs won't take a break for Donny's sake either. Such things only happened in movies and shows so the good guys got to arrive just in the nick of time. Looking at the prophecy they had received, Donny was grateful for the merciless training. Donny would not be the damsel in distress in this. He refused to be that. Mostly so because he knew that Sander would gladly die if it meant to save Donny. So Donny had to be strong enough for himself.

“You keep getting better, princess. I'm proud of you”, noted Sam with a grin.

“Would you mind focusing on _me_?”, huffed Herc with a glare, attacking the brunette again.

“Oh, babe, I'm only focused on you”, smirked Sam with a teasing wink, throwing Herc off-guard and thus landing a hit. “You on the other hand shouldn't let yourself get distracted so easily.”

Thea bit back a laugh at the flustered expression on her boyfriend's face once the blonde Roman laid beneath Sam. She was about eighty-six percent sure that Sam had caught on with Herc's feelings by now. If not, she would be disappointed in Sam's observation skills. After all, he _was_ a hero, he observed. And Herc was so bad at hiding his feelings, it was nearly painful. Though her musings on her boyfriend were interrupted as Sander thrust his sword at her.

The prophecy had them all edgy, so while Nico steered them toward their destination, the others paired up and trained on deck. Sander with Thea, Sam with Herc and Trend with Donny. To mix it up, so the couples wouldn't get a chance to go easy on their respective other. Nico was relieved that for once, their hormones didn't go wild. She for her part wasn't much of a sword-person anyway. Her father had taught her how to use a bow before she had learned how to walk.

“Okay. Time for a break”, decided Trend as he noticed Donny's crossed eyes. “I don't need you to faint on me, di Angelo. You others should take a break too. Lunch, showers, napping.”

The five others nearly collapsed on the spot as their drill sergeant (as they had started to call him behind his back) allowed them to rest. Though before Sam went down, he wrapped his arms around Trend's waist and pulled the blonde with him. Chuckling amused, Trend shifted them so Sam was sitting on his lap, with his legs on either side of the son of Athena and his arms around the blonde's neck, head neatly tugged under Trend's chin. Trend's arms laid around Sam's waist, his hands where they 'ought to be' (another very embarrassing conversation with Sander who explicitly explained to him that Sam wanted to be touched and he especially wanted Trend's hands on his ass).

“You smell nice”, mumbled Sam, rubbing his nose against Trend's collarbone. “Like musk and sweat. Kinda like sex. Mh... Can we have sex? Please?”

“No, you can't”, grunted Sander and rolled his eyes, laying sprawled over the floor next to Trend, having Donny curled together on top of him. “We agreed that for now, we need to focus on the task at hand. No distracting each other. Which means no sex. Not even blowjobs.”

“What about spankings?”, asked Donny with a pout. “They're not sex.”

“Spankings, huh?”, teased Trend with one cocked eyebrow. “Where did the innocent princess go?”

“He's a fucking little perv, is what he is”, muttered Sam, tugging the collar of Trend's shirt down with his teeth so he could lick along Trend's collarbone. “Fuck. I want you so badly right now.”

“He always gets horny after fighting, doesn't he?”, pointed Sander out, raising one eyebrow in amusement, one hand in Donny's neck, caressing it softly. “I can already see the two of you locking yourselves into a bedroom for a week at least once this quest is done.”

“He's a son of Ares, his blood boils after a victorious fight”, smirked Trend, kneading the hard ass.

“I want you”, growled Sam, more edgy but also more wanton this time around, his voice a low whisper in Trend's ear as he bit his boyfriend's earlobe. “I want your giant, thick, delicious cock deep, deep inside of me. I want you to fuck me hard, until I'm all open just for you.”

“If we're really going to stick with the no-sex rule, I need a gag for him”, declared Trend heatedly.

“You know, it may actually help if you'd remove your hands from his ass”, advised Herc unamused, rolling his eyes annoyed.”Focus, guys. We'll reach Berlin in the evening. Where do we start?”

“The animal park. There is a zoo in Berlin, but there's also a Tierpark. An animal park. So... I guess we start there”, answered Donny softly. “Maybe we should uh... park the ship there.”

“You don't park a ship. It's not a car, di Angelo”, grunted Nico and rolled her eyes. “But yeah, we can do that. Animals, huh? Do you have... any hunch which animals though?”

“It must be animals that I can talk to, otherwise this would be kind of futile”, muttered Donny thoughtful. “But that doesn't particularly narrow it down, I mean, I _am_ the Disney Princess.”

“Gods, I love you”, laughed Sam amused, leaning over to ruffle Donny's hair. “You're too cute.”

Pouting slightly, Donny stuck his tongue out at his best friend before turning to hide in Sander's chest. Sander's strong, muscular, delicious chest. How was he supposed to resist that man? It was going to be impossible. And after the blowjobs and the spankings and the everything-that-involved-a-naked-Sander, it became decidedly harder not to bend over and beg Sander to fuck him.

Leaning up, he kissed Sander's pulse-point. “I want you. I want you as much as Sam wants Trend.”

“Don't talk bullshit”, interrupted Sam, poking Donny's back with his foot. “That's impossible.”

“It is”, objected Donny, swatting the foot away. “You already had him, after all. You know what Trend feels like when he's within you. I don't. I know what Sander looks like and how he tastes and how he feels when I touch him, but I don't know what he feels like when he's inside of me.”

“Can you both _please_ shut up?”, interrupted Herc seriously annoyed, rubbing his face. “Really.”

Thea laughed softly and leaned up to kiss the corner of Herc's mouth. “Don't be a spoil-spot.”

“Focus. For the love of my grandfathers, please focus”, grunted Nico annoyed. “You horny bastards. Am I really the only one with a clear mind around here?”

“Clear, right”, snorted Sam teasingly. “I saw the way you were rubbing against my cousin before we left the manor. You're just as horny as we are, but you lack a willing partner.”

“Your cousin was _very_ willing. At least until she passed out”, sighed Nico wistfully.

“Yeah, she always turns bi-curious when she's drunk”, snickered the son of Ares amused.

“I solemnly swear that we'll get you laid before the end of the year”, offered Donny with a smile.

“Right. Now go and take a shower, guys. You reek”, ordered Nico annoyed, glaring at them.

“Yes, sir”, chimed the three couples teasingly.

 

/break\

 

Trend, Sander and Herc nearly ran into the wall as they entered the bathroom, because Sam and Donny were naked aside from the short towels wrapped around their waists. The Italian and the Ire laughed as they dashed off down the hall toward Sander/Donny's cabin.

“Okay, I get why Trend and I just got distracted. But what about you, Herc?”, grunted Sander confused, rubbing his nose (okay, he hadn't just 'nearly' ran into the wall...). “What's up, dude?”

“The dude wants to get it on with my boyfriend”, growled the son of Athena with a nasty glare.

“T—That's not true”, hissed Herc and blushed embarrassed as the three boys entered the bathroom.

“Right”, snorted Trend. “That's why you've been staring at Sammy's ass just now.”

“Just because I like... looking at him”, confessed the blonde Roman reluctantly. “But that doesn't mean I want to 'get it on' with him. I like him, a lot. But not in a way where I would do anything he doesn't want and we all know how much he loves you, Austin. He'd never be unfaithful to you.”

“You like him a lot, but you don't want to have sex with him...? Dude, is that a thing?”, asked Sander completely confused, cocking his head. “How does that even work...?”

Herc growled embarrassed, feeling as though he would burst. “I worship the fucking ground he's walking on, okay?! I've always idolized him, since I first met him! I adore him, I just want to be close to him and actually being friends with him is more than my heart can stand!”

Sander looked confused for another moment, before his face brightened. “Oh. I get it. He's like the Percy to your Sam. When Sam first came to New Athens, he read everything about uncle Percy and he was all fanboy about him. And you're going all fanboy over Sam. That's kind of cute, Herc.”

He leaned over and ruffled his Roman best friend's hair amused. Though Trend was less amused.

 

/break\

 

“Do you think that spankings count as sex?”, frowned Donny thoughtful once they were dressed.

He was laying on his back, his head on Sam's stomach while the son of Ares caressed his curls. Somehow Donny really felt like a puppy when he was with the brunette. But Sam was really good with his fingers. If the whole hero-business won't work, he could become a hair dresser.

“Not by your definition of sex”, snorted the son of Ares, rolling his eyes. “What about fingering?”

“What?”, asked Donny confused, laying down on his cheek so he could look at Sam.

“Dude, really?”, chuckled Sam amused. “Him, making you come only with his fingers up your ass.”

“I—I don't know”, yelped Donny flustered, grabbing a pillow to hide beneath it. “He can't stick his fingers in there! That's totally embarrassing a—and it would be penetration, so it would be sex!”

“But it wouldn't be dick-to-ass, so... it kind of wouldn't count”, pointed Sam out with a frown. “Besides, it's not that embarrassing. I mean, how do you picture sex to work, Disney Princess?”

“Well, with his dick... and my ass, like you just pointed out”, sputtered Donny embarrassed.

Sam grew more serious as he sat up some and stared at his best friend. “Even though you're into spanking, you don't even know the basics of sex, do you? He can't just stick it in, for Christ's sake. It's not exactly... made for penetration, you know. You need to be well prepared first, or else you'll tear. Stop blushing, _someone_ has to give you The Talk, before you end up injuring yourself with Sander's dick and no one wants to see the guilty, moping, whining Sander that would result in.”

“I—I guess you're right”, mumbled Donny flustered, averting his eyes. “I mean... I don't... I don't want to ask Sander these things, it would be so... I don't want to look like a blushing virgin in front of him. I mean, it's so... he knows and I don't and...”

“I get it, you're afraid to disappoint him”, interrupted Sam softly, pulling Donny up into his lap, his arms around the smaller boy's waist. “It's okay. Look, there's nothing embarrassing about your boyfriend touching your hole. I mean, mine had his tongue in there! It's really important that you're well prepared, especially if it's your first time, Donny. Ask Sander about it, about fingering. I'm pretty sure he'd be overjoyed and that way, you won't feel all that awkward about it once the two of you are actually going to have sex with each other, mh?”

“Y—You... really think so?”, asked Donny worried.

“I'm sure”, chuckled Sam. “I mean, he loves you so fucking much. He'd do anything for you.”

“T—That's... what I'm afraid of”, whispered Donny softly, staring at his lap. “The line from the prophecy, One Love Left Dying... W—What if he is going to do anything for me, even dying...? I—I couldn't live with myself if Sander would die because of me...”

“Hey, sh”, soothed Sam tenderly, rubbing circles on Donny's back. “Me and him, we've literally been through hell and back together. He's tough, there is no way he's going to die. There is no way he's going to leave you alone and heartbroken. Like I said, he'd do anything for you. Even defy death if it would come to that. He's not going to die, because he loves you too much.”

Smiling kindly up at Sam, Donny kissed Sam's cheek. “Thank you. You know, I really love you too. I'm glad I found you, as glad as I am to have Sander. You're the best friend I could wish for.”

 

/break\

 

Licking his lips in want, Sam stared at his boyfriend once he entered their cabin. Sander had returned and thrown him out for his Donny-time, so he was back in his own cabin. Biting his lower lip, Sam stalked over to the bed and crawled over on top of Trend, straddling the blonde's hips.

“How do you look so hot with your glasses?”, growled Sam. “You used to look so dorky.”

Trend arched one eyebrow up, lifting a single finger to indicate for Sam to shut up, his eyes still trained on the book in his hands. Glaring at the blonde, Sam tried to take the book away. Trend grunted and swatted Sam's hand off the book. Huffing now even more annoyed, Sam sat back, slowly and sensually rubbing his ass against Trend's crotch to get his attention. He had been horny since the training, how dare his boyfriend ignored him in favor of a book.

“Stop it, Samuel”, grunted Trend irritated, still staring at the book. “Let me finish that chapter.”

“Samuel?”, repeated Sam surprised. “And fuck no. I'm here now, I want your attention.”

“Yes, _Samuel_ ”, growled the son of Athena, an annoyed frown on his face. “Memorize it for later. You're Samuel when you annoy me. And you're really testing my patience here. I'm not going to drop everything just because you're horny and right now, I'm _reading_. So be a good boy and wait.”

Trend heaved a relieved sigh as the rubbing finally stopped. All he wanted to do was finish that one chapter and then Sam could have his undivided attention. Suddenly, the book was ripped out of his hand and thrown into the other corner of the cabin. Sam's hands on Trend's shoulder pinned him.

“Since when have I been a good boy? And what are you going to do about it, Ignatius?”, asked the son of Ares, his voice a teasing challenge. “Pay attention to me. _Now_. Your stupid book can wait.”

“You little brat”, growled Trend and stared intensely at Sam. “You want my attention? You have it. Let's see how much you _really_ want it. Because I'm going to teach you a lesson now, Samuel.”

“A... lesson...?”, asked the son of Ares slowly and backed off some, unsure.

“The way I see it, you're being a brat and you're practically begging to be taught a lesson”, nodded the son of Athena, sitting up straight and patting his lap. “Lay down and you'll have my attention.”

Sam's heart was beating so fast, he was pretty sure it was about to break out of his ribcage. The truth was that he had been subtly dropping hints about spankings ever since his conversation with Donny yesterday, because he was curious and he wanted to see how far he could go with Trend before, or if, he would consider punishing Sam. So bothering Trend's reading-time was the one, good to know.

“Don't look at me like that, Sammy”, snorted Trend, raising one eyebrow. “You are _by far_ not as subtle as you seem to believe. You've been jokingly talking about how 'ridiculous' it was that Donny suggested for you to be 'put into your place' by me with a spanking and you kept going on about how much Donny enjoyed being spanked by Sander. I wouldn't have to be a son of Athena to figure out that you want a spanking, Sammy. _But_ I figured since we agreed that we would 'respect each other' and talk about such things, I should wait for you to approach me and _talk_.”

Trend stared at him challenging and Sam blushed self-consciously. “That's different. I mean... Sex is one thing, but this is... I just... You were so afraid to hurt me, how could I ask you for it then...? You don't want to make me uncomfortable and I don't want to make you uncomfortable either.”

“Believe me one thing”, whispered Trend and leaned in to kiss Sam passionately. “The idea of spanking you is very far away from making me uncomfortable. I just wouldn't have thought that you were into these kind of things. And I also wouldn't have thought you'd trust me _that much_.”

“I trust you with my life, mo fiórghá”, whispered Sam softly and stood slowly to strip down.

“Then come here and see what happens when you bother me while reading”, demanded Trend.

His voice was strict, but his eyes were tender as he watched the delicious, naked form of his lover. Even though he was looking forward to it, he too was nervous. That Sam trusted him that much meant the world to Trend. Once the son of Ares was sprawled over his lap, Trend took his time caressing the round, firm cheeks tenderly until Sam relaxed some.

“Clover”, whispered Sam, biting his lower lip. “As, you know, my safeword.”

Nodding in understanding, Trend lifted his hand to deliver the first blow. Sam squirmed in his grasp, fingers clawed into the sheets. But he gave no indication for Trend to stop. So another smack followed. And another. The surprised pants turned into gasps and moans, encouraging Trend to increase the strength of his hits. He watched in utter fascination how the already prefect ass of his Sammy turned even more gorgeous. Red had always been a color that suited Sam, but damn did it look good on those two round cheeks. Sam was a moaning and whimpering mess by the time Trend deemed it fit for now. Tenderly cradling the sobbing son of Ares in his arms, he kissed him.

“Sh, it's alright, you did good”, praised the son of Athena, showering Sam's face with kisses. “You are a good boy, really. Are you... Are you alright? Did I go too far, Sammy?”

“No, it was... uh... good”, mumbled Sam, rubbing his eyes and getting up slowly. The son of Ares picked up the book he had thrown away earlier. “I mean... Donny is kind of right. I need someone to... keep me in line sometimes. I know I'm being a jerk often, that's the Ares-side of me and I don't... I don't really like it. I don't like hurting the feelings of my friends.” With the book in hand, he walked back to his boyfriend. “Can you do that? Can you... punish me when I'm being a brat? Please?” Averting his eyes, he flushed slightly. “Here, your book. I'm... sorry. For being a brat.”

“Of course, my love”, smiled Trend reassuringly, taking the book and pulling Sam close with his other arm, tugging the brunette under his chin. “And now be a good boy and stay put until I finish my book, Sammy. Any further interruption and you're in for another spanking, my little brat.”

“Okay”, nodded Sam obediently, snuggling up to his blonde. “Thank you.”

Smiling amused, Trend placed a kiss on top of Sam's head, the arm around Sam's waist sneaking down so his hand was resting on top of the heated skin, causing Sam to arch into the touch.

 

/break\

 

A dumb, happy grin was splitting Sander's face as his lubed-up fingers were scissoring his Donny's tight hole. It had been a surprise when Donny had – with brightly flushed cheeks – asked him for a fingering. For the last half hour, Sander had his fingers up Donny's amazingly tight ass, stretching him slowly and caressing the younger boy's prostate every now and then.

“So? You like it?”, asked Sander teasingly, kissing Donny's cheek.

“I'd like it if you'd do something else too”, whined the Disney Princess. “S—Stop teasing, let me come, San. This feels so good, you're so, so good. I—I can't imagine how good your cock must feel within me if you manage to make me feel so amazing with your fingers a—alone.”

And that was true. Donny hadn't believed Sam that it would feel so good, but all the doubts about how dirty that would have been was gone now. Sander was so wonderful and tender and took his time, so slow and showering him with kisses to make him more comfortable. The mean thing was that Donny really needed to know how Sander's dick would feel within him.

“You know we can't have sex. It's one of our rules for the quest for now”, frowned Sander. “And we wanted to wait until after the wedding, didn't we? I mean...”

“I hate rules”, pouted Donny, resting his forehead against Sander's shoulder. “But you're right. Staying strong. To make our wedding night special. Get your fingers out of my ass.”

“Aw”, whined Sander with a pout of his own. “I like playing with your hole.”

“That's why you're going to stop now”, chuckled Donny and kissed his lover.

Interlacing his fingers behind Donny's back to keep from playing with his fiance's entrance. Even though he couldn't have sex with the love of his life yet, he was quite content just holding the gorgeous half-Italian, feeling the smooth skin and the slowly growing muscles underneath said olive-skin. Donny was perfection, his perfection. Sander's heart swelled with pride at the thought that this perfect, wonderful, drop-dead gorgeous boy truly had agreed to become his, to marry him.

“We've reached our destination! Move your horny asses up here!”, screamed Nico from above.


	54. Bears, Booze and Boobs

54\. Bears, Booze and Boobs

 

Donny was highly uncomfortable as he walked through the animal park with Hercules at his side. They had split up to find an 'animal of spring', someone Donny could talk to. They went on in teams of two, while Nico had remained at the ship to protect it. To sulk, supplied Donny's mind. Though the Latina had taken it upon herself to divide the other six into pairs. Because she didn't want the couples to sneak off to suck faces instead of continuing their quest. To mix it up and also keep the best friends apart (so they won't be too distracted with gossiping to search), she had put Donny with Herc, Sam with Thea and Trend with Sander. It wasn't that Donny disliked Herc, but the tall, bulky blonde intimidated Donny, especially because of the constant frown the blonde had going on whenever he was close to Donny. It was more that Donny felt as though Herc disliked him.

“So... we... got to talk”, grunted Herc after a moment, sounding utterly pained.

Donny jumped slightly in surprise and stared wide-eyed over at the Roman. It wasn't that they never talked to each other, but they never engaged in a conversation solemnly between the two of them. Mostly it was with Sander or Nico or Thea present, talking to the others more than anything.

“Uhm... What about?”, asked Donny timidly.

“Sam said that I give off the vibe that I don't like you”, frowned Herc, trying to find the right words. “Look, it's not that I hate you or anything, but... it's just... you intimidate me, okay?”

“I intimidate you?”, grunted Donny doe-eyed. “H—How? What?”

“I already explained it to Sam”, grunted the blonde, running his hands through his hair. “But he said I have to clear that with you if I want to be friends with him... So... uhm... It's just... I'm Jupiter and you're _both_ Poseidon and Hades. Not just both opposing parts of the Big Three to mine, but also the Greek versions while I'm Roman. It's just... instinctual that I see you as a threat... I don't mean to hurt your feelings, you're a nice guy and I'd like to get along with you just like I do with Sander, Nico, Thea, Cally. But it's just... more complicated with you and Bia, with you even more so than with your big sister... So... if you... give me some time, a chance, I could... try...? I want to try.”

Donny smiled kindly and nodded. “Okay. I'd really like that, Herc.”

 

/break\

 

Sam walked, with his hands behind his head, along the small path, past sleeping animals in cages. His eyes caught a fluffy, sleepy face here and there. He was a tiny bit bored, if he was being honest. After all, he was somewhere where he could watch animals, but neither his best friends nor his boyfriend were there. Instead, he had Wikipedia walking next to him, spurting facts about the animals every now and then. Not that he disliked Thea, he even threw an affectionate smile at her as she kept talking about pandas while pointing at a small, red raccoon.

“Can you stop spurting Wikipedia articles at me, please?”, chuckled Sam and rolled his eyes.

“Sorry. I'm a nervous rambler”, smiled Thea sheepishly and blushed slightly.

“And why are you nervous?”, asked the son of Ares curiously, arching one eyebrow.

“Because you and me have legitimately never been alone before”, huffed Thea, playing with one of her braids. “And I actually wanted to talk to you. About my boyfriend. And you.”

“And about the fact that _you_ keep teasing him about me?”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes. “I'm neither blind nor deaf, Chase. I know your boy has a really bad case of hero worshiping going on for me and I know that you are having a lifetime of fun teasing him about it.”

“So you _do_ know”, acknowledged Thea intrigued. “I suspected so, but...”

“But what? You thought I'm too much of a war kid to notice such things?”, grunted the son of Ares. “There are plenty of fangirls and fanboys at camp. I know what it looks like when someone is looking up at me and having a bad case of the crushes on me. I mean, San and I have a _fanclub_ at camp, okay? You know how many love letters we get during the summer?”

“But if you know, why do you tease him about it? That's kind of... mean”, pointed Thea out.

“Because I want him to get used to _me_. When I tease him, he'll one day be accustomed to it and... accept that we're friends. Because I want to be friends with him, but that's hard while he's having a crush on me. So if I get a little more aggressive, he'll get used to being close to me and it'll get boring with the time and he'll accept that I'm just... a boy, not a hero”, shrugged Sam with a frown.

“Aw, you are so cute”, cooed Thea and wrapped one arm around his neck, kissing his cheek.

“Shut up”, said Sam embarrassed. “Now come. This way toward the horses. Donny knows horse.”

 

/break\

 

“So... you and Sam...”, drawled Sander a little embarrassed, looking at the kangaroos.

“Yes?”, asked Trend sharply, arching one eyebrow. “What is it, Chrysander?”

“Just so you know, I do not want to ask, but Sam is my bro and... urgh...”, grunted Sander and heaved a sigh. “Is everything alright with you two? In... uhm... bed?”

“Everything is _perfect_ in bed”, replied the son of Athena. “Our sex is mind-blowing and Sammy is simply amazing. Now if you don't want any more details, how about we continue searching for an animal your fiance can talk to, yes?”

“Yes, please”, nodded Sander hastily and blushed brightly. “No more information needed. Now... uhm, where do we have to go? I mean, do you have any idea where we should go?”

“I've seen that they have horses here. Not exactly animals of spring, but I suppose Donny can talk to them, won't he?”, asked the son of Athena contemplatively. “Everything else I have seen here so far does not exactly fit. Though there are some animals of the sea here too. It would be more helpful if every one of us would have a Donny with them right now, because he knows best.”

“That would be many Donnys...”, mused Sander in awe, his thoughts drifting off.

Trend snorted amused as he could literally see how Sander's mind wandered dirty places.

 

/break\

 

“My feet hurt”, grunted Herc after an hour of walking through the whole park.

“Well, I took a look at the plan”, chuckled Donny. “There are some water animals, but I have more of a connection to horses. So let's go and visit the przewalski horses.”

“Huh, looks like you're not the first one to have that idea”, noted Herc amused.

He grinned tenderly as he saw his girlfriend and Sam watching the rather adorable, fluffy horses. Sam was leaning against the rail eagerly, patting a foal that was eagerly nudging him.

“Well, I also happen to not be the only one with a connection to horses”, smiled Donny.

“Hey, guys! I guess we all came to the same conclusion after all!”, called Sander loudly.

Donny turned around and waved as he saw his fiance jogging toward them. The brunette had his arms widely open to hug the half-Italian and lift him off to whirl him around. Donny smiled slightly at his boyfriend's behavior as though they had been apart for hours now.

“Princess! Stop snuggling and come here to translate!”, demanded Sam irritated.

Trend had all the while passed the couple and came to stand behind Sam, his arms tightly around the brunette's waist. Donny, with his arms around Sander's shoulders, let his fiance carry him over to the others. Having a strong boyfriend really was a great thing.

“ _Hallo, Frühlingsprinz_ ”, whined the foal that was still nudging Sam's hand.

“Hallo, Kleiner”, grinned Donny and leaned over to pat the foal's head. “Wir wurden hier her geschickt, auf der Suche nach Teardrop. Man sagte uns, dass es in diesem Park jemanden gibt, der uns helfen kann? Habt ihr vielleicht mehr Informationen für uns?”

“ _Teardrop?_ ”, repeated the foal utterly confused. “ _Warum sollte er hier sein?_ ”

Donny frowned completely confused and leaned against Sander. The brunette adapted a worried look as he stared down at his lover. He had hoped they would get some answers here, but judging by Donny's frown (as adorable as it may look, with those plumb, rosy lips in a pout...) they wouldn't get any answers at all. Tightening his arms around Donny's waist, he kissed the half-Italian's ear.

“What's wrong, Donny?”, asked Trend sharply from where he stood far, far away from the horses.

“They don't even know why Teardrop should be around here. Which means... he isn't...”

Sam's eyes danced with amusement as he saw his uncomfortable boyfriend before turning to his best friend. “Well, no one said we'd get a lead on _Teardrop_ here. Ask about the enemy of spring.”

Donny blinked and turned back to the horse. “Habt ihr... jemals from Gegner des Frühlings gehört?”

“ _Selbstverständlich_ ”, laughed the foal's mother amused as she stepped up to the fence. “ _Die Weisse Königin ist zu Gast hier momentan, sie besucht die Eisbären auf der ganzen Welt._ ”

“I think that could have been helpful...?”, mused Donny curiously and turned back to his friends. “She says that the... White Queen often visits the polar bears, all around the world and she's currently here... Does that ring a bell with any of you?”

“The enemy of spring... White Queen. Polar bears!”, groaned Trend and his his forehead with his palm. “Of course. Who's the enemy of spring? Winter. White as _snow_. It must be Khione.”

Donny whirled around wide-eyed and urgently. “Ist sie momentan hier? Wo kann ich sie finden?”

“ _Sie kommt mit der Morgenröte und dem Morgentau_ ”, answered the mare a little amused.

“Vielen Dank”, smiled Donny delighted and turned back to his friends. “Okay, I say we head back to the ship and... waste time. She won't come before morning. Which means we have hours to wait.”

Sam grinned mischievously and grabbed Trend's hand. “You guys head to the ship and inform Nico, I have something to show Trend. We'll catch up with you later, guys. See ya!”

The other two couples stared suspiciously after them as the two demigods ran off.

 

/break\

 

Nico was playing with two golden drachmas, staring thoughtful at the fountain. She really wanted to call Joe, see how well the daughter of Vulcan was holding it together without her. But there was a nagging voice in the back of her mind, one that was slowly driving her crazy.

_She won't take you anyway, Nicole. No one has ever chosen you. Did the augur stay with you? No, she chose her father over you, knowing how much he'd disapprove of you as a partner. Danny knew better than to stay with you. Bianca rather chose a virgin's life than being with you. Your little crush on Thea didn't last for long either, not because you moved on, but because you knew she would never chose you anyway. And the little witch? She's head over heels for the daughter of rainbows, she would not even pay you a second thought. Why should Joanna be any different?_

Heaving a depressed sigh, Nico dropped the drachmas and left the cabin in a haste. The soft, male voice was right. Albeit she didn't recall having a male conscience. Shaking her head, she collapsed next to the remote control, pulling her legs against her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

 

/break\

 

“Did you steal me so we could make out in peace?”, whispered Trend with a lecherous smirk.

Once Sam finally stopped running, the blonde greedily wrapped his arms around the slim waist and pulled the son of Ares close up against his chest. Sam huffed annoyed and hit him on the arm.

“Idiot. When Thea and I walked around, I saw them and I thought... you'd like...”, drawled Sam.

For the first time, Trend lifted his eyes off his Sammy to see where Sam had brought him. The blonde blinked a couple of times before smiling kindly and kissing Sam. They were surrounded by cages with trees. And from the trees there were all different kinds of owls staring at them. Relaxing some, Trend rested his chin on Sam's shoulder and started telling Sam random facts about owls.

 

/break\

 

Donny stared uncomfortably around the table they all sat at. Sander was at his right and Thea at his left, Thea talking rapidly, explaining everything to Nico. Though something about the Latina was off. She looked kind of depressed. Donny didn't like that. Practically as soon as Thea had finished her retelling of today's events did Sam and Trend stumble into the cabin. Much to the half-Italian's surprise, neither of them looked all that flustered or debauched. Cocking one eyebrow, he looked around. The no-sex-rule had made all of them (aside from Nico) more edgy, with too much unused energy. And Nico didn't look happy either. So he made a leader-decision and stood.

“Okay, we got all night to waste, I doubt any of you are in a mind to sleep and we did our resting while waiting for the zoo to close, after all... So we're going to a bar now”, ordered Donny.

“A bar? Did the _youngest_ of us just suggest we go to a bar?”, snorted Herc ridiculed.

“I'm sixteen, Hercules. And this is not the US, this is Germany”, grinned Donny impishly. “Which makes me legally old enough to drink beer. And we're not going to get wasted anyway. Just some... going out and having fun to loosen up before serious business hits us. And that's an order.”

 

/break\

 

Two hours later had seven tipsy to drunk heroes gathered around a wooden table. Donny and Sam were sitting next to each other on one length of the bench, Trend and Sander on the wall-side of the u-shaped bench and Herc, Thea and Nico squeezed together opposite Donny and Sam. Donny was grinning happily into his half liter of Rothaus beer, leaning his cheek against Sam's shoulder, being pretty happy with himself at the moment. Thea and Nico were giggling and gossiping, while Herc, Sander and Trend were involved in some kind of lengthy explanation why football was better than basketball. Everyone was in a happy mood again and everyone sat still, compared to the antsy, jumpy behavior the crew had been showing earlier.

“So... I... gotta ask you something, princess”, whispered Sam lowly, frowning thoughtful.

Donny craned his neck enough to bat his eyelashes at the son of Ares innocently. “Yes?”

Forest-green eyes looked around nervously, trying to make sure that no one could hear him, his heart thumping in his rib-cage. “W—When you suggested that _you_ could dominate me... Why? I mean, how do you picture _that_? Not that. I'm pretty sure I know how you imagine sex. But you as like... a top? I thought you wanted.... uhm... something different from Sander...? Is that...”

“That had been nagging on you ever since, hasn't it?”, giggled Donny teasingly, poking Sam.

“Well... yeah...”, shrugged Sam and made a face. “I just... I don't get it! I can't stop thinking...”

“Okay”, nodded Donny with a grin and wrapped his arms around Sam's shoulders. “See, I care about you. An awful lot. You're my best friend. And if you were my boyfriend, I would _never_ do anything to make you uncomfortable or make you do something you don't like. And you told me yourself that – I quote you – you had better orgasms jerking off than fucking someone.”

The son of Ares blushed a little embarrassed and shrugged half-heartedly. “It just... doesn't do anything for me. Like... girls don't do anything for me. But still...”

“See, you don't like that. And I would never make my boyfriend do something he doesn't like”, pointed Donny out, making a serious face. “Besides, I'm a curious person by nature, you know that, Sam! I'd... certainly try. Besides, it does... I think it would be fun. Could be, I guess.”

“So... you're like... interested in topping?”, inquired Sam curiously.

“Oi, don't make it sound like that”, chided Donny with a smile and hit Sam's arm. “You're the one who has been complaining about not looking enough like a bottom. So what, I don't look like a top, doesn't mean I wouldn't be totally capable of rocking your world!”

Sam burst into laughter at the determined expression on Donny's face before he leaned down and kissed the younger boy's cheek. “You know, since Trend and Sander are going to kick the bucket before us anyway because they worry so freaking much all the time and are probably going to have a heart-attack at one point, you and me are so hooking up after we got rid of them, right?”

“Totally!”, declared Donny with an enthusiastic nod. “And then I'll totally dominate you!”

“Still, do not say that”, snorted the son of Ares amused, burying his nose in Donny's curls as he hugged the half-Italian closer. “You know, I really love you, Don. You're... the best friend I could wish for. Without you, I wouldn't have Trend now and...”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm awesome. What else is new?”, grinned Donny cheekily, snuggling up to Sam.

Throwing his legs over Sam's thighs, he sleepily cuddled up to the strong brunette. None of them noticed the two pairs of amused and fond eyes watching them. Since Herc had stopped talking and started snogging Thea, Trend and Sander had turned toward their significant others (to get some snogging of their own), just to find Sam and Donny whispering to themselves, giggling and cuddling. The duo was obviously in cohorts, once again, and not even horniness could have made their boyfriends break them apart. So Trend and Sander continued drinking and watching.

“They're kind of adorable”, grinned Sander. “I'm glad they get along so well. I remember how much Sam used to dislike Donny. I couldn't stand it for my best friend and my husband not to get along.”

“Mh”, grunted Trend without really giving an answer. “But given the highly unlikely chance that you and Donny get into a fight, you're putting Sammy into a very awkward situation, since he's best friends with the both of you. So I hereby forbid you to ever get into a fight with your husband.”

“Okay”, nodded Sander obediently and yawned, hitting his head against Trend's shoulder.

The two of them still watching Sam and Donny didn't notice that they were being watched themselves. By a highly envious Nico, whose conversation partner had been stolen by Herc. Even when the two gay couples were being separated, they still had those sparkly eyes, staring at their special other. It made Nico sick to her stomach, really. Not that she wasn't happy for them or that she didn't deign them to be happy. It was just... she wanted that too. Nico wanted someone who would look at her with such sparkly eyes, as though the world spun around her. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a fancy cocktail being placed in front of her. Blinking doe-eyed, she stared at the amused waiter. Frowning confused, she pushed the cocktail away.

“I didn't order this”, stated the Latina kindly. “You must be mistaken.”

“Oh, I am not”, grinned the waiter, nodding his head over to the bar. “She ordered it for you.”

There were two girls sitting at the bar, a redhead, laughing and talking to a gorgeous girl with long, pale legs and even longer raven-black hair. As though she could feel the eyes on her, the black-haired girl turned toward Nico and winked with a nearly forbidden smirk. Staring at the colorful cocktail for another moment, she turned her head back to the bar.

“Go talk to her”, hissed Thea next to Nico and practically shoved her off the bench.

“Wha—ouch”, winced the Latina as she struggled to stand up. “But... Joe...”

“You've been sulking for so long now. And she's pretty hot and obviously interested”, stated Thea. “I didn't say 'go over there and ask for her hand'. It can't hurt to talk to her. Maybe make out some. You deserve some attention from a pretty girl and there is nothing going on between you and Joe, so just... talk to this girl. It'll help your self-esteem to talk to a girl that's interested in you.”

Blushing brightly and looking a little unsure, Nico stepped up to the two girls. “Uh... Hi, I'm Nico.”

“Hello”, purred the black-haired girl, silver eyes sparkling with mischief. “Rika Schuster and this is my best friend Arielle. Why don't you sit with us? I'd love to hear... more about you.”

Nico blushed brilliantly as she sat down next to the gorgeous black-haired girl.


	55. With Derek and Marshall (Camp Life Part III)

55\. With Derek and Marshall (Camp Life Part III)

 

“Wait, wait. You need to explain that to me one more time”, pleaded the highly confused brunette girl, braiding her hair. “This... quest, there are two of your ex-boyfriends on it, and your best friend. But you're more concerned about two of them hooking up than one of them getting hurt? I don't think I understand that. Aren't you worried they could... die?”

Derek Rhys huffed annoyed where he was sitting on the tribune of the arena, waving his arms around wildly as though he was making a point with that gesture. It only confused the pretty girl even more. Which in return made Melissa from Dionysus cabin chuckle amused as she was sitting with the two of them. Marshall looked up from his sparring with his cabin-mate Erik, curious about what the three flower-demigods were up to. More out of boredom than real interest though. He didn't really have anything to do these days. His best friend was gone. The other two Sons of War to complete their quartet were gone too, so there was no one to train with. At least no one who would be a worthy opponent (really, Erik was behaving like an amateur most of the time, at least compared to Marshall's three friends). So, without a proper sparring partner and without a Trend to talk to (or to sit together in silence and read a book without bothering each other), he had decided to stick with Derek. The son of Demeter had always been their silent, mascot-like fifth member, had always hung out with the Sons of War because he was Sam's best friend. There was also the matter of the new girl. Phylicia Rosenberg, daughter of Persephone. The flower girl had soon latched onto Derek and befriended the head of Demeter cabin, as well as the head of Dionysus cabin – Melissa. What with Phylicia currently being the only one in the Persephone cabin, she didn't exactly have anyone there to give her a lead, so Demeter cabin and Dionysus cabin had pretty much adopted her.

As long as Sander and Sam were gone, responsibility as camp leaders had gone to Marshall – since he was one of the Sons of War and one of the senior campers – and Lila Lovegood, the head of Hecate cabin and also one of the senior campers. So as the current camp leader, Marshall felt responsible for the new girl. And leaving the new kid alone with the vicious son of Demeter (knowing Derek, the boy would probably take that as a compliment, contemplated Marshall silently) and the constantly drunk daughter of Dionysus was not a good plan.

“See the big guy over there?”, asked Melissa, pointing at Marshall. “You saw him fight while we were talking, right? Saw how he defeated all of them, right?” At that, Melissa pointed at the pile of completely exhausted and knocked-out demigods. “He's pretty strong, don't you think?”

“Y—Yes”, nodded Phylicia, blushing brightly as she looked up at Marshall.

“He's part of this special force team of camp, like the four super-mega strongest heroes we have, okay?”, continued Melissa. “The other three members are Sander Rodriguez, Derek's ex, Trend Austin, Derek's ex, and Sam Raser, Derek's best friend. So, basically, why the fuck worry? Those monsters are to be pitied for the ass-kicking they'll get.”

“Oh... Okay”, nodded Phylicia and smiled. “So my mother's quest is in good hands?”

“You could say that, yes”, snorted the daughter of Dionysus and rolled her eyes.

“What Melissa wanted to say was, yes, the best of the best are on it”, grunted Derek and elbowed Melissa hard. “Anyway, what I am way more concerned about is that all on their own, in a small tent, Trend and Sam will hook up. And urgh, that's the last thing I want.”

“Why? If this Sam is your best friend, shouldn't you be happy when he finds someone?”

“Gosh, she's adorable”, cooed Melissa and ruffled Phylicia's hair.

“Don't mock the new kid”, warned Marshall and lowered his weapon. “I think you had enough, Erik. Take a break. Sparring lessons for you and Jonas on the weekends, don't forget it.”

“Sure thing, big bro”, panted the younger son of Enyo breathlessly and collapsed on the ground.

Marshall looked at his blonde half-brother amused before he joined Derek, Melissa and Phylicia on the ranks, sitting down in front of Derek. The son of Demeter looked at him suspiciously, but refrained from saying anything. Of course Derek had noticed that Marshall was looming, but Derek was probably missing the other Sons of War just as much, so he accepted it silently.

“Derek here is... possessive of Sam, to say the least”, commented Marshall, startling Phylicia a little since he wasn't a man of many words and had so far only given her a short welcome.

“Sam is _mine_ and I don't like when others play with my things”, huffed Derek with a pout.

“He's crazy that way”, grinned Melissa broadly. “I love that insanity of his. Anyway, I think we all should get packed. Last day of camp and all. Time to get back home.”

Phylicia looked troubled at that. She had barely gotten settled at camp and now she was supposed to get settled in a new apartment and a new school? Derek smiled pitifully at her and patted her.

“Come on, you're in my apartment building. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you”, grinned Derek.

“And classes are pretty awesome. Way better than mortal school anyway”, assured Mel, cocking her head. “We're in the same class, if I'm not mistaken. So stop worrying your pretty head, girl.”

Marshall cocked a suspicious eyebrow. It freaked him out whenever Derek was being nice. Then again, he was mostly around Derek when Trend was too and those two had always had a very complicated relationship. He would call it love-hate, but he doubted that at any given time there had been real love involved in that. It was more of a fuck-murder relationship, once they got together. Before that, it had mainly been a competition for Sam's attention. Marshall had probably been the only one not surprised when Trend and Derek resolved their competition with hot, angry sex. Marshall watched how Melissa led Phylicia out of the arena, noticing Derek stepping up to him.

“Summer is over”, whispered the son of Demeter, shifting his weight nervously. “Where are they?”

“Some quests take longer than others”, replied Marshall softly.

“Sixteen days, Marshall”, grunted Derek annoyed, glaring into the sky. “More than two weeks. How often does a quest take longer than a couple of days? How often do they take longer than summer?”

“Not every matter can be solved in three days”, smiled Marshall patiently, resting one hand on Derek's shoulder. “They're fine. Sam, Trend and Sander are good. They know what they're doing.”

“I know that”, spat Derek, obviously irritated. “They know what they're doing, but what about little Miss Brains? And the stupid, useless Disney Princess? They've never been on a quest! Heck, the Disney Princess doesn't even properly know how to fight! And Sam _cares_ about the brat. What if the Disney Princess endangers himself and Sam gets hurt to protect him?!”

Marshall remained silent, taking his hand off the furious boy and crossing his arms over his chest. He refrained from telling Derek about the last IM from Sara, about how Nico and Herc had tagged along with the Greek quest. It would probably tick Derek off completely. Especially when the son of Demeter learned that the main reason why they had ended up in New Rome had been that Sam had been sick. Derek was always overly fussing whenever Sam got as much as a scratch, but a cold that actually knocked the son of Ares off his feet? Derek would have gone berserk.

“Let's pack and get back home”, suggested Marshall in a low voice.

 

/break\

 

Standing in front of his own apartment-door, Derek froze for a second. He didn't want to go into his empty apartment. Truth be told, he actually enjoyed summer very much. Camp meant having roommates, being in charge. The younger children of Demeter adored him, looked up at him. Summer meant hot hook-ups at the beach, the delicious guys walking around in shorts and without shirts. But once summer was over, he was back to his small apartment again. And that was okay, normally. When Sam would drop by with fresh muffins in the mornings and sandwiches around noon and when Derek would come over for dinner and a movie and to just sit with Sam and not be alone. Sometimes, Sam only knocked at his door to pick him up because the Sons of War were meeting in the park for training. But at any rate, no day would pass without Sam. So quests were... hard on Derek. Not just because of the separation, but also because of the _fear_. What if Sam got hurt? What if he won't return? What if he died? What if he hooked up with the wrong guy?

Shaking his head, he turned around to face Sam's door and unlocked it with the spare key Sam had given to him not all that willingly years ago. The apartment was a little iffy, but that came with not being used for weeks, no one opening a window and such. So Derek went and opened a window, right before he threw himself on top of Sam's bed. Horrible gray bedsheets. Derek still remembered how Sam and him had gotten them together. Even though Derek had tried to make Sam buy the dark green ones – dark green like his own favorite color – Sam had rather taken the boring, gray ones. One thing was practically glowing in the stark contrast to the gray sheets. A fluffy, red unicorn with a bright, green mane. Derek smiled slightly and grabbed the fluffy thing, hugging it.

“Well, Iggy, I guess for now it's just you and me... at least for now”, whispered Derek upset.

“Not entirely so”, chuckled an amused voice.

The bathroom door opened and two demigods came out. Cocking one eyebrow, Derek sat up some to look at Percy and Nico di Angelo. He also raised the other eyebrow and straightened some.

“W—What are you doing in Sam's apartment?”, asked the son of Demeter stunned. “And were you two just fucking in Sam's bathroom? Seriously? What is going on here?”

Percy blushed furiously and smoothed his ruffled hair. “We came here to... check something, but then we kind of got... distracted, yes. No need to tell Sam that though.”

“Yeah, no need to burst his bubble by telling him that his childhood hero and his social worker fucked in his bathroom”, snorted Derek and rolled his eyes. “What were you checking though?”

“We're... investigating. No matters that concern you though”, grunted Nico with a skeptical glare, one arm around Percy's waist, slowly steering him toward the door. “And who are you anyway?”

“Figures that you don't recall every face of every kid you meet”, muttered Derek beneath his breath. “I'm Derek Rhys. Son of Demeter. Sam's best friend. So I'd like to know why you broke in here.”

Nico froze for a second, looking thoughtful, before it dawned on him. “No, no. I remember you. You had called me, years ago, because you were concerned for Sam's well-being when he had this... gay-freakout. I remember you, Derek Rhys. You worried about him, a lot.”

“Of course I did. Of course I do”, huffed Derek offended and glared. “He's _Sam_.”

Nico stopped his husband, who was already half-way out of the door. That tone of voice, Nico knew it all too well. This way of pronouncing a name, as though the world depended on that one name. Following a hunch, Nico pulled Percy with him toward the couch and sat down.

“What do you know about Sam's time in New Rome five years ago?”, asked Nico bluntly.

“Nico!”, hissed Percy with a glare, thrusting his elbow into his husband's ribs.

“Ouch, love”, grunted Nico calmly. “Don't worry. We want to find something out. Let's approach this from a different angle. If there was something I'd want to know about you, I would go and ask either myself, your mother or Annabeth. Same applies to Sam too, probably.”

Percy looked thoughtful for a second before nodding in approval. “Come over here to us and let's have a little talk, Derek Rhys. There are things we'd like to know about Sam. Like, what happened to him five years ago in New Rome? _Who_ happened to him?”

Derek froze, staring at them surprised. “That's none of your business. And what makes you think that I know anything about what happened back then? Like you said, it happened in New Rome.”

Percy looked upset for a second, as though he was contemplating that yes, how should Derek know? But Nico didn't lose his confidence, resting one hand on Percy's knee tenderly.

“How about you go and wait outside, I'll just... have another word with him? And then I'll treat you to lunch, mio amore”, asked Nico softly and kissed Percy's cheek.

The son of Poseidon wanted to protest – wanted to hear what was being spoken too – but one look into his husband's eyes told him that Nico wanted to discuss this alone with Derek. And since Percy trusted Nico beyond measurement, he nodded obediently and stood.

“I'll wait outside”, sighed Percy with a pout. “But then I'll get a huge dessert too later!”

Nico watched his husband leave, amusement sparkling in his eyes at the adorable pout. Though once he turned back to Derek, he was also back to being professional and serious.

“Because of the way you say his name”, replied Nico simply. “See, I offered Percy earlier that you may know because to Percy, Annabeth or me would be valid sources. Since you're Sam's best friend, he may think that you're Sam's version of Annabeth. But... The way you said Sam's name. You say his name the same name I say Percy's name. Like it means the world to you. Like he means the world to you. I know everything there is to know about Percy, because otherwise I can't protect him. I need to know everything, for my own reassurance. Now, something tells me you're the same. I doubt that there is anything about Sam that you don't know. Percy and I, we're not snooping around to make trouble. We're worried for Sam. And for others. Whatever happened to Sam, what if it happened to others too? We're just trying to help here. How about you help us help him?”

A thin smile found its way onto Derek's lips as he looked at the couple. “Sam doesn't need your help. And what happened back then is not a problem anymore. So you don't need to worry about it. There is not a single thing about Sam that I don't know. And if you truly believe me to be so similar to yourself, then you should know that anything that would hurt Sam is taken care of.”

Derek's eyes were dark and his smile nearly malicious, it made Nico smirk. “Good to know.”

For a moment, Nico contemplated leaving, but he had the feeling there was something that Derek wanted to say, which indeed proved to be right. “How did you do it? He's my... everything. He was the first friend I made. The only one for way too long. But he doesn't... How can I make him love me? How did you make him love you? I mean, you waited, right? And then you got him.”

“You could say that”, nodded Nico, looking at Derek softly. “I spend years on the sidelines, just watching, silently protecting him. I gave him time to realize. Maybe... Sam needs time too.”

“No”, mumbled Derek sadly and shook his head. “There is this boy. The two of them had been dancing around each other like two completely dense idiots. I don't... if they ever manage to realize then I'll never stand a chance. If they get together, I'll lose any chance at all.”

That was when Nico realized. Sam may be the Percy to Derek's Nico, but Derek wasn't the Nico to Sam's Percy. Looking over at the brunette boy sadly, Nico patted the other boy's shoulder, not knowing what to say. He wasn't good with these things. Love-things. But he understood the pain.

 

/break\

 

Marshall had just barely dumped his bag on his bed before he went to the kitchen-counter and turned the water on. Somehow, Derek's nervousness had been contagious. Then again, after all the years, it did make him a little nervous. He remembered the old days, when he had still been green behind the ears and new at camp, Bianca di Angelo and the Rodriguez-twins were pulling most quests. Most important quests. Things shifted as the two girls were more focused on wanting to become huntresses and not heroes. Sander went onto his quests with Sam. And Marshall, if the lucky number three was required. Trend though, he kept away from quests.

“Trend Austin”, demanded Marshall as he threw two drachmas into the rainbow.

Trend didn't do quests. And while Marshall wasn't worried about Sander or Sam, knowing fully well from his own experience that those two were probably having the time of their lives kicking some monster's butts, his best friend may have more problems. He knew how socially awkward Trend could be and being on a quest required teamwork. Something Trend also didn't quite do.

“Trend Austin, son of Athena”, repeated Marshall more firmly.

It was a quest, something may happen and if the team failed, they may die. And the fact that his Iris Message wasn't coming through wasn't all that reassuring either. Derek may be right after all.

 

/break\

 

Derek was definitely bored out of his mind. He had cleaned Sam's complete apartment, washed all his clothes and the bedsheets, even cleaned the bathroom and he hated cleaning bathrooms. But he was positive that Sam would return home soon. Sixteen days. They surely had the case all wrapped up by now and were on their way back home. And he wanted Sam to find his home all cozy and clean, because he knew that next to delicious food, order and tidiness were Sam's favorite things. Once everything was practically sparkling, Derek returned to his spot on Sam's bed, hugging Iggy tightly. He should hate the stupid horse probably, because Sam had gotten it from Trend and all, but little Sammy had just been too cute, when he used to cuddle up to Iggy in the evenings and even though the badass would be denying it today, the stuffed toy still made him feel safe and comforted.

“I miss you, cutie pie”, mumbled Derek into the green mane of the stuffed toy.

 

/break\

 

“Derek? Derek, are you home?”, asked Marshall as he knocked on the door hard.

No reply. The son of Enyo cursed beneath his breath. He had walked all the way over to this complex and climbed up thirty stairs, just to get no reply from Derek. Then again, he had no idea why exactly he had come to Derek's to begin with. It would only light Derek's panic up more. And a Derek panicking for Sam's safety was one of the scariest things Marshall had ever seen. Shaking his head, the son of Enyo turned around and decided to try a different course of action. Climbing down two flights of stairs, he knocked at a different door. Rainbow Jordan.

“What's up, dude?”, asked the sleepy daughter of Iris as she opened the door. “What can I do for you, Marshall? You're not exactly a regular around here.”

“What kind of reasons could your mother have for not connecting a call?”, asked Marshall.

“Hello, Dash. Nice seeing you. How have you been? Oh, fine, Marshall, so nice of you to drop by”, mimicked Rainbow with one cocked eyebrow. “Marshall Mikaelson, a man of many words.”

“Rainbow”, grunted Marshall in a serious voice. “Please, try being serious for once.”

The girl ran her fingers through her multiple-colored hair and arched an elegant eyebrow. “Maybe the one you were calling didn't want to be reached. Maybe a god blocked the call. Maybe the one you called was just in the middle of a fucking battle, it's pretty hard to take an IM then. There are a bunch of reasons why IMs don't connect. Don't worry about it, big guy. Now can I get back to napping, please? Because I was in the middle of a delicious dream where I was in the middle of two delicious boobs, so if you'd please...?”

She made a shushing notion that Marshall only all too willingly obeyed. It was most likely that she was right. There were dozens of reasons why he was unable to reach Trend. The most preferred was that Trend was too busy doing naughty things with Sam (and good gods would Marshall be grateful if the son of Athena would finally stop constantly talking about Sam in that longing voice. Oh, Trend was not even aware that he did that, that all of his rants about the annoying, irritating and irrational son of Ares were in that whiny, longing tone of voice). On his way back to his own apartment, he managed to calm his own mind enough and sadly enough, plant too many pictures of Trend and Sam in his mind. He needed more straight friends. Once he reached his own apartment again, he did some mundane things. Made a sandwich, ate the sandwich, made the dishes. While finishing up the plate, he figured he could try once more.

“Trend Austin”, demanded Marshall, throwing two golden coins into the bubbly water.

No answer. Again. Maybe they were still busy doing the naughty? Or fighting? Even after two hours? But... a nagging voice that sounded way too much like Derek told him something was off.


	56. Welcome to Heldenheim

56\. Welcome to Heldenheim

 

Nico groaned, her head buzzing in a not very nice way. Yawning proved to be a bitch too. Her jaw ached horribly. Rubbing it and making a pained face, she wondered briefly what was going on.

“Ouch”, moaned Nico annoyed. “What in the world did I do last night?”

“Me”, came the leisure reply from next to Nico.

A chill went down Nico's naked frame as she noticed that this was not her room and she was not alone. Wide hazel eyes looked around the red-purple-black bedroom for a second before settling on her bed-mate. A pale, luscious body, framed with long, black hair. Mischievous silver eyes stared up at Nico amused. Oh. Nico remembered the pretty girl from the bar. Rika, or something alike.

“Your tongue is very... I like it”, purred the other girl and sat up to stretch some. “You alright?”

“Where am I?”, asked Nico, half afraid of the answer, hastily looking around.

“My place”, said the other and grinned. “Don't you remember? You and me, heatedly making out last night behind the bar? You asked me if we could go to my place, we took Arion and-”

“Wait, Arion. How do you know about Arion?”, asked Nico and stiffed.

“Oh please, every self-respected demigod knows about the son of Poseidon”, grunted Rika and waved a dismissive hand. “Anyway, we took Arion to cross Germany and get back to Heldenheim.”

“I think I'm afraid to ask this, but... What's Heldenheim?”, whispered Nico, gathering the sheets around her body while looking for her clothes. “And... you're a... a... demigod...? Whose kid?”

“Heldenheim is the European version of New Athens. We got a European New Rome in France too, but yeah... it's France, so...”, shrugged Rika and handed Nico her pants. “Daughter of Eris.”

“Strife? Discord? Chaos?”, groaned Nico, burying her face in the pillows. “Fuck this.”

“Oh, thanks for the word of confidence”, snarled Rika and got up to get dressed herself. “Because your mom is not a daughter of Pluto and never faced any prejudices, right? Well, fuck you.”

“Rika? Alles in Ordnung?”, came the question from outside.

Seconds later and the redhead from last night poked her head into the room, looking concerned at Rika and suspiciously at Nico. Rika pulled her jeans up and buttoned it, muttering beneath her breath in German. Words Nico probably did not even want to understand. Blushing furiously, Nico tried to shield herself from the redhead, hiding beneath the sheets. Said redhead just rolled her eyes and threw Nico's shirt at the Latina's head, snorting amused.

“You Americans are such prudes”, commented the redhead unimpressed. “I'm a daughter of Triton. Redheaded daughter of Triton named Arielle. Yes, my mother has a twisted sense of humor. No, it is _not_ funny. Yes, I will drown you if you as much as hum the lyrics to any _Little Mermaid_ song.”

“German demigods”, grunted Nico and hastily got dressed. “That wasn't a... coincident, was it?”

“Well... you called your parents and told them you're heading to Germany, your ma called our mayor and told her that you'd be in the... what's it called? Well, that you'd be around anyway”, replied Rika smoothly. “Some of us got curious when our mayor mentioned it. She talks and awful lot about you and your siblings and such. So... Ari and me, we figured, we'd... check those big American heroes out. Word about Sam Raser and Sander Rodriguez reaches Europe too, you know. Especially since Sam _is_ European. You should have seen the Irish brats cheer him on.”

“Are you finished getting dressed any time soon? I would like to have some breakfast?”, grunted Arielle, looking at Nico impatiently. “Are you just hungover or are you always so slow?”

“You girls are mean”, mumbled Nico with a pout.

“Sweetheart. You're the one who started”, stated Rika unimpressed. “Come now.”

Seeing as Nico had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do, she decided to follow the two German demigods. Heldenheim was beautiful, Nico had to admit that. Little half-timbered houses set between the tallest black tress, there was even a lake Nico could spot not far off. It was idyllic.

“Where are we going?”, asked Nico timidly.

“Dining hall. It's where we, you know, feed and such”, chuckled Rika amused.

There were plenty of demigods and they all stared at her suspiciously. Figured. It probably wasn't every day that they saw a Latina around here. Especially not one that looked as ruffled as she did at the moment. Self-consciously, she combed through her hair with her fingers.

“Bürgermeisterin Black!”, called Rika loudly, waving her arms around.

Rika and Arielle picked up their speed as they headed over to a table set a little higher than the others, reminding Nico of Chiron's table at camp. Though it came as quite the surprise who sat there. The Latina only had a second to gape before she was engulfed in a tight hug.

“Sparky! I haven't seen you in too many months”, gasped Nyssa Black surprised. “What are you doing here? I mean, I know what you're doing here, in Germany, but... here-here? Leo told me, the last time we spoke, that you're on some dangerous quest. How are you doing? Are the others here too? Oh, I'd love to see all of you kids again. It's just been too long.”

“Aunt Nyssa...?”, was all Nico's still sluggish mind could supply.

She remembered, somewhere in the farthest corner of her memory that her mamá had told her about the two tinkerers he had been closest to during his teenage years. Jake and Nyssa. And while Jake had moved to New Rome with his husband Will, so he could open a garage with Leo, Nyssa had left for Europe together with Will's younger sister Kayla. Though she didn't remember anything about Nyssa being the mayor of some fancy German version of New Athens.

“Come, sit down, eat”, smiled Nyssa happily, ushering her over to a pretty blonde. “Look, Kay!”

“Hello, Nicole”, greeted Kayla a bit amused. “It's good to see you. Hungry?”

 

/break\

 

Two hours and enough ambrosia to cure her splitting headache later and Nico found herself in the shower of Rika's apartment. Kayla Hein had German roots and when Nico di Angelo had helped a German half-sister of Lou Ellen to build a safe haven in Germany, she had packed her things and signed up as a doctor there. Had helped building the hospital and become the medical chief. Nyssa had followed Kayla there and had only been elected mayor this year, so all was still a little new. It was good, seeing her aunt again. Still, it was also a little confusing. But she believed Rika now, which only made her feel immensely guilty. She had believed the daughter of Eris had only slept with her out of some vicious reasons to deceive her. Stepping out of the shower, she found fresh clothes waiting for her. Blushing a bit, she got changed and slowly left the bathroom.

“Rika? Can we... talk?”, asked Nico softly, unsure as she entered the kitchen.

Arielle and Rika looked up from where they were drinking coffee. Glaring slightly, Arielle grabbed her best friend's hand, trying to tell Rika not to go. But the daughter of Eris shook her off and grabbed a second mug of coffee before following Nico into the living room.

“What do you want to talk about?”, huffed the daughter of Eris with a pretty nasty glare. “How you assumed I'm some kind of foe just because of who my mother is? Or how I actually just wanted to bring you here to do our mayor a favor because she rocks? Or how you now need a favor from me to get back to your friends? Yeah. Let's talk some.”

“I'm... sorry”, whispered Nico with the guiltiest puppy eyes possible. “Can we blame it on the booze? That I was still drunk from last night and talking stupid shit?”

“Urgh, please stop looking so cute. How am I supposed to stay mad at you like that?”, frowned Ulrika annoyed. “Look, it doesn't matter. It's not like we had a love-at-first-sight thing or shit. We had a drunk one-night-stand. You weren't my first and you won't be my last. I don't want any drama from you. If I'd want drama, I'd go look for a girlfriend. And it also wasn't the first time I got judged for being a daughter of Eris. So, whatever.”

“Oh. Okay”, nodded Nico and bit her lower lip.

“Still with the kicked-kitten look”, groaned Rika and tilted Nico's head enough to kiss her. “There, all better now. Look, you're pretty cute and stuff, but I'm not looking for something serious and you're supposed to be on a quest, so let's cut the emotional drama and get to the real stuff.”

“Where are we, exactly? I mean, we're not in Berlin anymore, I take it.”

“There's a good girl”, grinned Rika teasingly, ruffling Nico's curls. “We're in the Black Forest. Like, the totally other end of Germany. It'll take your pretty horse not all that long to get back though. But maybe you should call your little friends first. They were pretty busy making out themselves last night. Let's see how drunk they are and all. Maybe you could... stay a little longer here?”

Nico blushed furiously, suddenly feeling guilty. “I have a... a someone I want. I can't. I shouldn't have. This won't turn into a two-nights-stand. I can't. I won't.”

“Goody-two-shoes”, muttered Rika beneath her breath, rolling her eyes. “Fountain is in the bathroom. Suit yourself with whatever you want. I'll get back to my coffee.”

Somehow Nico started to feel as though she should just crawl back into bed and stay there for the rest of the day. It seemed everything she did, she'd screw up today. Heaving a sigh, Nico walked into the bathroom and took two of the golden coins waiting next to the fountain.

“Thea Chase”, demanded Nico softly, not getting a reply. “Theadora Chase. Theadora Tiphane Chase? Thea, damn it. Herc Grace. Donny di Angelo. Hades Poseidon di Angelo. Sander Rodriguez. Chrysander. Chrysander Rodriguez. Samuel Raser. Trend Austin. Damn it, anybody!”

The gold coins were gone, all of them. Which meant Nico owed Rika and Arielle a lot of money. And no one picked up. Not a single one of them. If one doesn't take a call, okay, they were having sex. But not all of them. Not with her gone. They were a crew, a team. They were friends. Surely the others would be looking for her by now. Unless... they were in some kind of trouble.

“And where are you storming off to?”, called Rika after her as Nico fled the apartment. “Wait!”

“Look”, huffed Nico, half turning toward the daughter of Eris. “I need to take care of something. You said you don't want drama. This just hit the drama-iceberg.”

“I don't want _relationship_ drama, but that doesn't mean I'm not in for a little drama. I'm still a daughter of strife and discord”, smirked Rika and winked at her. “So, what's gone wrong, pretty?”

“Don't call me that”, muttered the Latina and blushed. “My friends. They're not answering. Not one of them. And I tried every single one of them twice. Something went wrong. They're in trouble.”

“Okay... Let's talk to our mayor”, muttered Rika with a frown.

The daughter of Eris took charge and led the way to one of the gorgeous half-timbered houses and in that moment, Nico was eternally grateful that Rika and Arielle were having a sudden urge to meet American demigods last night. Because otherwise Nico would probably be stuck in the same trap that her friends had most likely gotten themselves into.

“Aunt Nyssa, aunt Kayla. I need your help”, exclaimed Nico once the door was opened for her.

“Now, now. Get inside first”, offered Kayla worried. “Nys, make some tea for the girls!”

Nico gave a strained smile as the daughter of Apollo led her to the living room, where she sat down together with Rika. While the daughter of Eris got comfortable, Nico stiffened in worry. Her not-quite-aunt sat opposite her, offering her a calming smile while the three of them waited.

“Now, what's going on, girl?”, asked Nyssa as the daughter of Hephaestus entered the room with a tray of tea. “Why do you look so spooked? Did something happen?”

“I—I... I tried to call my crew, but not a single one of the six heroes came here with answered”, replied Nico, playing with her hands. “Not one of them! A—And they must be looking for me by now, so they can't all be locked into their cabins to have sex, right? So something must be wrong.”

“Nicole, you need to calm down”, ordered Kayla firmly. “If your companions are in danger, then panic won't help any of you. You need a calm head to take care of this.”

“You're right”, mumbled Nico and nodded slowly, combing her fingers through her long curls. “But that's hard. I mean, I went out there together with the two biggest heroes of our time and with the two most intelligent people I've ever met and with two guys who together represent the Big Three. I'm just... just a tinkerer. I just tagged along to take care of the ship. How am I supposed to save their asses? How am I even supposed to find out what happened...?”

“Well, that's a simple one”, replied Nyssa amused. “You go back to the last place you were with them and then you use that very special ability you got from your father and turn track dog to find your friends. You're powerful, Sparky. You'll figure it out. _But_ I can not send you out onto a possibly dangerous quest to retrieve six lost heroes all on your own. Ulrika, you and Arielle will accompany her and aid her help on this. After all, it was you who separated her from her crew to begin with.”

“Fine by me”, shrugged Rika nonchalantly and grinned.

“You'll help me?”, asked Nico surprised.

“Why not? It's not like I got anything else to do at the moment”, grinned Rika amused and shrugged. “Though you may have to pay Arielle with chocolate to make her agree.”

“Well then”, chuckled Kayla and clapped her hands once. “Let's go and get Arielle so you can get going and make sure that your friends are safe, mh?”

 

/break\

 

It did cost Nico two bars of Milka chocolate, one Toblerone and two boxes of Lindt chocolate to appease Arielle. Which translated to Nico being completely broke now. Especially with the drachmas she owed the two girls now. Still, freshly washed, newly broke and still a little frantic was how she left Heldenheim again. Kayla and Nyssa came to wave them off, together with dozens of curious demigods. Arion made many rude noises (and Nico was actually glad that Donny couldn't hear the stallion), but he still obediently carried the three girls on his strong back. Riding once through the whole of Germany would have been a beautiful landscape, if it wouldn't have all just been a blur to them. Not that Nico had the nerve to do sightseeing right now. It was also highly distracted to have the pretty yet petite redhead sitting between her lap and the hot black-haired daughter of Eris wrapped tightly around her waist. Very distracting.

 

/break\

 

They did what Nyssa had suggested and started at the bar. Just two girls and their dog on a walk. Nico sniffed her way around the streets, following curves and crossroads without watching where she was going, just following the scents of her friends. She knew the distinctive smells of her comrades, especially the sea-breeze note to Donny's scent always tickled her nose. She was grateful and confused when they reached the animal park in Berlin, right beneath the place where the Argo II was parked. Had she merely followed the trail back from where they had gone to the bar? She shifted back into her human form to climb the hidden latter, motioning the other two to follow her.

“You know, you should probably clean up more often. And try not to destroy it”, commented Rika.

The destruction wasn't new. Still the remains from the squid's attack. Nico was looking forward to working on the details with her mamá, her uncle Jake and with Joe. Joe. Guilt flashed before her eyes before she continued her way. Sadly, Rika was right with one thing. The ship was a mess. Everything was thrown over. Sniffing the air, she growled.

“Sh, good girl”, cooed Rika and patted Nico's head.

Dog jokes. How much she hated dog jokes. It was one of the reasons why she barely shifted. Always with the stupid jokes about animals. Trying to ignore the daughter of Iris, Nico opened the door to the cabin assigned to Herc and Thea. What she found was not good.

“Okay, this can not be good. Or maybe they're just very, very hungover?”, supplied Rika.

“Yeah, or they're all dead”, nodded Arielle nonchalantly from where she was sticking her head into the room next door. “Because those two aren't moving either. Look dead to me.”

“Not helping”, hissed Rika upset and hit her friend on the shoulder.

Nico took a step back and turned into the other direction, desperately checking the room where Donny and Sander were staying. Just to find those two boys as unmoved as the others. She was nervous, even filled with fear as she approaches the bed where her two cousins were sleeping. Hopefully sleeping. Please not dead. She would not survive having to be the one to tell Percy di Angelo that his baby boy was dead. They couldn't be gone. Weren't allowed to be gone.

“Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up”, chanted Nico as she pushed them.

She pushed and pulled and hit them. But they didn't react at all. Breaking down into a sobbing mess, she collapsed between Sander and Donny, resting her head on Sander's chest. This couldn't be real.

“You love the drama, girl”, grunted Ulrika irritated from behind. “They're not dead. Check the pulse. The other four are just... I don't know, unconscious? In a coma? Whatever. Not dead. Which always means there's a chance of rescue. So stop crying, Drama Queen.”

Nico's hands were shaking as she reached out to check Donny's pulse. It was weak and slow, but it was stead and there. Relief filled her, making her feel as though she was flowing. She collapsed back onto the bed, sobbing in utter relief. Which only earned her a snort from Rika.

“Finish up with the crying, we need a _plan_ ”, ordered the daughter of Iris firmly. “Because Arielle is currently trying to wake them with nectar and ambrosia. So far, no results.”

Rubbing her eyes, Nico stood and took a shaking breath. She needed to be strong now, like Herc. She needed to be level-headed, like Thea. She needed to be the complete team on her own right now, so she could get her crew back. So she could get her friends back. Closely followed by Rika and Arielle, she walked to their dining hall. Their control center. Their meeting point.

“Okay, we're six heroes down”, grunted Nico and stalked the room while Ulrika and Arielle sat down on one of the couches. “Four legacies and two demigods. Different godly blood. Last time we saw them was in the bar where we met. Something must have happened after we took off. My memory of last night is kind of... blurry. So if you could freshen them up some?”

“You drank. A lot. Not as much as the tiny one with the curls though”, grinned Arielle amused. “He was dancing on the table-top the last time I saw him, with the brunette with the scar trying to get him down from the table. The guy with the weird hair-cut was putting money into the cute one's jeans and cheering him on. Those guys are kind of adorable.”

“The one with the curls is called Donny”, chuckled Nico, trying to picture the scene. “The one with the 'weird hair-cut' is Sam. Other brunette is Sander. Good. What about the others? Herc, Trend, Thea? What were they doing? The two blondes and the native American girl?”

“One of the blondes was kind of hypnotized by the mohawked kid's ass and the other was making out with the girl”, replied Rika nonchalantly. “They were all beyond wasted and certainly reached a happy place. You went over to them to tell them that you'd be going home with us and the cute one waved you off and that girl and the mohawked guy gave you a thumbs-up. That's it. We left. Rode Arion home to Heldenheim and had hot, amazing sex on the kitchen-counter, the couch and my bed. Wait... uhm... You did me first, then I did you and then we-”

“Okay, okay, okay”, interrupted Nico embarrassed, her ears catching fire.

“You are fascinating”, noted Arielle intrigued. “You turn into a dog and you catch fire? What are you? I mean, are you really a demigod? Or... something else? What kind of creature-”

“I'm a legacy of Hephaestus”, huffed Nico slightly offended. “My mamá controls fire and passed that power down to me. And the shifter-gen has been in my father's family for centuries.”

“So, basically, you're a legacy that could probably kick every demigod's ass?”, summarized Arielle a little impressed. “Sweet. All I do is swim a lot and talk to fishes. And turn into a mermaid.”

“Continue your pissing-contest after we woke the Sleeping Beauties, will you?”, grunted Rika.


	57. Six Sons not Defied Part I

57\. Six Sons not Defied Part I

 

Saying that Herc was frustrated would be an understatement. For hours now, he had been walking in circles. The last thing he remembered was being at the bar and making out with Thea and then... everything was kind of black. When he woke up again, he had found himself in a hotel room. Since then, he had tried to find a way out of the hotel. To no avail. Every time he got into the elevator, he just went all the way down – from the 69th floor – and as soon as it was down, it went up again to its original starting point, releasing Herc back to the 69th floor. Whenever he tried the stairs, opening the door to the staircase, he just found himself faced with the room he had woken up in. Groaning frustrated, he opened the door to the staircase just one more time, hopeful.

“Success?”, asked Sam skeptical. “Or failure? You look like failure, dude.”

Herc nodded in frustration and entered the hotel room to join Sam. He was glad that he wasn't stuck on his own – he had found Sam in the room next to his – but he was frustrated that they had no idea if their five friends were alright, hurt, stuck or safe in the normal world.

“I just can't break free. I tried frying the elevator with some lightning, but...”, sighed Herc, gesturing to his frizzled hair. “It bit me in the ass. Never did that before. My own powers, backfiring...”

“Come here”, ordered the son of Ares, patting the spot on the bed next to him. “Don't exhaust yourself like that. Whoever keeps us stuck here is probably waiting for us to be exhausted from running around and trying to break free and then, once we're at our weakest, they'll strike.”

“You're probably right”, agreed Herc and collapsed on the bed.

It was the honeymoon suit. Or something like that. It was fancy, pink, with a large bed and rose petals all over the pink sheets. Which made this situation just a little bit weird. Blushing slightly, he laid down as far away from Sam as possible, without falling off the bed.

“You know I don't bite, Hercy”, smirked the son of Ares and scooted closer, resting one hand on his chest, his voice dropping to a low, seductive whisper. “Or are you afraid I'll do... worse?”

Herc's blush darkened, embarrassment filling him. But that soon got replaced by something else. A mild annoyance, irritation and the feeling of humiliation. He wasn't stupid, he knew that Sam knew of his feelings by now. All the teasing and the 'babe' and the seductive comments.

“Why are you doing this?”, asked Herc upset. “Why are you making fun of me like that?”

“Who said I'm making fun of you?”, asked Sam with one cocked eyebrow.

“The name-calling, the touching, the winking and flirting”, groaned Herc frustrated. “You're teasing me. You're making fun of me. Why? Is it that much fun for you that I fancy you?”

“Who said I'm making fun of you?”, repeated Sam, the hand on Herc's chest slowly running up and down the blonde's toned chest. “Maybe I'm trying to encourage you into acting on that fancying.”

“W—What?”, stuttered Herc wide-eyed.

Suddenly, the son of Ares was hovering above him, only inches between their faces. Those eyes were just impossibly deep and dark, the longer he stared into them, the more shades of green he could spot, as though he was walking through a forest, discovering different and new plants on his way. And those lips, those pink, kissable lips. How much he wanted to at least once try them.

“I want you, Hercules Grace”, whispered Sam, his face slowly lowering down to Herc's level. “Is it that strange for you to picture? You're tall, heroic, blonde, gorgeous, strong. Everything I want.”

Herc was pretty sure that his brain just got fried again and stopped working at all. But then it kicked back in, and with a vengeance. With wide eyes did Herc shake his head vehemently.

“W—What about Trend? You love Trend!”, protested the legacy of Jupiter.

“Well...”, drawled Sam, his hand sneaking beneath the shirt as it started to trace Herc's six-pack. “I start getting bored with always the same. I want to know what... others would feel like. What you would feel like. He doesn't have to know. This could stay between you and me. I know... how much you want me. You want to try me. You _long_ for me. Then take me. Give in to your yearning.”

For a split second, Herc was tempted. Tempted to pull Sam down, to seal those lips with his own. To taste the other hero. To worship more than just the ground Sam was walking on, but rather Sam in general. His body. To take what he was longing to try. Grabbing the son of Ares around the waist, he flipped them over and pinned a widely smirking Sam to the bed.

“What the fuck?”, growled Sam irritated as he suddenly found himself with Herc's Imperial Gold sword pressed tightly against his throat. “Dude, are you crazy? You're into some kinky shit.”

“Who are you?”, asked Herc sharply, putting more pressure onto the blade.

“What?”, snorted Sam ridiculed. “I'm the boy you secretly fantasize about while masturbating.”

“You're not”, grunted Herc. “You're not Sam. Sam would never do that to Trend. Because the reason why I worship Sam so much is his honest heart. There is a reason why he wields the Heart of War, because even though he's a son of War, he has always followed his heart. So who are you?”

The boy beneath him started to flicker and then to fade. Once Sam had vanished, Herc collapsed on the bed, which caused someone behind him to laugh. Whirling around, Herc held his sword high. There was a man, no, younger, around his age. A pretty boy. With lush hair, large eyes, long lashes, a slender body. Didn't look much like a danger, which only made him more dangerous.

“You're good”, praised the stranger, clapping in slow-motion. “I wouldn't have thought you'd see through it that fast. I also wouldn't have thought you'd stay strong, Hercules Grace.”

“Who. Are. You?”, growled Herc dangerously, slowly getting up.

“I am Pothos, the son of Aphrodite”, smiled the other wickedly. “I chose you too feed on, while my brothers took your friends. You're so... delicious. I take your energy to give it to my mistress.”

“You feed off me...?”, asked Herc confused. “Of what...? Who are you, damn it?!”

Pothos however just shook his head and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, everything darkened around Herc and he started to feel heavy and tired, succumbing to sleep.

 

/break\

 

Confused didn't even remotely cover Sander's feelings as Herc and Trend were sitting on the hotel bed with him, joking and talking. While wearing tuxes. Something about this was kind of weird.

“Dudes? What's going on?”, asked Sander and tilted his head like a confused puppy.

Herc and Trend went silent and stared at him strangely. “It's your wedding day, Sander.”

“My what? What's that supposed to mean?”, grunted the brunette stunned.

“Your wedding day, moron”, laughed Herc and shook his head, shoving Sander. “Man, you must have hit the bottle hard on your bachelor party last night. We're in the hotel, getting ready for the Big Day. Donny is with Sam, Thea and Nico, getting pretty and what not.”

Sander frowned thoughtful. Well, he did remember alcohol. Could that really be it? Had he drunken himself so dumb that he forgot today was his wedding day? Herc and Trend in fancy tuxedos surely were a dead giveaway. Also, he was wearing fancy too. And he never wore fancy.

“Shit. I can't be late for my wedding!”, gasped Sander and scrambled off.

“There, there, big hero”, smiled Trend kindly and walked over to Sander. “Calm down.”

The Greek blonde slowly tied the bow around Sander's neck, gripping his shoulder in silent support. Sander offered him a small, nervous smile. His wedding day. His big day. The day Donny di Angelo would forever become his. He couldn't remember how long he had dreamed of this day.

 

/diary|entry\

 

_Dear diary. Too girly. Dear journal. A lie. Dear roll of toilet-paper. There we go!_

_So yeah, this hotel room lacks proper paper, so I'm writing on toilet-paper, which in itself is kind of frustrating. But I start going insane here. This is day 89 of my imprisonment. Or day 1. Time is impossible to tell here, because there are no windows, no clocks, I can't feel any appetite so I can't even tell when it's around feeding-time. Also, no sleep. The same routine every time. I wake up in Room 7 on the 69 th floor of the Erotel. Twenty days ago, I figured out that it's a stupid pun on Erotes and hotel. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself. The same routine. I wake up here, I can wander around and do whatever I please, but as soon as I enter Room 9 and meet fake-Sam, he starts hitting on me. Whenever I fight him off, I faint like a freaking little girl and wake up in Room 7 again. It's always the constant same. So I came to count the days in waking-ups. 89. When I'm trying to find a way out, sometimes, fake-Sam comes out of his room and comes after me. I'm currently hiding in the elevator, because once it's running, it has to go all the way down and all the way up again before he has a chance to enter. He really freaks me out. Because he is Sam. He looks like Sam, smells like Sam, feels like Sam, talks like Sam. And I want him, I want to try, but..._

_I think it's a test. To get farther ahead finally. The Erotes. I figured it out. Pothos, the son of Aphrodite. I remember something Thea had once told me, since her mother is a daughter of Aphrodite, she especially liked researching the famous children of Aphrodite._

_The Erotes are six brothers, but I really don't remember their names and realms and stuff. There was something about love or sex or something like that. But I know that Thea knows. And Thea will figure it out. If Thea is stuck with one of them, she will figure it out, will find a way out. And then we're free. I just have to stay strong a little longer. Which grows harder with each day, because it's Sam. And he is behaving like the real Sam, aside from the whole dismissing-Trend-thing._

 

/break\

 

“You look beautiful”, whispered Sander in total awe, kissing his beautiful boyfriend.

The wedding was amazing and messy and funny, just the way he had always dreamed it to be. Even his mom was wearing a dress – and he could count the occasions he had seen her in a dress on one hand. Percy was crying, half into Clarisse's shoulder, half into Nico's. Chiron was wearing half a tux, but that was excused because he was also half a horse. And seemingly half a priest. Marshall, Herc, Sander and Cally were on Sander's side. Thea, Sam, Bianca and Nico were on Donny's. And then there was Donny. Gorgeous, beautiful, pretty Donny. Every word ever created to mean breathtakingly beautiful could not cover how amazing Donny looked in his white tuxedo.

“You don't look so shabby yourself... Mister di Angelo”, smiled Donny mischievously.

Sander shuddered slightly at the name, blushing a bit. They had talked about it. A lot of times, during their quest. Wait. Their quest. Sander frowned confused, his eyes unfocused as he tried to recall the outcome of the quest. Surely he must have drunken a lot on his bachelor party if he forgot today was his wedding day, but he couldn't have possibly forgotten something as important as their big quest and how it all ended? There was something, with alcohol. Beer. A bar. And then... black. Just like now. The faces around him started to fade the more he recalled, until he was out cold.

 

/break\

 

“How is yours doing, brother dearest?”, asked Pothos a little bored as he walked into the surveillance room of the hotel. “Because mine is slowly driving me insane.”

The Erotes already sitting at the control panel hummed slightly. “Mine is a dream. I mean, weddings? That guy is hooked. He is basically not thinking about anything else aside from his dream wedding with his boyfriend. It is so adorable! I totally ship them!”

“Calm down again, Hymenaios”, grunted Pothos and rolled his eyes. “You need him to pull through with it. Finish the wedding, seal it with the wedding night. How far are you with that?”

“Not so well”, sighed Hymenaios with a pout, ruffling his short, dark hair. “He keeps remembering the quest all the time during the ceremony. At one point, I got him all the way up to cutting the wedding cake, but yeah... As much as he fantasizes about marrying Donny and sealing the Sonny-deal, he cares just too much about his friends, worrying about that stupid, stupid quest.”

“Well, mine just has a too high level of moral”, grunted Pothos annoyed.

“Make the temptation larger”, shrugged Hymenaios bored. “Like I do. Every time he resets the dream, I take it up a notch. After the first time, I added the best men in his room right away. Second time, I brought in that huntress-sister of him that he cares so very much about.”

“Taking it up a notch?”, hummed Pothos intrigued. “Good idea. But what is a Sonny?”

 

/break\

 

It had been a pleasant surprise that things didn't really change. His toilet-paper roll-diary was still in the elevator when he woke up next. He had never thought he'd start a diary, but stuck in a lonely place, all on his own, without any distraction, that did drive the best hero insane. And he already finished reading the Bible in the nightstand. Which was another thing he never had considered doing before. But boredom does that to an ADHD hero. He needed a distraction.

“Hello, Hercules.”

Not that kind of distraction. Wow. Really not that kind of distraction. Herc's breath hitched when he saw a naked Sam, sprawled all over his bed. Yes, he had started to think of Room Seven as his room. Sam looked delicious, stretched out like a lazy cat, dark eyes filled with lust.

“S—Sam”, gasped Herc and blushed furiously, hastily closing his eyes. “G—Get dressed.”

“I must say, I do prefer him naked. He's like a painting from Michelangelo when he lays like that.”

Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, just to see that his ears had not fooled him. Trend just came out of the bathroom, also naked. And unshaven. With the stubbles on his chin, the son of Athena looked even more dangerous than normally. Wilder. He was normally more trimmed, timid, controlled.

“You're new”, commented Herc uncomfortably. “What are you doing here?”

Trend had never appeared in any of his fantasies. Not the ones he usually had and not the ones Pothos send him. The son of Athena just chuckled amused and sat down on the bed, right behind Sam. His fingers were wandering over smooth thighs, caressing Sam. Those legs. They had been haunting Herc's dreams for years now. Since he had first seen Sam when he had visited Sander in New Athens. Sam in swimming shorts at the lake. Long, smooth, toned legs. Not a single hair marring the picture of those amazing yet strong legs. It was a kink of his, he had to admit. Legs.

“Sammy and I talked”, started Trend, his hands slipping between Sam's legs, slowly pushing them apart. “I... I am the first one he ever bottomed for after... You know. But I'm selfish. I'm not going to set him free so he can make experiences in the outside world and return to me again if he feels like that. He's mine, I'm not giving him back. But I also don't want to... stand between him and experience. So we made an agreement. He will tell me about the guys that catch his interest, I will judge if he's acceptable and I will be _present_. Also, no blowjobs. His mouth is mine.”

Herc knew this was just a dream anyway. Something Pothos had made up. He knew he shouldn't be listening to what they have to say, but thinking about returning to square one again was not appealing. There was also the matter of those bronze-skinned, long legs, parted invitingly, with a hard cock in the middle. Not really what Herc was after though.

“You want him, want to feel how tight he is, how he feels around your cock. Try him”, whispered Pothos into his ear, like the chiming of the wind. “Try him. I didn't make this up. Our powers don't work like that, we're no dream-spirits, not the sons of Morpheus or Phanatos, we're the sons of Aphrodite. We work with the same as mother. With a spark. Our powers don't work if there's not a spark of lust, want, desire. A spark of _truth_. We play with possibilities. Why don't you enjoy it?”

Herc heaved a sigh, just as Pothos disappeared again. He didn't know how far that was true, but he knew that he had scarcely seen something as enchanting as a widely spread Sam. Thea would make fun of him now for being such a sap. Heck, she would probably just clap him on the shoulder and tell him that this was just a stupid dream and no one could blame him for _dreaming_. 93. He had withstood Sam's cheekiness and... and Sam's Sam-ness for 93 times now. Maybe it was time to succumb and give in to what he longed for. Sinking onto the bed, between Sam's legs, he tenderly grabbed Sam's cheeks with both hands, holding the other boy's face. So soft. While Herc sometimes let himself grow a three-days-beard, or Sander occasionally tried himself on a mustache, or Trend, who actually rocked that raggedy, unshaven style. There was also Loki, who always grew that wicked mustache with the twirled, pointy ends and the pointy goatee. But Sam? Sam was always accurately shaved. And waxed. Though he had overheard that part when he had listened in on a conversation between Derek and Sander. Sam waxed his legs and upper body, which yeah, even though Herc had only hero-worshiped Sam, _this_ had really turned him on.

“You're gorgeous”, whispered Herc in awe, touching the smooth thighs with shaking hands.

“Yeah, yeah. You going to fuck me or are you too busy worshiping me?”, snorted Sam amused.

“Can't I do both?”, asked Herc with a small grin, kissing Sam's right hand.

He kissed along Sam's arm, enjoying the soft, smooth skin beneath his lips. He bit Sam's shoulder once he reached it. The son of Ares relaxed, leaning back against Trend, who held him around the waist. Herc continued kissing and licking all over Sam's chest and sixpack, dipping his tongue into Sam's navel and twirling it around Sam's nipples. While his tongue was busy with the upper half of his body, his hands busied themselves with Sam's entrance. Anal had always been his favorite, thankfully enough, Thea was into that too. Sam moaned throatily as Herc thrust his fingers in and out of the tight hole. During the preparation, Sam spread his legs more. Very temptingly so.

“I... I feel like I'm defiling something sacred”, muttered Herc embarrassed, caressing Sam's hips.

“Dude, I'm not a god. And even those are busy with filthy stuff”, snorted Sam amused.

He was right. Sam wasn't a god. Sam just another demigod, just another hero. He wasn't that much different from Herc. Another hormonal teenager. Who really wanted sex at the moment. Smiling softly down at the son of Ares, Herc entered the tightness for the first time. It was tight, so tight and like velvet. Like... something indescribable. Something he had dreamed of so often and now finally feeling it, he could not possibly describe how good that felt. He thrust and enjoyed the tight feeling of that one boy, that only boy he had ever desired. His rhythm was slow and steady, relishing in every second he spend inside of Sam. Those large, green eyes stared at him so intensely and open. Full of all those emotions that had made him adore Sam to begin with. He gave a heated groan as his orgasm slowly build up. His hands greedily slid up and down the bronze-skinned thighs, his grip on them tight as he came, finally, deep into the brunette. Moaning hoarsely, he collapsed on the bed.

 

/break\

 

“Never thought I'd say that, but damn, Hymenaios, you were right”, grunted Pothos stunned as he stared at the surveillance camera for Room Seven, his arms around Hymenaios' shoulders.

Hymenaios huffed and rolled his eyes. “You deal with longing, with the pre-relationship part of the story. I deal with weddings. The happily-ever-after. Both of yours have already found their happily-ever-after, so you have to weave that into your story, honey-bun.”

“Don't call me that. Do not ever call me that again”, muttered Pothos and shook his head.

“Yes, yes”, chuckled Hymenaios with a wink. “Now, I helped you, so you may be able to help me. I know that Chrysander's biggest dream is this wedding, but I just can't reach it.”

“Spike it up”, shrugged Pothos bored. “Kinks. Something that makes him look forward to the wedding night even more. So much, that he only focuses on that and finally gets to the sex.”


	58. Six Sons not Defied Part II

58\. Six Sons not Defied Part II

 

“Please, babe. Pretty please? It's our wedding. You would be the prettiest bride.”

And that was when Donny knew that it wasn't real. He glared heatedly at the Sander laying on his bed, surrounded by the most beautiful wedding dresses. Shaking his head, he huffed.

“No. I'm not putting on a dress!”, growled Donny, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Mh. Unexpected.”

Jumping slightly, he turned around to face a frowning... girl-boy. Blinking a couple of times, Donny stared at the extremely pretty black-haired curvy boy. The other was looking him up and down.

“W—What?”, asked Donny unsure. “Who are you?”

“Let's cut this short, will we?”, sighed the stranger. “Hermaphroditos, yes _the_ Hermaphroditos. Erotes of effeminacy. I figured I'd have an easy time with you. Your handsome little boyfriend there, begging with those extremely pleading eyes for you to dress up for that one day he had been dreaming about for years. I thought you'd melt right away. Truth be told, even I would melt, looking at that adorable, handsome guy over there. So, tell uncle Hermaphroditos why not.”

Suddenly, they sat together at a table, with two glasses of red wine between them and soft violin music in the background. This was not how he had pictured facing his first enemy.

“I'm not going to wear a dress. I'm not a girl”, replied Donny firmly.

“Well, all your little friends _constantly_ call you girly, a princess and what not. Never heard you complain there, sweetheart”, snorted Hermaphroditos with one cocked eyebrow.

“Because they mean it in an affectionate way. They do. Others don't. I'm aware that everybody is making fun of me, that no one takes me serious. That I'm just a useless, little princess to most. And I don't care. Those who matter know better. I won't let anyone humiliate me like that, putting me into a dress so everyone can have a laugh. Sander knows that. He knows I'm not a girl and I hate that everyone treats me like one. He would never ask that of me.”

“Mh, tell me more”, nodded Hermaphroditos intrigued.

 

/break\

 

Sam moaned hoarsely as he bucked his hips up into the wet cavern of his lover's throat, his fingers fisting the other boy's hair the moment he hit his orgasm and came down the hot throat. Gasping and panting were the only sounds that could be heard when Sam collapsed against the ground. Licking his lips, his lover crawled over to him and laid down, strong arms possessively wrapped around Sam's waist to tug him close into a tight embrace.

“I should have figured that you're a cuddler, San”, grunted Sam and rolled his eyes. “No. Stop it.”

“B—But...”, whined Sander with a pout. “Cuddling is like totally part of sex! And _you_ agreed that we do this friends with benefits thingy where we get each other off for stress-relief during quests! I don't feel relieved of my stress yet! I need cuddles to complete the process.”

Cocking one eyebrow, Sam stared down at his friend a little ridiculed. “Are you serious? Oh damn, you _are_ serious. Fuck it, if I don't watch out, you'll turn into my boyfriend or shit like that.”

“Don't be mean”, complained Sander, still pouting. “I just think that if we do this jerking off and blowing each other thing to get the pend up energy out of our systems and be ready to kick some monster butts, it's really not asking to much that we cuddle afterward, is it? Also, we're sleeping _outside_. It's probably going to be below zero, so... uhm... warmth?”

“Yeah, right”, snorted Sam and gave in, snuggling up to Sander. “Don't go all boyfriend on me.”

“Wouldn't think of it, bro”, grinned Sander happily and closed his eyes. “Night, Sam.”

Sam smiled slightly as he cuddled up to the warmth of the other brunette. It was one of his fondest memories from the last five years. A year after... after Leroy, after training, after _everything_ , when him and Sander had been on their first quest. They had it figured out when they had accidentally kissed after slaying their first monster together. The boiling blood of a son of Ares. Sam had said that he was sorry and how he wasn't in love with Sander or anything and, well, basically he had vomited words. But Sander had understood and in a weird conversation, they had settled for being friends with benefits – only on quests and only because both had been single during that time. Later on, it had proved to be a constant on their quests whenever neither of them was in a relationship. Quests were a lot of stress, much adrenaline and for ADHD demigods who had too much energy anyway, that added nervousness and energy was not a good mix with the fact that they needed to be on alert and concentrated. Sex meant relief, meant losing some of that nervous edge and stress. They didn't have sex, not penetration like sex. Jerking each other off, the occasional blowjob. Just for relief's purpose and once they returned to camp, they stopped. They were just friends.

“But would it have been so bad if you had become more?”

Sam jerked up at the new voice, patting the spot next to him for his sword. It wasn't there. It was still with their clothes where they had shed them before their little tumble in the woods. Too far away. There was a mischievous grinning redhead sitting between him and his weapon.

“W—Who are you? What are you doing in my memory?”, asked Sam defensively.

“I created it”, smiled the redhead and cocked his head. “Well, not it. You lived through it. I just pulled it out of the corners of your mind as an example. I'm Himeros, a son of Aphrodite.”

“I'm not going to be your dinner”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes as he plumed down onto the ground. “Well, at least we didn't get captured by someone _dangerous_.”

“Mh. Interesting. So you know who I am”, hummed Himeros intrigued.

“Himeros, one of the six Erotes. Sons of Aphrodite”, nodded Sam a bit bored. “Each of you have a realm, some kind of sub-category of Aphrodite's department of love. You feed off whenever someone succumbs to your realm. In your case, sexual desires. Which means you probably want to bribe me into sleeping with Sander so you get a meal out of this. Why you chose Sander is beyond me. We weren't even in a relationship, I never _desired_ him enough to ask him out. If you had given me Trend's cock, well that may be a totally different matter...”

“You're good. Clever boy”, praised Himeros amused. “Though you underestimate me.”

“How so?”, asked Sam curiously and sat up some.

“First you tell me how you know so much about us”, chided Himeros and sat down next to Sam.

“Aphrodite likes me. A lot. Like, I'm her favorite pet-project of this generation or stuff like that”, shrugged the son of Ares. “We sometimes meet up. She likes my cooking. We talk. Your turn.”

“Interesting”, nodded Himeros. “Okay. So. You may desire Trend now, but there was only one thing you truly ever desired. It's just handy that Trend turned out to be the one to provide you with it. Safety. Someone you could trust enough to bottom for. Someone with who you could be. That someone turned out to be Trend now, yes, thanks to your adorable, little friend who had helped building up your self-esteem and courage. Contrary to your belief, there is no such thing as the one, true love. That perfect soulmate. Ridiculous thought, that. So many millions and millions of people, why should anyone ever find his or her soulmate, scattered all over seven continents? Very self-centered thinking, that. No, there are many possible perfect soulmates, many possibilities. It's about compatibility and a spark, a spark to light up into burning passion. Trend may be one of your perfect compatible soulmates, but he's not the only one.”

“Mh. Good twist”, nodded Sam with a grin. “So you try to pull me in with a what-if.”

“You could say that, yes”, drawled Himeros and shrugged. “Though my real gig is that what you have right now could have been yours for four years now. The safety, security and all those fuzzy, warm feelings. You have that now with Trend, yes. But you could have had it for years.”

“Bull”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes once more.

“Like I said, more than one perfectly compatible soulmate”, hummed Himeros. “Sander would make you just as happy. You see him with Donny. He's dedicated and compassionate and very, very caring. If you wouldn't have pushed him away like that, he would have done everything to fix you. Don't you see it? It was barely a year after you broke up with Leroy and yet you trusted Sander enough to touch you like that. If you would have trusted yourself enough, you could have been happy and safe for four years now. All the pretense, the hiding from everyone – and even from yourself – you could have had it for years. Could have had that sweet, fluttery feeling.”

Sam frowned at him confused for a moment.

 

/break\

 

The violin music had long since been replaced by an upbeat rhythm to which Donny and Hermaphroditos were wildly dancing on top of the table, arm in arm and each holding a bottle of wine. Hermaphroditos had his tie around his head like a headband and both were wearing lipstick. Not on the lips though, but as war painting on their cheeks and foreheads.

“I'm done being everybody's princess!”, slurred Donny, holding the bottle in one hand.

“You're so right!”, agreed Hermaphroditos wildly, gulping down the rest of his own bottle, one arm thrown around Donny's shoulder. “See, I never wanted to be like _this_. Half guy, half girl!”

“No?”, asked Donny confused.

“No! I just wished to always be with my very female lover and now we're _one_ , literally!”, growled Hermaphroditos, taking Donny's bottle to take another drink. “Stuck as the god of homosexuality! All this happened I wanted to be with a _girl_ , this is ridiculous! A—And I, I was a guy and I wanted to be a guy! A guy-guy! Now I'm a girl-guy and have to listen to all the whiny brats stuck in an identity crisis! Sure, buh-huh you have it bad and all, but what do I care? I'm stuck myself, damn it! I can't change who I am, they, they at least have the opportunity with modern medicine and all!”

“You shouldn't let the gods treat you like that!”, gasped Donny, taking his bottle back. “You're one hell of a man, don't take that from them! Fight back and then you like can send that message to all those who pray for you! How can you help someone who's stuck when you're stuck yourself?”

“You're right!”, nodded Hermaphroditos wildly. “And you, you shouldn't take names from them! Next time that flower brat calls you a princess, you gotta kick him in the balls! You're a guy-guy too, one hell of a guy even, you know?”

“Aw, thanks!”, grinned Donny broadly. “You're right though. I'll kick Derek Rhys next time I see him and tell him that I am the son of Percy Jackson and I will not take anything from him!”

“That's the spirit, Don-Don!”, cheered Hermaphroditos, before everything for them went black.

 

/break\

 

“So, ready to kick some monster butts?”, asked Sam with a broad grin.

He wasn't the thirteen years old from his earlier memory, he was older. Closer to their quest, sixteen. He couldn't tell, but he knew he was _happy_. And Sander looked as happy.

“Always”, grinned the legacy of Hermes before turning toward Sam. “Kiss for good luck?”

“Since when do we need luck, babe?”, whispered Sam when he pulled Sander into a heated kiss.

“We don't. But I sure need kisses”, grinned Sander cheekily, his arms around Sam's waist.

Sander wanted to let go, but Sam held him firmly in place, his arms around Sander's neck. “This was nice. You and me. You were nice. You were nice to me. I guess... I could have saved myself from four years of... loneliness and pain and hiding, but...”

“What's wrong, Sammy?”, asked Sander concerned, kissing Sam's jaw.

“Even if Trend isn't my one true soulmate, even on the slim chance that that is right and that you and me, that we could have as much happiness”, continued Sam. “I know for a fact that you are Donny's one true soulmate and that he's yours. I'm not going to take you away from him. Sorry.”

Sam's eyes were firmly closed when he thrust his sword into fake-Sander's guts. He couldn't look at the other, because that hallucination looked too much like Sander and not even now could he bear the thought of killing Sander. Still, it was the only way he could have thought of to end this dream. He had thought that playing along would help, but in the end it was never good to do what the bad guys wanted. He had needed a taste of it, had wanted to see what his life could have been like, but even though the past four years had been amazing with Sander, he had witnessed how Sander and Donny had drifted apart over this long-term relationship, because Sander's feelings had changed. He had his focus on Sam and slowly, he banished his feelings for Donny, until the two of them were barely friends. Sam had seen Donny around camp, unhappy and lonely. He couldn't do that to Donny. Just because this would have made him happy earlier, it would have made Donny miserable and Trend wasn't really cheerful either. Also, he firmly believed that he could never give Sander what Donny could. Donny was perfect, was what Sander deserved. Sander deserved the best. So did Trend, but obviously that blonde, stupid idiot was already past realizing that. And for their sake, Sam had to get out of this dream. To help them be together again, because they were probably as stuck in a weird-ass dream as Sam was. He needed to get out.

 

/break\

 

“Hermy? You going to wake up any time soon? You got work to do, you know.”

Himeros cocked one eyebrow as he pocked his half-brother with a foot. But Hermaphroditos just groaned loudly and rolled over, curling together in a tight ball and holding his head. Heaving a sigh, Himeros turned toward the couch, looking pleadingly at the only other Erotes present.

“Don't look at me”, huffed Hymenaios and shook his head. “I have a wedding to plan! I'm just here because Pothos is driving me insane. He's been gloating about Hercules Grace, it's horrible.”

“Still no luck with the Rodriguez-boy?”, asked Himeros tentatively.

“Well, not enough”, sighed Hymenaios and shook his head. “Hermy! Wake up now!”

The loud screeching sound of his voice was enough to bring Hermaphroditos back from the half-dead. “Must you scream like that, brother? My head is killing me. Besides, I don't have work.”

“You do. The adorable di Angelo?”, snorted Hymenaios and rolled his eyes.

“Oh. Um...”, grunted Hermaphroditos and hastily sat up, staring wide-eyed. “I think I screwed up.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”, groaned Himeros and glared down at the other. “Your only job was to get the cute thing into a dress and let his hot fiance fuck him in the dress. How's that hard?”

“I think I kind of encouraged him to rebel against those bullying him...?”, yelped Hermaphroditos and shrugged when his brothers glared at him stunned. “I guess by now he already woke up from his And I think we drank to brotherhood...”

 

/break\

 

“Stop it!”, growled Nico and shoved Rika out of her way.

“Sorry. I'm bored. I normally make out with hot chicks when I'm bored”, pouted Rika.

The Latina groaned annoyed and ruffled her hair. When Nyssa and Kayla had first suggested for her to take back-up with her, she had been glad. But right now, she was short of setting them on fire. They were useless. Okay, that was unfair, because she was just as useless as them. It was probably just that she was frustrated after three days of basically nothing.

“Uhm, not to interrupt your daily dose of inappropriate behavior, but the cute one is waking up”, interrupted Arielle, glaring at them (as she always did). “He keeps groaning and whining.”

“What?”, yelped Nico and jumped up from her place next to the still sleeping Thea.

She ran as fast as she could to Sander's and Donny's room where Sander was still in a fitful sleep. Something they had noticed a day or two ago. Each had a different level of peace in their sleep. Donny had practically been dancing and singing the whole time while sleeping. It was adorable. Sander on the other hand was switching between the happiest possible to the saddest and most confused. It made Nico want to know what those guys were dreaming.

“Donny! Donny, damn it, you, I... Urgh!”, yelped Nico and threw herself at her cousin.

“Sh. Down. No loud noises”, groaned Donny, rubbing his face. “I'm hungover.”

“Dude, your little bar-tour has been three days ago”, snorted Rika ridiculed.

“So I've been on a bar-tour with Hermy for three days”, moaned Donny and hid his head beneath a large pillow. “I've spend days getting him drunk to get outta there... Though he _is_ awesome...”

“What is he talking about? Does that even make sense?”, asked Arielle confused.

Grunting slightly, Donny sat up enough to glare at the three girls. “After you left, lip-locked with that pale chick over there, we went back to the ship, where we kind of got kidnapped by... uhm, yeah, I think the Erotes. I for my part was stuck with Hermaphroditos, who was trying to get me into a dress, so instead I got him drunk until he let me go. Can I sleep now?”

“That still didn't make sense”, whispered Arielle as she pulled Rika with her.

“I think that's the alcohol still talking”, chuckled Rika amused, looking over at Nico. “Well, big boss with big boobs, your call. What are we going to do with drunk-head over there?”

“Eh... Uhm...”, stuttered Nico confused, looking between Donny and Rika.

“Don't worry, sweetheart”, smiled Arielle pitifully and grabbed a bottle of water to toss at Donny. “Here, legacy of Poseidon, have a drink of water to regenerate yourself.”

Uncapping the bottle, Donny downed it in one go and heaved a sigh. “I think it worked. I totally feel regenerated. And suddenly I think, bow-ties are cool.”

“Oh! He's through and through adorable! I want to keep him!”, laughed Rika ridiculed.

“Okay”, sighed Donny relieved. “Yeah. I'm good. Okay, back to the thing. What did you do?”

“We tried desperately to wake you guys up”, sighed Nico with a pout, hugging Donny again. “Didn't work. You're the first one to wake up. After three days. I—I... I thought you wouldn't...”

“It's alright, cuz”, whispered Donny, returning the hug, caressing Nico's curls. “We were captured by ancient gods. Perverted ancient gods. I don't... I don't think we can do anything from the outside. I mean, I was stuck with Hermaphroditos. I don't know why though, but I... I feel drained...”

“Well, they look drained. Whatever is happening, I think they are sucking your life-source or something”, hummed Rika and nodded slowly, her arms crossed over her chest.

“How about we let the cute one sleep some more while you make another one of your crying, sobbing help-calls to the hot black chick?”, suggested Arielle.

“I am not crying or sobbing when I talk to Joe!”, pouted Nico as she got shoved out of the room.

Donny frowned confused as he looked after them. “Well, that was kind of odd. And who were those two girls? And they call me weird... I'll never understand girls. I think that's why I'm gay.”

Shaking his head, Donny collapsed back on the bed, hugging the pillow tight. Rolling around, he faced his deep asleep fiance. An upset frown slipped onto his face as he snuggled up to Sander.

“Who is holding you captive, mio eroe?”, whispered Donny, cupping Sander's cheek and kissing him. “Come on, this works in Disney movies and fairy tales and every sap story dad ever told me. Please wake up, San. I _need you_. I don't know what's going on and I don't know what's happening with you. If what that girl said is true, then... then they're sucking the life out of you and Sam and Thea and Trend and Herc and... and I can't... I can't lose you. Please, San, be my strong hero and break free from this spell and get back to me, because I need you so much.”

Closing his eyes tightly, he buried his nose in Sander's neck. The brunette just grunted and hugged him in his sleep, a content and happy smile on his face.


	59. Six Sons not Defied Part III

59\. Six Sons not Defied Part III

Thea was well aware of what was going on. Well, mostly at least. She knew the name of the one holding her – Hedylogos, Erotes of Sweet-Talking – and she was pretty sure that they were trying to distract them or something like that. Okay, so she had no real idea what was going on. Something with the Erotes and temptation, that was it. But she couldn't help it, she was hooked. Sweet-talk. Charm-speak. Same difference. She had always wanted it. Her mom could do it. Two of her little brothers could do it. Sure, ma kept telling her that being a brains-girl was great, but it didn't help her much when she saw how Luke and Matt charm-spoke Fred into doing their homework or chores.  
So when Hedylogos had offered her the ability, who was she to say no? Even though she was aware that all of this was just a dream (one she would never talk about with anyone).  
“I'm not quite sure why I am here, Thea”, commented Trend with one cocked eyebrow.  
The two of them were laying on a large bed, playing cards while their lovers made out with each other. “Because it would be cheating if I had only gotten Sam in here. Also, as much fun as watching them is, it kind of gets boring on the long run. Hah, I win! Again.”  
Trend snorted and rolled his eyes, putting his cards down. Hedylogos followed tail. Both males, along with Thea, turned their attention to the still fucking boys. Herc was in the middle of passionately kissing Sam, still moving in short thrusts as he fucked the son of Ares hard.  
“Why this?”, asked Hedylogos intrigued, observing the two males. “Out of all the things you could have sweet talked out of the situation, why your boyfriend fucking around? Why not a nice threesome with your boyfriend and the... Sander-boy that you fancy, or fancied?”  
“Because Sander is... I'm over my crush on him. I still find him attractive, yes, but if I'd dream myself to sleep with him, I don't think I could look at him ever again”, muttered Thea and shook her head. “He's engaged to my best friend now. No. And Sam, well, he... I... I feel so bad for him, for what he has been through. And Herc is an amazing and tender lover, he would make Sam feel good too, I just know it. And Herc wants Sam – I know he wouldn't leave me for Sam, but he... well, he wants a taste of it. The way I see it, their relationship can never move forward to a friendship-level if they can't put that aside. And I think screwing it out would solve the problem. Also, I love the idea of two hot guys going at it and Sam is far from unattractive.”  
“You are a strange girl”, laughed Hedylogos and shuffled the cards just as Sam came with a loud cry. “Another round, or would you prefer to watch them change position?”  
“Why not both?”, grinned Thea impishly.

/break\

Donny sighed depressed as he caressed Sander's hair softly. Even though he had woken up the day before, he still had no idea how to wake his fiance. And he missed Sander, so very dearly. At least he had gotten Sam back, a couple of hours after he had woken up. So they had moved Sander to share a bed with Trend (so Sam and Donny could comfort each other while waiting for their lovers to wake up). Thea and Herc were in the room opposite theirs, so they could keep track on all four of them at the same time. Heaving another sigh, Donny ran the fingers of his other hand through Sam's hair, earning him a pleased purr from the catboy. Another problem they had to solve. Because when Sam had woken up, he had cat-ears and a bushy cat-tail. While Donny, Nico, Rika and Arielle had completely freaked out at that, Sam had calmly explained the situation to them. The Erotes were feeding off the animalistic, primal side of emotions. Each of a specific desire. In this special dream-state however, they were absorbing even more than they normally did on a regular feed. So the more someone in the dream-state gave in to the desires, the more of the animalistic side showed. Literally. So Donny's panic was not uncalled for. The longer their friends stayed in the dream-state, the more they would be turned into animals once they'd return. Donny was unchanged since he had not given in the least. He had instead drunken with Hermy, after all, so he had been safe.  
“Do you think they're alright?”, whispered Donny worried, scratching Sam's chin.  
“They're though. Of course they are”, purred Sam in reply, eyes closed in bliss. “Stop worrying so much. Sander loves you too much to leave your side. He'll find a way to break free.”  
“You always only talk about how much Sander loves me. But Trend, he... he loves you so very much”, pointed Donny out, frowning down at the catboy. “He'll come back to you, gattino.”  
Sam's eyes that had reminded Donny so very much of cat-eyes before were now purely wild and untamed as they glared up at Donny, accompanied with a hiss. “My Italian is good enough to know that I will be kicking your ass for that comment, di Angelo.”  
“Yeah?”, challenged Donny with a smirk. “You don't look like ass-kicking at the moment.”  
The catboy was leaning blissfully into Donny's touch. “As soon as you stop doing that.”  
“Damn. Trend is going to have a lot of fun with you, gattino”, grinned Donny softly. “He'll love this. You're just too cute as a kitten! With the purring and the cuddling!”  
“If you tell anyone anything about this, you're dead”, grunted Sam with another glare.  
“Of course, gattino”, grinned Donny teasingly, ruffling Sam's mohawk once more.

/break\

“Checkmate. I win. Again”, announced Trend as he took the black king.  
Twirling it around in his hand, he stared thoughtful at the figurine. Even though it had no craving, no face, no anything, it still reminded him of Donny. Tilting his head, he leaned back some, the fingers of his free hand running through the mohawk of his Sammy, sleeping with his head in Trend's lap. This was how Trend pictured the perfect afternoon. Playing a party of chess with a worthy opponent while having his Sammy curled together close by.  
“Another round, Trend?”, wanted said worthy opponent to know with a slight smirk.  
“Why are we playing chess, Anteros?”, asked the son of Athena. “I know this isn't real, but... Why?”  
“How do you know that this isn't real?”, countered Anteros, his smirk growing.  
“For one, you're a god, why should you just drop by for a party of chess. Also, Sammy would never in a million years stay that calm for that long. Chess bores him way too much, if this were the real Sammy, he would have protested and demanded for me to fuck him at least six times by now.”  
“You really know your little boy-toy there”, chuckled Anteros amused.  
“Don't call him that”, growled Trend dangerously. “Now, answer me.”  
“Okay, okay, okay”, laughed Anteros, running his fingers though his shoulder-long, gray hair. “So, you know who I am. You probably already figured out that I have five brothers and that you have five friends – not counting the one that ran away with the two chicks – and that the math adds up. We've had this planned. Had whispered into the two German demigods' ears to bring them here, knowing your little tinkerer wouldn't be able to resist. We had this planned for so long. Gods. Each of my brothers took one of your friends, feeding off that one aspect of desires that is heightened in each of you little demigods. And I took you. Required love. I took you, because for four years, you have been yearning for a boy who loved you back all this time. Who would have fucking thought you'd finally get your act together and get your boy, after all this time? So yeah, I can't really tempt you into a dream where you could have him if you already have him. So... Call this your personal waiting room. The down-side? You can't get out.”  
Sadly enough, Trend had to believe it. He had tried, dozens of times, before he had just settled for the game of chess that Anteros was offering. Heaving a sigh, Trend stared the Erotes down.  
“Can I have something else? As my waiting room? Because as much as I enjoy chess, this does get boring. I won 156 out of 300 games. I'd love to have a little change in scenery.”  
“Anything specific? You have been such a good meal ever since you got together with your little... ah, I'm not supposed to call him that”, chuckled Anteros mischievously. “You get one free wish.”  
“The future”, demanded Trend and perked up some.  
Anteros looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding slowly, rolling his wrist once and holding the palm up just as a sparkly, pink dragonfly appeared in it. “I can do that.”  
He didn't add that letting Trend see just how long and required his love was. Trend groaned at the by now slightly familiar sensation of time-travel. This was how he knew it was real. It felt real, different than the rest of his dream. Rubbing his face, he looked around the living room. What he saw threw him just a little off. Eli didn't look much older than the last time he saw the child. Still as happy and perfect as he remembered, with rosy cheeks and large, innocent, dark eyes. He was wearing a red headband with a large bow to keep his hair back that by now reached his shoulder-blades. He was also wearing a very pretty white dress with red hearts all over it. He stood in the kitchen, acting as though he was cooking, with a pan and a spatula in his hands. And next to him stood Cal di Angelo, with his olive-skin and messy brown hair. Not wearing a dress. Chuckling softly to himself, Trend leaned against the wall and observed the two of them play. While Eli seemingly cooked, Cal sat on the floor and tended to a happily giggling Colene, as well as his own younger siblings – three most adorable little di Angelos.  
“Wiveys! I'm home!”, exclaimed Tom Grace loudly as he marched into the room.  
“Hello, darling husband!”, chimed Eli and giggled wildly at his own words.  
“Cal!”, chided Tom with an upset frown. “Why aren't you wearing the pretty dress?”  
“I don't like dresses”, mumbled Cal and looked up at Tom with impossibly large sea-green eyes.  
Tom huffed displeased and wrapped one arm around Eli's waist. “At least you're a good wifey!”  
“Don't say that”, chided Eli and hit Tom with the spatula before hugging Cal. “You make Cal sad. Don't make Cal sad. You're not being a good husband if you make your wife sad.”  
Tom's face fell as he saw the guilty look on Cal's face. “I'm sorry, Cally! I didn't mean to make you sad! You're a good wifey! Really! A—And you don't have to wear a dress if you don't want to!”  
“They're so fucking adorable, it gives me cavities to look at them sometimes.”  
Trend started slightly as he felt arms wrap around his waist and a head resting on his shoulder. Turning slightly, he looked at the broadly grinning Sam. Still gorgeous, even ten years in the future.  
“You're beautiful”, blurted the son of Athena out.  
“I know”, grinned Sam broadly and pleased. “I can rock this four-times-mom and still part-time-lawyer thing. Because I'm just fucking amazing like that.”  
“Yes, you are”, agreed Trend contently, pulling the son of Ares up against him.  
This was the life he wanted. The life he fought for. So Sam would be his husband and Eli would be his son. So he would one day get to scold Tom Grace for being such a demanding, little brat.

/break\

“Okay, if I have to watch you guys mooning over your sleeping boyfriends, I am going to go crazy”, grunted Rika displeased, crossing her arms. “This is no good. At all. I'm all in for causing trouble and strife, I'm not for this whole rescuing-stuff.”  
“Talking to the wrong mermaid here”, scoffed her best friend Arielle with one cocked eyebrow.  
The five of them had gathered in the mess hall to contemplate their options. Not that they could come up with many of those. They had talked to Kayla via IM, but the daughter of Apollo couldn't help any either. Even though they had done everything she had instructed them, brewed up various, time-consuming and also sadly enough failing antidotes for sleeping diseases. None worked. They all just wasted time. The sun was setting once more as the five of them sat together.  
“I'd like to return to New Athens comes tomorrow morning”, offered Donny timidly.  
“Your ma's birthday is no reason to take a break from the quest”, snorted Sam and poked him.  
“Fanboy”, grinned Donny teasingly. “Of course you know my ma's birthday. But no, that's not it. I think we need help. We're stuck. It's been what now? Five days since we got abducted. If we waste any more time on cures that won't work, we may lose them forever. I'm the leader of this quest and I think it's time to ask for help. We're no good like this and I want my Sander back.”  
One of his hands slipped absentmindedly back between Sam's cat-ears, caressing the stripe of hair. The son of Ares was a strong pillar to lean against and an even better comfort. The purring catboy leaned into the touch, nodding slowly in agreement.  
“I second that. There's no one with more experience than Percy di Angelo”, agreed Sam softly.  
“I think you should go and rest up then. Shadow-traveling still takes a lot of energy from you”, suggested Nico with sad eyes. “I just hope your mom will be able to help us, Don-Don...”  
Nico watched how her friends left one by one. Donny and Sam returned back to the side of their boyfriends and Arielle and Ulrika had volunteered to take first watch. The Latina stared into nothingness for a little while longer before getting up and walking over to the bathroom. It had become her routine, because she couldn't stand looking at her comatose friends. So while Ulrika and Arielle tried themselves on the cures and Sam and Donny spend their time with the comatose crew-members, Nico sat on the ground of the shower, folded small as she waited for Joe to pick up the call. It was pathetic, at least to Nico, how much she relied on the younger girl.  
“You look even more mopey than the last time you called”, commented Joe, one eyebrow cocked.  
“I'm sorry”, whispered Nico shallowly.  
“Stop saying that”, groaned Joe, running her fingers through his blue-dyed hair. “This is not your fault. Nothing of this is your fault, Nico. Why do you keep saying that? It's not your fault.”  
“But it is!”, whined Nico, looking at her wide-eyed. “If I hadn't gone with Rika and slept with her, I would have been there and maybe, that could have changed things!”  
The chocolate-skinned girl stared at her dumbfounded for a moment. “That's... new.”  
Nico stared wide-eyed, clapping her hands over her mouth in shock. She hadn't wanted to say that. Because she had feelings for Joe, strong feelings, and once this quest was over, she had wanted to confess and ask Joe out on a date and get her own happily ever after, just maybe. How was she supposed to get that now?! Joe would never understand or accept it, how could she? Nico would seem dishonest if she'd say that she's been having feelings for Joe for months now if Joe knew that Nico had slept with Rika not even a week ago. If not the fates, then she seemed quite capable of ruining her own life and happiness all on her own.  
“Do you love her?”, asked Joe, her voice soft, not showing emotions. “I mean, she's sticking around. She's staying on the ship with you, helping you. Is she your girlfriend? We've been talking every single day and you haven't even mentioned anything like that! I though her and the redhead are just two demigods Nyssa Black send to help you!”  
“What? No! It's not like that-”, started Nico desperately, tearing up. “It was just a stupid, stupid, stupid drunken one-night-stand and I don't know... I don't... She's not my girlfriend, I... Joe?”  
“Why are you so desperate to explain yourself to me?”, sighed Joe, looking exhausted. “I spend years listening to you whining about Kara and Danny and even Thea. It's fine. If you found a nice girl to be with, that's fine. I just want you to be happy, Nico. You're one of my best friends. Now, how is that quest of yours coming along?”  
Nico happily took the bait and started ranting on about Donny's idea.

/break\

“Anty!”, exclaimed Hymenaios excitedly and sat up from where he laid on the couch.  
The dark-haired Erotes was laying half on top of Pothos, reading a wedding magazine while Pothos ran his fingers through the chestnut-colored shoulder-long hair. The loud screech of his high-pitched voice easily got the attention of the other Erotes. Hedylogos smiled slightly as he looked up from the chess game he was just setting for himself and Anteros. Himeros grinned to himself as he watched his brothers. He loved them very dearly and enjoyed observing them. Perhaps it was his own realm, the sexual desires, that made the fierce red-head so in-tuned to his brothers.  
Hymenaios and Pothos were the most obvious. Pothos, that tall, blonde sunny-boy, the one everybody longed for – may it be to be with him, or to be him. His realm surely was the biggest curse. Yearning, always yearning for something yet not knowing for what. Which probably was why he enjoyed Hymenaios' company more than anything, because the dark-haired, cheeky brat knew exactly what he wanted. Weddings. He had planned every big wedding on Olympus ever. He may be cheeky, but he was settled, he knew exactly what he wanted. In a way, that anchored Pothos.  
Hedylogos and Anteros however were a completely different story. While Pothos was the athletic lean type and Hymenaios was the cheeky, fresh Asian, Anteros was the elderly gentleman with the George Clooney air and a serious sovereignty. He was more the sitting with a glass of wine while playing a party of chess. Then again, he was required love. The lasting kind. Ironically enough, he was the epitome of Hedylogos' prey, which was probably why the sweet-talker was sitting there in expectations of a game of chess. The youthful brunette was the symbolization of all those who sweet-talked the money out of their sugar-daddies and cougars.  
There was also Hermaphroditos, but he was literally a lost case. After all, he was one with his love. There wasn't much fun in that, at least not for Himeros. Hermaphroditos was still busy sulking that he had screwed up, while simultaneously trying to get rid of his hangover. Not that Himeros was one to talk. After all, Sam Raser slipped away from him too. So with nothing else to do – and not in the mood to sulk (or in the need of a hangover-cure) – Himeros spend all his attention on his brothers. It had always been unspoken of, since the brothers scarcely all were in the same room, all had their own lust to chase and people to influence. So for the first time in too many centuries, all six of them were together and Himeros could feel the spark of desire. This would be fun. Getting up, he sashayed over to Anteros and Hedylogos, resting an innocent hand on Hedylogos' shoulder.  
“Why are we even doing this? I mean, really, I have no interest in their little feud”, sighed Himeros.  
The sweet-talking brunette hummed non-comical. “I thought it would be nice to have a little family-reunion. Also, heroes do taste delicious. But mainly I though we all did it because of Hymen.”  
“Now if you'd stop distracting us?”, sighed Anteros, running his fingers through his gray hair.  
“Sorry, sorry, old man”, laughed Himeros mischievously and turned toward his other brothers. Hymenaios was laying curled together against Pothos' side, his magazines sprawled all over Pothos' quite impressive six-pack and chest. Not that the blonde looked as though he minded.  
“Why did you agree to this, Hymen?”, questioned Himeros and plunged down next to the Asian.  
Hymenaios blinked a couple of times, spitting the cap of the pink marker out so he could talk while circling a gorgeous wedding-dress. “Because I need to plan this wedding. It's like, I have to. But to do so, I have to get to know Sander and Donny. I figured this was a nice way of meeting.”  
“Feeding off them?”, snorted Pothos with one arched eyebrow.  
“There's no such thing as good and bad”, shrugged Hymenaios as he started to doodle on Pothos' six-pack with his pink marker. “I mean, come on, this is not... not that serious. It's a little quarrel. Zeus, Hades and Poseidon have them all the freaking time. We picked a side, so what. If they win, they win. Not really our loss either. But I feel as though I'm getting closer to Sander and once I have that trustworthy puppy, I am so going to be the wedding planner for the Sonny-wedding.”  
“He still hasn't explained to me what a Sonny is”, shrugged Pothos as he noticed the questioning look Hymenaios gave him. “Don't ask me. Just nod and smile or something like that.”  
“You're so adorable”, snorted Himeros and rolled his eyes.


	60. Roman Roads (Camp Life Part IV)

60\. Roman Roads (Camp Life Part IV)

 

Sam sat curled together on the bed, his arms around his legs and his chin on his knees. He had broken out of his spell because he had wanted to return to his loved ones. To his Trend. But even after days, Trend had still not woken up. Because Sam wasn't worth returning to. Yes, Sam knew that out of reasons he could not for the life of him fathom, Trend loved him. But that didn't mean that Sam was in any way worthy of Trend's love. And every hour Trend didn't wake up, wasn't there to try and convince him of the opposite, that tight feeling in his chest got worse. What made everything even worse was that he couldn't help Trend. So additional to spiraling down into this dark and worthless pit, he also felt completely useless and helpless, because he couldn't help Trend. Which was probably the reason why he was where he was. In Leroy's bedroom, on his bed. The epitome of feeling helpless, useless and worthless. And like most dreams that took place in this room, he could already hear the heavy steps of Leroy closing in on him.

“Now, little one, let's have some fun.”

Whimpering slightly to himself, Sam tried to fold himself even tighter. But the touch didn't come and as the bed dipped down under the weight of another person, it was far lighter than he remembered Leroy to be. Shyly he opened his eyes and turned his head to the other.

“P—Pothos”, whispered Sam stunned and stared at the blonde Erotes. “What are you doing here?”

“Don't worry, you're not dreaming about me”, said the blonde athlete and mimicked Sam's pose. “The connection, you broke it, but it's still there. I still have access to your dreams.”

“I didn't ask how you got here, I asked what you're doing here”, stated the son of Ares sullenly.

It took Pothos a moment before he answered, his face serious. “I'm sorry he broke you.”

“What do you care?”, snorted Sam with a vicious glare. “We're enemies.”

“This has nothing to do with any sides we may be on”, shrugged Pothos honestly. “This quarrel my brothers and I, as well as you and your friends, got dragged into, is just the latest farce on Olympus. But first of all, I am a god. I'm the god of sexual desires, Samuel. And it pains me and my brothers to see people like him, like the sea's pollution affects Lord Poseidon, or the death of the rainforest hurts Lady Demeter. But _this_ , it hurts me even more than my brothers. Because this person broke your trust in yourself and... and... Look, I'm the god of _sexual desires_ and he basically made you neglect and deny and fight all of your own desires for five years, okay? I know such things. I've known you before this. I've been watching you for a while, worrying. There is a reason mother took such interest in you, Samuel. I've been pestering her about you since that first quest you took for her and Lord Ares. So... just... take it as it is. I am genuinely sorry that this boy broke you.”

Sam stared at Pothos for a while, feeling oddly numb. “Why is Trend not waking up? Am I... Am I not enough for him to return to? W—What am I supposed to do when he never wakes up again...?”

The blonde returned Sam's stare with soft eyes, slowly wrapping his arms around the demigod and hugging him close. “It's alright. You know, we don't _kill_ , we feed on the pleasure of humans. We like having _fun_. I promise you, he'll wake up again. It's no fun if they'd stay in a coma. And I think you and your crew are capable of finding the solution. But now, now it's time to wake up.”

Sam stirred, the room around him vanishing as he found himself conscious again, back in his cabin on the Argo II. He gasped for air, taking a strangled and choked breath. His fingers clawed into the sheets beneath him, cold sweat covering his body as his eyes darted around wildly. He was alone in his cabin and it was dark, the middle of the night. Right, Trend was still laying in the other room with Sander. Trend was still comatose like Sleeping Beauty. Whimpering once again to himself, he staggered out of the room with shaky legs. On autopilot did he find his way to one of the two for now improvised infirmary cabin. His eyes zoomed in on sleeping blonde. With tears running down his cheeks did he crawl into the bed and curl together on Trend's chest.

“Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up”, chanted Sam. “Please say I'm worth it...”

His chest felt tight and he wasn't really sure how to breath, his thoughts were scattered all over the place and he didn't know anything anymore. The room seemed to circle around him and the walls came closer and closer and his throat felt so tight as though no air could pass. All he knew was that he needed Trend, he needed Trend to be alright and he needed Trend to be there for him.

“You are worth it, Sam”, whispered Donny softly as he stirred in Sander's arms. “Everything. You're worth everything. And I know that Trend will tell you exactly that once he wakes up.”

The makeshift, two-beds-pushed-together double bed squealed under the weight of the four teens as Donny shifted closer to his sobbing best friend and wrapped his arms around Sam. Donny pressed Sam's head against his chest so the son of Ares could hear the steady heartbeat, to calm his frantic breathing down and synch it to the heartbeat. Sam calmed slowly down in Donny's arms, his breathing nearly back to normal as he looked up at his best friend. The brunette rubbed his eyes, ashamed that he was crying and even more so that someone saw him that messy.

“I'm sorry”, mumbled Sam and tried to get up.

“Hey”, grunted Donny, putting his weight into keeping Sam seated. “I get it. I mean, it's why I went back here too. I'm missing San. You're missing Trend. It feels better to be close to him...”

“No, that's not it. I mean, it is, I guess”, sighed Sam frustrated and collapsed against his friend. “I just... I want to help him, but I can't and it makes me feel so fucking helpless and useless a—and... and I hate it because it makes me feel l—like _he_ made me feel!”

As he started sobbing again, Donny pulled him up against his chest, caressing his back soothingly. Trend laid behind Sam and Sander laid behind Donny, surrounding them with the feeling of safety. Donny's eyes fixed the blonde worried. He wished Trend would be awake, the son of Athena would know how to calm Sam down. It hurt Donny to know how insecure Sam was still feeling, but then again, this was the first time since his past caught up with him that Sam was without Trend. Now all Sam had was Donny and Donny was quite determined to help his best friend as good as possible. He was the leader of this quest, he would find a solution, even if he'd have to beg his mom on his knees to come along and safe the day, his pride would not stand before the safety of his friends.

 

/break\

 

Sara was hugging Missus Sunshine – her bright-green teddy, the very first gift she had ever gotten from Marshall, before they had gotten together. Her nose was buried into the green fluff, her eyes fixed on the red plush Wild Heart Fox that was sitting on her pillow. Those two stuffed animals were her most precious possessions because they had been the first gifts she had gotten from the two most important men in her life – her big brother Sam and her boyfriend Marshall. And she had a ritual, whenever Sam was on a quest, she would sit Wild Heart Fox onto her pillow as soon as she woke up, as a reminder of sorts. Right now, she was glaring daggers at him, demanding answers. Where was Sam? Was he alright? Why was this quest taking so long? Other questions included: Why was Joe pacing the cohort like a possessed woman?

“Okay, humor me. What's going on with you, Joanna?”, questioned Sara sharply.

Joe stopped and glared. No one dared calling her _that_. Heaving a sigh, she collapsed face-first on the bed, right next to her best friend. The daughter of Mars patiently patted Joe's hair.

“Nico has a girlfriend-thing”, moaned Joe, sounding like a pouting child.

“What's a girlfriend-thing?”, asked Sara confused. “Like an inflatable doll?”

“What? No!”, snorted Joe ridiculed. “A daughter of Eris! A demigod even! Not just some screwed mortal she'll never see again, no, some chick that's actually staying on the ship with Nico! H—How am I supposed to complete with that? Nico hasn't acknowledged my existence as a girl before, but now that she has someone, why would she ever? How dare she just fucks with _my_ Nico!”

Sara tilted her head confused, observing how Joe fell into another rant about her favorite topic. Nicole Zhang and her delicious wholeness. Sometimes, the daughter of Mars wondered if it was a gay-thing. She had liked Marshall, Marshall had liked her, they had started dating only about two years later. Thea and Herc hadn't taken even that long. And Loki and Blance? She had walked up to him, told him to shut up, kissed him and declared they were a couple now. But Joe and Nico had been orbiting around each other for so long, it wasn't funny anymore. And Sam had only gotten Trend now, after like seven years – please, as though those morons could have fooled her. She had seen the way they secretly looked at each other every time she was over to visit! Sander and Donny were even worse than them. No, decided Sara. It had to be either a gay thing or she needed friends who were actually able to get a hint. Sara sighed again, thinking of Sam. He was _finally_ dating Trend, who would prove to be the right guy. After all the wrong-wrong guys Sam had. Leroy, who had done horrible things to her beloved big brother. Erik, who had been admittedly sweet but just too sweet by following Sam's every word, he was more like a lost puppy than a boyfriend, really. Jonas was too dependent on Sam too, leaning onto the son of Ares fully, but that was not what Sam needed. Sam was already the self-declared protector or his family and friends, he needed a boyfriend that could protect him, he didn't need another burden but someone to share his burdens with. And as cute as Jonas was, he wasn't made to carry burdens. Charles, he had been Sara's favorite so far. He was strong and he had found his way around Sam and his antics. He had been good for Sam and Sara was about eighty percent sure that if Charles hadn't been Sam's last boyfriend, if Sam's last boyfriend would have been more like Erik and Jonas, then Sam wouldn't have found the courage and self-confident to finally get together with Trend now.

“So Nico has had a one-night-stand. She's had those before too. And you're going to let that stop you? Bitch please, Joe”, snorted Sara with a glare. “How many guys had laid between Trend and Sam getting together? No. True love prevails, girl. You and me, we're going to swoop in there.”

She stood, confidently, the green teddy bear put aside. Joe stared bewildered at her.

“W—What?”, asked the daughter of Vulcan stunned.

“Come”, ordered Sara, taking Joe's hand and pulling him along. “We're going to our praetors and ask for permission to leave camp. I'm sick and tired of Nico's desperate IMs and of my brother being stuck in a desperate and bad situation. We're going to help them and that's that.”

Five minutes later and they were barging into their praetors' place. Sammy Marie Zhang and Thyl Grace stared at them incredibly annoyed. Sara at least had the decency to blush a little at that.

“What?”, grunted Thyl, her electric blue eyes boring into their very souls.

“We're kind of busy here”, pointed Sammy Marie out, pushing a strand of dark brown curls back.

“We want to ask permission to leave camp”, started Sara. “We want to follow the Argo II. They got into trouble a—and we want to go and help them. They're our friends.”

“That's... what we've been talking about”, sighed Thyl, shaking her head. “Herc that bastard and Nicole are going to _suffer_. Those idiots, leaving without permission. They're in for punishment.”

Joe winced slightly. Herc's and Nico's little sisters could be cruel and those two heroes were sure to suffer at their baby sister's hands for running off like that. Not that they didn't deserve it.

“They're still your siblings and even if you're going to punish them, for that, they first need to return home”, continued Sara with soft eyes. “My big brother is there too. And I want to help him. Please.”

Thyl and Sammy Marie exchanged a long look, groaning internally but in the end nodding.

 

/break\

 

Derek was doing what Derek did best. Laying curled together on Sam's bed and hugging Iggy tightly. He hated this pain in his chest from missing his Sam. Quests sucked. He hated them.

“I find it weird to be in the apartment of someone I don't even know”, commented Phyl.

Derek looked up at her and shrugged slightly. He just couldn't help it. Sam's place was the only one where he truly felt close to Sam and since Phylicia was like a lost puppy and following him around, she was there too. He didn't mean it in a rude way either. He quite liked Phyl, she was a little shy, easily flustered but kind at heart. The way Sam had been when they had first met. Gods, he really hoped that Sam was alright. The others too, of course. But... mainly Sam. Well, and Sander. It was pretty much impossible not to love that adorkable thief. Thea too, she was sort of likable. And okay, maybe even Trend. But only because Sam would be heartbroken if something would happen to the blonde jerk. Okay, okay, okay, even if he'd never say it out loud, not in a billion times, he also didn't want anything to happen to di Angelo. Maybe, just maybe, the Disney Princess wasn't as useless as he had always seemed and he also seemed to be quite important to Sam. Urgh, having feelings sucked. Groaning annoyed, he rolled over. Damn those idiots and their idiotic quest for giving Derek all those dreadful, worried feelings. If any of them got killed, they'd get their asses kicked.

 

/break\

 

Marshall was doing something similar as Derek, just not to the same level of drama and 'Woe me'. He was silently sitting in Trend's room, staring around thoughtful. Marshall wasn't a man of many friends. He knew that if he wouldn't have befriended Trend, he would have never made friends with Sander, Sam, Herc and Loki and thus he would have never met Sara. He wasn't a social person, he didn't know how to interact with humans. But Sander was a bright and brilliant guy, a lovable hero, cast from the same mold as Percy Jackson. The kind of guy everybody loved and everybody wanted to befriend. Marshall's fingers ran over the backs of the books on the large shelf wall. Trend was a good guy, he had accepted Marshall for who he was, complete with his silence and brooding. Most had always thought him weird for his behavior, but he was just incredibly shy and never knew what to say. Trend was okay with that, he too enjoyed the silence and with Trend, Sander and Sam had come and they just filled any silence that would ever occur. Shaking his head, he left the apartment again. He had just cleaned it up a bit and thrown the edible stuff away.

“Hey, Marshall. Funny I'd see you here”, chuckled Trend's neighbor.

Marshall looked up to see the grinning son of Hephaestus, Victor Kruger. The tall brunette was wearing a dark red muscle-shirt, one muscular arm leisurely laying around his girlfriend's shoulder, the other hand resting on the doorknob. Stella Ribeiro smiled at Marshall in that charming way only children of Aphrodite could, her arms possessively wrapped around the third member of the threesome, a highly blushing Jonas, trying to hide his blonde head in his girlfriend's shoulder. It was a tell-tale hint on what exactly Victor and Stella were planning on doing to Jonas once those doors would close again. Marshall was suddenly immensely happy to be leaving that building. Those three could be _loud_. He would have never figured a son of Enyalios to beg that much during sex.

“Nice seeing you”, nodded Marshall politely. “Jonas, you and Erik are still in for training, right?”

“Of course!”, agreed Jonas wildly, his longish blonde hair shaking with the movement.

“I don't like it when you spend that much time with Erik”, complained Stella with a glare.

“You could spank him for it?”, suggested Vic as he opened the door and ushered his partners inside before returning his attention to Marshall. “Anyway, funny seeing you here because I just ran into your girlfriend. She's been stalking up and down in front of your apartment building, dragging a not very amused Roman half-sister of mine along. You should probably hurry and get to her.”

“Oh. Thank you”, nodded Marshall in appreciation. “Have... fun.”

“Oh believe me, I will be having a lot of fun”, chimed Victor and went inside too.

Marshall picked up the pace as he made his way back home. What in the world could Sara want here? She only visited during the breaks and even then she planned it far ahead.

Sara and Joe were walking up and down in front of the building, just like Victor had said. And Sara was hugging Missus Sunshine, a very obvious sign for her distress. As soon as he was in sight, she ran up to him and hugged the life out of him. He smiled affectionately at her, his arms around her waist, easily holding her up. She was so tiny, sometimes he feared he'd break her. But she was just as strong. Her wild, brightly red hair was tickling his nose, but that was alright as long as he could hold her. Taking a deep breath, he could inhale that scent of strawberries and vanilla.

“What are you doing here, strawberry shortcake?”, asked Marshall softly.

It was an incredibly cheesy nickname – as Sam liked to point out and tease them about – but it had a story to it. Sara was a little obsessed with strawberries, she loved everything that smelt or tasted like strawberries. Marshall assumed that that had been the real reason why she had agreed to come to Camp Half-Blood the first time around anyway – the strawberry fields. Anyway, she loved strawberries so whenever she did bake, it was something sweet involving strawberries. It had been a calm afternoon and Sara had baked strawberry shortcake when it had slipped past Marshall's lips for the first time. I love you. But since they had only been dating for a relatively short time, he had covered it up with “I love you...r strawberry shortcake”. Though Sara was far from stupid so she had known exactly what he had meant and let him know so. Ever since then, his nickname for her had been strawberry shortcake. Also, she was a tiny little petite person so shortcake _did_ fit.

“Gods, I missed you, Shally”, grinned Sara, pushing away some to look at him.

Her freckled face lit up as it always did when she was close to him. Joe coughed a couple of times to gain their attention, effectively breaking the mood. Marshall let go of Sara to lead both girls inside and up to his apartment, where Joe right away collapsed on his couch with a long-suffering sigh and an expression of doomsday on her face. Raising one eyebrow questioningly, Marshall sat down on his bed, facing her. Sara, of course, got comfortable on his lap, her head leaning against his chest and her face smiling up at him as though he had hung the sun and the moon.

“What are you two doing here?”, asked the son of Enyo concerned, his arms around Sara's waist.

It was pretty hard to listen to Joe's answer because Sara kept whispering French nonsense into his ear, but he was relatively sure that Joe was saying something about rescuing Nico from a virtue-destroying German wench. He really needed to learn how to ignore his girlfriend, because _that_ made no sense at all. Frowning confused, her turned to look at Sara.

“We want to help Sam and the others on their quest, but after some debating with our praetors and our augur, we came to the agreement that since this quest was Greek to begin with, we can not interfere with, well, some Greek backup. Sammy Marie shadow-traveled us here to save time and now we're... Well, now we're here”, explained the daughter of Mars, nervously playing with a strand of her carrot-colored hair. “When I have to attend a quest with Greeks, it will be either my brother or you. Since this is about saving Sam, you are my obvious choice. W—Will you help us, Shally?”

Marshall frowned thoughtful. If he was honest with himself, he had thought about following the Argo II too, but that would have been a horrible idea, all on his own and not knowing where to go since Trend didn't take his calls. Now however things were a little different. Sam had contacted Sara and Sara had called Marshall and told him about what was going on and where they were. They just needed to get to Berlin, somehow. And then they would be able to help. Somehow. They had to, because this was Trend and Sander and Sam and without them, who would Marshall be? They could only be the Sons of War together. He hugged Sara a little closer and kissed her cheek.

“We can't go alone”, murmured Marshall softly.

“What? Why not?”, asked Joe and sat up some to glare at him. “We have to _hurry_ before this vicious monster attacks my Nico again! You know how defenseless she is against boobs!”

And Joe was still not making an ounce of sense. Marshall shook his head, dismissing it for now, rather focusing on the mission. Finding a way to save Sam and the others. And that was the key.

“We need Derek. For one because he would be outraged if he'd be kept out of the loop any longer and the other is because no one will fight harder to find a way to help Sam, and the others.”


	61. Percy's Party (Parental Life Part VIII)

61\. Percy's Party (Parental Life Part VIII)

 

Percy was laying where he loved laying the most. Half on top of Nico, his arms around his husband possessively, head resting on the strong, delicious chest of his Ghost King so he could listen to the steady pumping of Nico's water within. It was a peaceful, lazy morning. It was perfect, at least until they heard the most heart-breaking scream ever. Within a second, Percy was up, with Riptide in his one hand and Nico's hand in the other, pulling the son of Hades along.

“Bambino? What happened, are you alright?!”, called Percy out nervously as they ran through the hall, but the screaming had woken the babies. “Nico, you see to Thess and Percy.”

“Okay, mio amore”, agreed Nico, letting go of his husband's hand to head to the nursery.

Percy all the while reached their oldest son's bedroom. Little Donny, only four years old, sat in the middle of his bed, clutching Fluffkins his stuffed panda tightly to his midsection. He in return was being clutched tightly to his one year older sister's midsection, Bianca Maria cooing softly as she tried to make him stop crying. Which did happen sometimes, Donny tended to have nightmares from time to time. What did startle Percy however was the half see-through ghost in the middle of the room. Heaving a sigh, he put away his sword and glared slightly.

“Bianca Maria, you know how much ghosts scare your brother! Why did you summon one in his room? That was really not nice of you, bambina”, warned Percy and sat down on the bed.

“I—I didn't, mamma!”, whimpered Bianca Maria with large, pitch-black eyes.

“B—But... how...”, stuttered Percy, looking from Bianca Maria to the ghost and then settling for the still crying boy. “Oh dear lords. Nico di Angelo, move your—everything here, right now!”

“W—What happened?”, asked Nico panicked, two babies on his arms.

“ _You_ and your blasted powers! Did you _really_ have to give them to our children?”, groaned Percy as he took Donny from Bianca Maria, cradling him closely and kissing his forehead.

Nico frowned confused for a second before noticing the ghost in the middle of the room. Thess was crying, grabbing Nico's hair and tugging on it demandingly while his twin sister Percy was giggling delighted and clapping while pointing at the ghost excitedly. Nico sighed and put the babies down on Donny's bed, close to their mommy and siblings, before turning around.

“Who are you and what are you doing here, with my children?”, asked Nico sharply.

He stood tall and proud, his aura dark and dangerous as he glared at the ghost (he managed to look pretty intimidating, considering that he was only waring black boxer-shorts with blue hearts). Under normal circumstances, this would be a huge turn-on for Percy, but right now he had a nervously babbling and crying Donny on his lap and a worried Bianca Maria next to him, snuggled up to Percy's side while poking the twins curiously (which she always did; she found the babies curious).

“Uh, the young prince called upon me, so I came”, shrugged the ghost helplessly.

“And who are you?”, repeated Nico, drawing his Stygian-iron sword.

“Charles Dodgson is the name”, smiled the ghost and bowed slightly.

“As in... Alice in Wonderland's author...?”, asked Percy with a frown, staring down at the copies of _Alice in Wonderland_ and _Behind the Mirror_ that were laying on the ground. “Lewis Carroll?”

“Another name I go by, yes”, nodded the ghost.

“I just wanted a story”, whimpered Donny, rubbing his chubby cheeks. “B—But Bia said there's no more Alice and no more white rabbit. But I wanna hear more.”

“I told him that only the author knows more stories, but he's dead”, added Bianca Maria, frowning.

“Your son wanted so desperately to hear another story about my dear Alice that he called upon me”, smiled Charles Dodgson amused. “But as I appeared, he started to cry. And didn't stop since then.”

“He is horribly afraid of ghosts, so Nico could you... bring our guest downstairs?”, asked Percy, a little annoyed and equally horrified. “That would be lovely. So Donny will stop crying.”

Nico and the ghost left and Percy laid down on the bed, cuddled up to his four children. Bianca Maria was hanging off his neck, snuggled up to his back, while he had Donny against his stomach, crying into his chest, his free arm around the twins.

“I wanted to protect him from the ghost, but he didn't stop crying”, whispered Bianca Maria.

“Oh, I know, tesorina”, whispered Percy back, ruffling her curls.

She was awfully protective of her baby brother, it was adorable. Donny was still crying, his head buried deep into his mommy's stomach, while Percy was caressing his hair tenderly.

“It's alright, baby”, murmured Percy, pulling Donny up to tug him under his chin. “My brave little boy, the ghost won't hurt you, sweetling. Everything is alright, honey.”

“Is scary”, whimpered Donny, rubbing his snotty nose against Percy's shirt. “Ghosts are evil! And he's all cold and makes the room freezy and dark and scary...”

“Sh, I know, darling”, cooed Percy softly, kissing Donny's cheek. “But the ghost isn't evil, he just wants to tell you a story, honeybee. You know your mommy will always protect you, right?”

“Always”, agreed Donny, sniffing as he slowly stopped crying. “Mommy is angelo custode, si?”

“Si, mio tesorino”, nodded Percy with a small smile. “Mommy will always protect you, bambino.”

 

/break\

 

Percy jerked awake wide-eyed. He remembered that day, when Donny had first shown his Hades-powers by summoning a ghost twelve years ago. Shaking his head, Percy slowly got out of their bed. Nico wasn't there, after all, it was Wednesday morning. His steps led him out of his bedroom and as every morning, he first checked up on all their children. First Jack, whose room was next to theirs. He was laying sprawled all over his bed, half falling out of it, Poker in his cage next to the child, nibbling on a carrot. Percy had no idea where that bunny had come from exactly, but he had never been able to deny his little rascals anything. Next was the room of his younger twins. They had a bunk bed – the lower bunk surrounded by black sheets to turn it into a cave, because Jimmy really had a thing for the underworld, while the upper bunk was decorated with sea-shells for Silly. Both twins were still deep asleep, after the summer probably grateful to sleep in again. Smiling slightly, Percy walked to the former bedroom of his older twins, now the sole bedroom of Thess. After Bia had moved out, Sally Persephone had claimed the room as hers. The twins were fourteen and it was time for more privacy for both, so this was the best solution for them. Thess' room was still mainly a construction-side since he could finally get rid of all the black stuff from his twin. But he did look pretty content on his new bigger bed, still sleeping. In Bia's former room, on her four-poster princess bed with black silken curtains, was Percy Junior contently sleeping. Aside from their upstairs bathroom, there was only one room left. Donny's room. Percy bit his lips as he entered. The room was empty, of course it was. Donny wasn't there. But Fluffkins was laying on the pillows. A sad smile spread over Percy's lips as he took the plush panda and hugged it tightly. It had been a gift from Octavian, to make up for the long deceased panda-pillow once it was confirmed that Percy was indeed pregnant. Bianca Maria hadn't been much for stuffed toys, but when Donny had been born, tiny Bia had handed it to Donny to welcome him into the family. Donny hadn't given it up since then. Burying his nose in the soft fur, Percy started crying.

 

/break\

 

Jack was the first mini di Angelo to wake up. Mainly so because someone was poking him. Yawning widely, he rubbed his eyes and rolled the last centimeter out of bed. Blinking doe-eyed he stared at Poker, who stared back at him the same way, but upside down. It took Jack a moment to realize that he was laying on his head. But when he turned to look up, he saw his Hoods sitting on the bed, grinning broadly. Jack's face lit up as he scrambled off the ground.

“Hunt! Heist! How did you get into my bedroom?”, asked the younger boy wide-eyed.

He threw himself against them, hugging them tightly. He had loved camp, because he could see his Hoods every day, but now he hadn't seen them in _forever_. At least two days. Heist giggled delighted, hugging him back, while Hunt had his arms around Jack's neck and was ruffling his hair.

“Duh, we're thieves! We broke in!”, huffed Hunt and rolled his eyes.

“B—But aren't your dad and papa going to worry?”, asked Jack, very worried himself.

“Daddy and papa know we're here”, grinned Heist broadly. “We told him we wanted to keep you company while your siblings are getting everything ready! They said it's okay.”

“Oh. Good”, nodded Jack relieved, before his face lit up again. “Oh, oh, oh! I needa hurry!”

Hunter and Hayden stared after him before giggling slightly. But Jack was already over at his parents' room as the Hoods finally caught up to him. All three little boys stared confused at the empty bed. Jack jumped on top of his parents' bed, patting it down, but not finding his mommy.

“Where's my mamma?”, asked Jack and turned wide, confused eyes on his Hoods.

“Don't worry, we'll find him”, cooed Heist and helped him up. “You check up here, we'll look downstairs, we'll find your ma. It's fine, don't worry.”

While Hayden and Hunter went downstairs, Jack stumbled through his siblings' bedrooms, until he reached Donny's. His eyes were large as he saw his mommy doing something he had never ever seen him do before. Percy was crying. Jack frowned upset and confused. Mommies don't cry, they help their kids when those cry. What was he supposed to do now? Normally, he'd run to Bia when he didn't know what to do, because she always knew everything. And then he would have run to Donny, because Donny was his biggest brother. But Donny wasn't here either. Jack thought so hard that his nose wrinkled and his eyes crossed. Well, Thess was the next-oldest. So he should know. With determination on his face did he stumble into his brother's bedroom.

“Thess, Thess, Thess!”, exclaimed Jack and jumped on top of his nine years older brother.

“Mh, tesorino?”, mumbled Thess tired, one hand over his face. “Buongiorno, mio fratello...” [trans: _Mh, little darling? Good morning, my brother..._ ]

“Yes, buongiorno, Thess! Now get up!”, urged Jack, jumping up and down.

“Come stai?”, yawned Thess and sat up, slowly untying the braid of his hair. [trans: _What's up?_ ]

He always braided them for the night because they were shoulder long and they always got too many knots during the night otherwise. Also, he had about the straightest hair in their whole family – his mom and Jack at least had totally messy hair, while Bia, Donny, Percy, Jimmy and dad had the di Angelo curls – so he braided it so it would curl a little at least. Well, Silly had straight hair too, but with all the beauty-products she put into her hair, they looked different every week – she had dyed them in about every shade of blue, green and red there was. Running his fingers through his hair to sort them out some, Thess looked curiously at his baby brother.

“It's mommy!”, exclaimed Jack, waving his arms widely. “Mommy is crying! What do we do?”

“Mh, now I know you're lying, bambino”, grinned Thess amused and ruffled Jack's hair. “Mamma never cries. He's the strongest hero ever. You spend too much time with those Hoods.”

Thess stood in front of his full-length mirror, checking himself. There were photos glued to the frame of the mirror, of his siblings, parents and grandparents, especially of him and his twin Percy, them with their friends, most of him with Lizzy Mason, his best friend, and of Luke. Plenty pictures of Luke. He grinned slightly at the newest pictures – Luke was adorably posing shirtless, grinning into the camera for him. Biting his lips, he blushed a little. His handsome blonde charmer.

“My Hoods don't have anything to do with that!”, huffed Jack with a pout, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I'm not lying! Mommy is laying on Donny's bed and he's crying!”

Thess got ripped out of his thoughts about Luke's abs by this. Playing a prank in the morning was not that rare, but Jack normally would never joke about their mom being unwell. And he sounded pretty serious. Still, mom crying was about the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. Making a decision, he grabbed Jack under the armpits and lifted him up into his arms. Jack giggled as he got carried out of the room, clinging to his brother's neck. Thess smiled down at the smallest di Angelo. But the smile slid off his face when he saw their mother, laying on Donny's bed, crying.

“Jackie, tesorino, go downstairs and make us a hot chocolate, will you?”, whispered Thess.

Jack frowned, but he nodded and dashed off. Thess slowly walked up to Percy to see what was wrong with the son of Poseidon. Percy was just laying there, hugging Donny's old stuffed teddy.

“Mamma? What's wrong?”, whispered Thess worried.

“This is not what I wanted, this is not what I wanted when I was forty”, whimpered Percy.

Thess' frown increased, just like his worry. This was _not_ alright. There were three things their mom never did. Their mom never lost, their mom never cried and their mom never regretted. It was especially concerning what Percy was regretting. _This_ was not what he wanted? This family? Thess did the only thing he could think of, he ran downstairs and to their family's fountain. When he reached it, he got a look into the kitchen where Jack and the Hoods were making hot chocolate. It was adorable how Jack sat on the kitchen-counter, telling Hunter and Hayden where everything was as the two older boys obediently made the cocoa. They were cute together.

“Niccoló di Angelo”, pleaded Thess nervously as he threw two coins into the fountains.

“Thess?”, asked Nico curiously as his image shimmered in the rainbow.

“Papà, we have a... situation. I know you said I'd be charge until aunt Hazel comes over to take care of the preparations for the party, but... Mamma's crying”, said Thess upset.

“Don't be stupid, tesorino. Your mother would never let you bambini see him cry”, frowned Nico.

“Yeah, well, he's having some kind of midlife-crisis, because he keeps repeating how 'this' is not what he wanted when he was forty. S—So can you come home and make mamma stop crying? Please? Because Jackie and the Hoods are here and awake too and I don't want Silly and Jimmy and Percy to see mamma crying either”, pleaded Thess with large eyes, fearful.

“Of course, Thess”, nodded Nico seriously.

 

/break\

 

Nico hastily got up from his chair after the IM call ended. Lou and Piper looked at him curiously as he came into the conference room in the middle of a meeting. The women glared.

“I got to call it an early day. Trouble at home”, announced Nico shortly.

“Sure, we'll cover for you”, sighed Lou Ellen, waving him off.

“But the plans for the party still stand, right?”, asked Piper with one cocked eyebrow.

“I'm currently not sure if my _marriage_ still stands”, muttered Nico and left the room.

Percy did not cry. He did not regret. And he would never do either in front of their children. Shadow-traveling right through the next wall, he landed in their son's bedroom. And much to his horror, Thess had been right. Percy was laying on Donny's bed, bailing his eyes out. Percy did cry, but only rarely and most of the times, it was when the war and the losses caught up to Percy.

“Amore eterno, what is wrong?”, asked Nico concerned and laid down next to him.

He tenderly caressed Percy's face, rubbing the tears away. Sea-green eyes blinked up at him.

“This is not what I wanted”, whispered Percy, sniffing.

“O... Okay...”, nodded Nico nervously, feeling his heart tighten.

He prayed that 'this' was not their marriage or their family. This was not how Nico had planned Percy's fortieth birthday. He had asked the kids to make a grand breakfast for Percy and shower him with the presents they had prepared and then Nico would have called Percy to meet in Katie's Salad Bar for a romantic meal, just the two of them, while Hazel, Frank, Leo, Jason, Reyna and Octavian would have arrived with Mrs. O'Leary to prepare the house for the surprise party afterward. All appointments for the afternoon had been canceled, so Nico could 'surprisingly' accompany his husband back home, where all their friends and family would wait, with lots of cake, food and presents to celebrate the big four-o of their beloved Percy. It was perfectly planned.

“This is not what I wanted”, whimpered Percy and threw himself at Nico.

Nico felt a little relieved when Percy desperately clung to him. So he hadn't woken up and realized that he was in fact straight after all and regretted marrying Nico. That was good to know.

“Perseus, what's going on? Why are you crying, mio bel amore?”, whispered Nico softly.

“This is not what I wanted”, repeated Percy, his face hiding in the crook of Nico's neck. “I—I always just wanted our babies to be safe. I wanted to protect them, to always protect them. I—I promised it to Donny. B—But now Bia is out there, traveling with the hunt, encountering dangerous monsters every day and Donny – out of all our children, our shy, little bambino – is on a quest! This is not the life I wanted for my children, I wanted to keep them safe, I never wanted them to have the kind of life the both of us had. Filled with fear and monsters and dangers and... and losses... I thought, I had hoped, when Annabeth first planned New Athens, that by the time I'm forty, I would be a boring househusband, taking care of our nine beautiful children, waiting for my husband to come home and _never_ having to worry about someone I love being on a dangerous quest again...”

“N—Nine?”, asked Nico stunned before focusing on the main problem at hand. “Percy, love, it's alright. It's not your fault. You did all in your powers to keep our precious babies safe and out of harm's way. But... You're a great hero and your children want to become as great as you are. In this world we're living in, quests are... part of life. They just want to belong.”

“I know...”, mumbled Percy, at least he had stopped crying, but now he sounded pouty. “But am I a bad person for wanting to lock them up in this house to keep them safe and with me?”

Those baby seal eyes were turned on him, an adorable pout on his lips. Nico snorted amused before he leaned down and kissed those pouting lips of the love of his life, arms around Percy's waist.

“No, it just makes you an overly worried mother”, smiled Nico softly, caressing Percy's hair as he pressed his lover against him. “It's alright to worry about them. We do lead a dangerous life, after all. But they are your children, Percy. They have your bravery.”

“I just hope they also have my freakishly good luck too when it comes to getting out of positively deadly situations”, mumbled Percy, resting his head on Nico's chest. “Ti amo...”

“I know, Percy”, smiled Nico, kissing Percy. “Tanti auguri di buon compleanno, amato marito.”

“Not how I had planned to start my forties”, groaned Percy annoyed.

“Yeah. You scared Thess there”, chuckled Nico fondly, which made Percy panic.

“Oh gods, where is my baby?”, asked the son of Poseidon wide-eyed and stood.

Nico rolled his eyes but he followed his husband down the stairs where Thess was helping the Hoods and Jack setting the table. When Percy entered, he was engulfed in a tight hug by both sons, Jack clinging to his legs and Thess embracing his midsection.

“Are you alright, mommy?”, asked Jack, looking wide-eyed up at him.

“Y—Yes”, nodded Percy hoarsely, hugging his sons. “I'm sorry I worried you. It's alright.”

“Papà made it alright again”, grinned Thess pleased, looking over to their dad.

“Like he always does”, agreed Percy, looking at Nico with a soft smile.

Nico shifted a little as three pair of those innocent, sea-green eyes were staring at them. He then noticed the unsupervised tricksters at the pans. That was _not_ a good combination, so he hastily intervened by taking over the kitchen. The Hoods, not knowing what to do now, stood next to Percy and tugged on his pajama legs. Blinking curiously, Percy looked down at them.

“Oh, hello, you two”, smiled Percy kindly.

“Happy birthday, uncle Percy!”, chimed Hayden and Hunter loudly.

“Hey!”, exclaimed Thess and Jack wide-eyed before hugging Percy again. “Happy birthday, mom!”

“Thank you, kids”, laughed Percy amused, hugging his sons back and including the Hoods.

“We made you a present, uncle Percy”, added Hayden, tugging on Percy's shirt. “See? See?”

Thess wanted to glare at the twins. How dare they first congratulate Percy before his own sons and then even gave him the present first too! But then he remembered that the Hoods weren't really used to having a family, they had only each other for the longest time. They had only been adopted by the Stolls two years ago, so having someone like an aunt or uncle, someone who cared for them and who they could give birthday presents to, that was still new and amazing to them. So he let them have this. Besides, his own siblings were mostly still sleeping anyway.

“Oh my, that is adorable”, cooed Percy as he looked at the picture the Hoods were holding up.

It was a pretty rough drawing, at least in Thess' artistic eye, but he could make out what it was. It was a picture of a brightly smiling Jack, with a black bunny sitting next to him. It was cute.

“We asked paps and daddy what to give you!”, stated Hunter.

“And they asked us what we want, so we thought we'd give you a Jackie!”, declared Hayden.

“Because Jackies are cute and make us happy, so we thought it would make you happy too”, continued Hunter very seriously, nodding. “Do you like your Jackie?”

“Yes”, laughed Percy, his eyes sparkling. “I love my Jackie.”

“Oh, so I could have as well tied a bow around Jackie then?”, teased Thess.

Jack looked completely confused by now, staring between his Hoods, his brother and his mom.

“Theseus Paul, we don't give your siblings away. Not even to each other”, chided Nico.

“Thank you”, smiled Percy, kissing the Hoods' foreheads. “Now, why don't you take Jack back up to his room and play some until breakfast is ready, mh? And Thess, would you wake your siblings?”

“Sure thing, mamma!”, nodded Thess and ushered the three younger boys upstairs.

Once the kids were out of the room, Percy walked over to an empty spot at the wall, took two pins from their pin-board and pinned the picture next to a long, long line of children drawings. After that was done, Percy walked over to his husband and hopped onto the kitchen-counter.

“Good boy”, nodded Nico amused. “Just sit there and look gorgeous. Perfect.”

“Believe me, this is one of the two days in the year where I get to just lean back and do nothing, I am not moving today if it is not entirely necessary”, snorted Percy with a grin.

“Sounds like a plan”, chuckled Nico and leaned up to steal a kiss from Percy.

“Oh. I like that”, hummed Percy delighted, his arms around Nico's neck and his legs around Nico's waist to keep him in place in front of him. “I haven't been taller than you in over twenty years.”

“You're still not taller, my little cheater”, smirked Nico, placing his hands on Percy's ass to pull him off the kitchen-counter. “Now stop distracting me before the food burns. Why don't you go and take a long, relaxing shower, before breakfast is ready? Your eyes are still red from crying.”

“Good idea, love”, agreed Percy and stole another kiss before untangling himself from Nico.

Nico smirked and smacked Percy's ass once in encouragement, causing his husband to giggle. He knew that Percy had developed a little bit of a complex about his age, so on the day of his fortieth birthday, Nico had to make sure that Percy knew that he was still and would always be the sexiest piece of ass on this planet, at least for Nico. Now that all distractions were removed, he could continue making enough scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes for nine people.

 

/break\

 

The shower had been an amazingly good idea. And once again, Percy was eternally grateful that their bedroom had its own shower, because he could hear Laura Silena and Sally Persephone fighting over the upstairs bathroom while Theseus Paul and James Charles were fighting over the downstairs bathroom. They needed more bathrooms.

After a little while, it got suspiciously silent. Most likely because Nico had made them stop fighting. Only seconds later did the bathroom door open. Humming softly to himself, he turned the water off. His husband handed him a towel, grinning at him. With the towel around his waist did Percy lean up to get another kiss from his Ghost King. Nico in returned groped his ass again.

“So... Are you going to enlighten me about those nine children?”, asked Nico amused.

“Well, I always thought...”, drawled Percy and shrugged slightly. “But seven are really already a lot. Then again, Bia is out of the house, Donny is _engaged_. And Thess and Percy are already fourteen too, those last few years with them will fly by soon enough too.”

“Does that mean you honestly want more children?”, asked Nico seriously and led Percy out of the bathroom and to the bed where they sat down. “I mean, you always said that we already have all hands full with the rascals we have. You know I always wanted a large family.”

“I just... Ever since Donny dropped by to tell us about the engagement, it had been the only thought on my mind”, admitted Percy and averted his eyes while getting dressed. “Like I said, Thess and Percy will be moving out soon too. You know of their plans to travel to Italy after school, so they won't be living with us after graduation anyway. And I feel as though the house will be awfully empty, with only Silly, Jimmy and Jack... And you know how popular Silly and Jimmy are, once they turn into teenagers, they're probably going to attend every party there is and won't be home much either. I just... I miss having a baby around. And I'm forty, there is a point in life when you're just too old to become parents and that age is slowly coming closer. I feel like we're having this window of opportunity, this last chance to create something beautiful, before this window closes.”

“Okay”, agreed Nico slowly, smiling a little. “I guess you are right. For the last five years, we've had the eager feet of seven kids running around this house and now they're slowly leaving the nest.”

“They are”, nodded Percy with a pout. “Make them stop.”

“I can't make them stop leaving”, chuckled Nico and pulled Percy close again. “But I could make you new ones. What do you think? You and me again, for a last time? Creating one more di Angelo? Because we would have one spare bedroom if Donny plans on moving in with his fiance...”

“Richard Achilles if it's a boy and Hazel Pandora if it's a girl”, grinned Percy and kissed Nico.

“I'd like to get a new sibling, but could you wait with the baby-making until after breakfast?”

The couple bolted apart, both brightly flushed. Every excuse suddenly vanished from their minds when they saw which one of their already existing children was poking his head into the room. Much to their surprise, it was Donny. And right behind him stood Percy Junior, Thess, Jimmy and Silly. Donny also had a giggling and happy Jack in his arms.

“I get a baby sibling too? I get to be a big brother too?”, asked Jack eagerly. “When do I get him? Or her? Or – oh! - I wanna have both too! Is that what daddy got mommy for his birthday?”

“What are all of you doing here?”, asked Nico slowly, suspiciously.

“Aunt Hazel, uncle Leo and uncle Frank just came and they said we should go and distract you until they're all finished!”, declared Jack with a toothy grin. “So we get family-cuddles now!”

“You know the point of distraction is that the other doesn't notice the other thing going on, right?”, sighed Percy Junior and rolled her eyes while flipping his nose. “Loud-mouth.”

“But I still get family-cuddles, right?”, asked Jack concerned.

Once again, Nico was glad that he had bought such a large bed, because six of their children just crowded it, piling on top of their parents, Jack worming his way between them, looking content.

“What are you doing here, Donny?”, asked Percy a little confused. “Your quest...”

“I... I need your help, mom, but... not now. First family cuddles and then, when they are distracted with food, I'd like to talk to you”, whispered Donny back before kissing his cheek. “Happy birthday, mom. And well, from Sam too. And from the others.”

“So... Just to make this clear, you left Hazel and Frank in charge of my kitchen, not Leo, right?”

“Yes, dad. We know not to let Leo close to any electronic device in the house”, grinned Thess amused. “Also, he was distracted by fighting with Octavian about what to put where.”

“Mamma!”, exclaimed Percy Junior, pushing her twin brother aside. “You need to come and look at our present! Thess and I, we made you something completely splendid!”

“I'm sure you did, princess”, grinned her mother amused. “Now, where are my presents? You know, no one is getting cake until I get my presents. Don't make mommy pout.”

His children and husband giggled at that before they split up, most likely to get Percy's presents. With Nico on one side and Donny on his other, Percy made his way out of the bedroom and after his children. He smiled brilliantly at his oldest son, one arm around Donny's shoulders.

“I missed you so much, my Donny”, cooed Percy and repeatedly kissed Donny's cheek. “My baby!”

“Mom”, whined Donny embarrassed. “I missed you too, but I'm not a baby anymore.”

“No”, sighed Percy with a pout. “You're engaged and probably going to have own babies...”

“Not any time soon, mom”, chuckled Donny with soft eyes.

“Our present first!”, exclaimed Silly and Jimmy from their bedroom.

Percy's eyes widened comically when he saw the large picture frame they were holding up. Inside were dozens of pictures of Percy and Sally. His whole childhood, basically. Sally holding a toddler Percy, teen Percy in a tux on Sally's and Paul's wedding. Little Percy and Sally in Montauk. And in the center was a picture of Poseidon and a pregnant Sally, arm in arm. Percy gaped surprised.

“We went through grandma Sally's attic and found an old box full of pictures”, explained Jimmy, ruffling his curls embarrassed. “I scanned them and edited them on my laptop some since many were faded due to age or damaged. And Silly made the frame.”

The frame was adored with jewels and pearls and seashells. Percy recognized some of those seashells, he had found them with his mom as a child in Montauk. They must have gotten them from the attic too. Percy felt the tears prickling in his eyes as he hugged the twins (after Donny and Nico hastily took the picture frame from them).

“Thank you, it's beautiful”, whispered Percy hoarsely.

“I told you mom would love it!”, chimed Silly with a broad, victorious grin.

“Stop hogging mamma!”, exclaimed Percy Junior and poked her head in.

“Yes, come on, mamma! You have to see our present!”, agreed Thess, nodding wildly.

“Why are you looking so pretty, Theseus?”, questioned Percy with one cocked eyebrow.

Thess was wearing his skinniest white skinny jeans and a sleeveless blue shirt, his hair more curled-up than normally. The boy blushed embarrassed, his hands deep in his pockets.

“Aunt Piper and aunt Annabeth are going to come over later, which means Luke will come too”, replied Percy Junior with a cheeky grin, nudging her twin. “Right, Thess, pretty for the lover boy?”

“S—Shut up, really”, hissed Thess even more embarrassed, flushing brightly.

“No~ow, what's my present?”, asked Percy to change the topic. “Where is it?”

“Mom, you are such a kid”, grinned Donny affectionately.

“Shush. I just love presents!”, huffed the son of Poseidon, sticking his tongue out at his son.

Passing through the living room, he saw Reyna, Jason, Octavian and Leo fixing things up for the party. The Sea Prince had to grin a little. His husband was awfully sweet, he had planned this 'surprise' party for weeks now and actually thought that Percy didn't know about those plans. He really should know better. Jack was easily bribed with a bar of chocolate.

“What are we doing down here?”, asked Percy suspiciously.

“Well, we noticed how you and dad spend more time down in the weapon dungeon, so... While you and dad were being so distracted with worrying about Donny and his quest, aunt Rachel helped Percy and me to make this for you...”, started Thess to explain.

He pulled his keys out of his pants to unlock their basement. They had all their weapons and training equipment in there, but Silly, Jimmy and Jack were too young – in Percy's opinion – to get access to these kind of weapons. Once again, Percy was left speechless. One wall was lined with shelves and crystal display cases, so the other wall was empty. To show off the amazing wall painting those three had put up. There were Percy and Nico, with little Jack standing between them and a little in front of them, proudly grinning, Silly, Thess and Donny lined up next to Percy, Jimmy, Percy Junior and Bianca Maria lined up on Nico's side. In the second row with Percy and Nico was the rest of their family. On Percy's side were Poseidon, Sally, Paul and Tyson. On Nico's side were Hades, Persephone, Maria, Bianca and Hazel. They were so accurate, it was amazing.

“B—But... how...”, whispered Nico hoarsely, staring longingly at his deceased mother and sister.

“Grandpa Hades had saved some really old black and white pictures after he send you to the Lotus”, replied Percy Junior, shifting some. “So we know what they look like... Besides, you always say that aunt Bianca looked exactly the same as Bia does.”

“This... This is amazing...”, mumbled Percy and shook his head.

“We thought now that Bia left and with how worried you were about Donny, that maybe this way, you could see all of us when you train”, said Thess nervously. “So you like it?”

“Of course I do, bambini”, smiled Percy, trying not to cry as he hugged them tightly. “Thank you.”

“Now, where is that little brother of yours?”, asked Nico concerned. “Where's Jack?”

“I'm upstairs! In the living room!”, called Jack loudly. “I have mommy's present finished!”

“Oh, then let's continue this journey of collecting my presents!”, grinned Percy broadly. “Now w...”

“Happy birthday, mamma”, exclaimed Jack and his present.

His present was Bianca Maria, standing in the middle of the living room, in her huntress-robe, with a giant, blue bow around her middle and an eager Jack at her hand, smiling brilliantly up at Percy.

“I prayed lots and lots to Miss Artie and asked her if we can have Bia back for your birthday!”, explained Jack, waving his arms around wildly. “And then Miss Artie brought us Bia!”

“It's Artemis, not Miss Artie”, whispered Bia fondly, ruffling Jack's hair. “Did anyone miss m-”

But before she could finish that sentence, she was already in the middle of a group-hug, Nico and Percy on either side of her, hugging the air out of her, with her siblings surrounding them. Percy was sobbing into her shoulder, fingers clawed into her curls. She was his firstborn child.

“My little princess, you're back”, whispered Percy relieved. “H—How are you? Are you okay?”

“I'm fine, mamma”, laughed Bianca Maria, returning the hug. “Cally and me, we're learning a lot from aunt Thalia. And Lady Artemis is amazing. I love it, mom. Really. But I... miss you guys.”

“Okay, okay, enough with the hugging and crying and being overly emotional! Breakfast is ready!”, interrupted Octavian annoyed. “Di Angelo one to nine, move your behinds to the kitchen.”

The nine di Angelos moved toward the long table where Jason and Reyna were finishing up setting the table. While his children took seats, Percy was handed around between his friends and hugged even more. By the time he sat down, he had a babbling Leo hanging off his neck.

“Where are the juniors?”, questioned Percy when Frank lifted Leo off him.

“I convinced Danny to babysit the Graces and the Zhangs”, sighed Octavian long-suffering.

“We figured it would get way too crowded if we all bring our off-springs too”, added Hazel.

“Mommy”, whispered Jack, tugging on Percy's sleeve. “You like my present?”

Percy smiled and lifted Jack up onto his lap. Nico was sitting next to Percy at the head, with Donny on Percy's other side and Bianca Maria on Nico's other side. Jack stared up at his mommy with those large, sea-green eyes, expectantly. Grinning, Percy kissed his nose.

“I love you, tesorino. And I love your present”, smiled the son of Poseidon, ruffling Jack's hair.

“I knew mommy would love it!”, exclaimed Jack, clapping loudly, turning to Bia.

His family smiled kindly at him. Reyna and Hazel were drinking their tea while Leo handed a cup over to Donny and one to Percy. The son of Poseidon smiled slightly while their guests were trying to take seats of their own. Percy looked around the table thoughtful, noting how longingly Thess was looking at Donny's tea while chatting with his older brother who sat next to him. Well, Thess was fourteen and he had been dating Luke for months now. Two hormonal teenagers. Percy frowned and pushed his cup over to Thess, startling the boy, who now looked at him wide-eyed.

“M—Mamma?”, asked Thess unsure.

“Just... drink it and not make me give you The Talk on my birthday, okay?”, chuckled Percy.

Thess blushed embarrassed and nodded wildly. “Thank you, mamma!”

“Oh, should I make you a new tea, Perce?”, asked Leo and stood.

“No”, answered Percy hastily, which earned him stares from the adults. “I'm... uhm... fine without.”

“But, Percy?”, asked Leo slowly, frowning at him.

“It seems dad is going to give mom a baby for his birthday”, replied Donny instead.

“Di Angelo number ten”, sighed Octavian and shook his head. “Will it ever end?”

“Oh, shut up”, chided Percy with a slight blush.

“Ten and eleven!”, corrected Jack loudly. “I want a baby brother and a baby sister! I'll be a big brother too and I'll be as awesome as Donny! I'll be a good big brother!”

“Yes you will, darling”, cooed Percy, kissing his forehead.

But then someone tugged on his sleeve. Turning a little, he saw the Hoods standing next to him.

“Can we have our Jackie back, uncle Percy?”, asked Hunter determined. “We're hungry too!”

Percy frowned confused. Normally, Jack preferred to sit between Nico and Percy during breakfast, but now he was beaming down at the Hoods and jumped down from Percy's lap. The three boys dashed over to the kiddie-sized table. They took his baby away from him! Damn those thieves. But they were cute, chibi-sized thieves and they looked adorable sitting with Jackie. The family and their friends fell into small-talk, mostly talking about the hunt and what the kids did.

“Mom, you think we can talk?”, whispered Donny as they finished their plates.

“Of course, bambino”, nodded Percy and stood. “Come on.”

The two of them left the kitchen to go outside to the backyard. Together, they sat down on the Hollywood swing. Donny sighed and leaned his head against his mom's shoulder, who in return wrapped one arm around the boy's waist. Closing his eyes, Donny listened to the distinct sound of his mother's unique water, feeling content and safe for the first time in days.

“Now, tell mamma what's bothering you”, whispered Percy encouragingly. “Why are you here?”

And Donny told him. Everything about the quest and the Erotes and the slipping life-source of his fiance and his own state of helplessness. And Percy listened. The son of Poseidon was mortified when he heard of what was going on and had to remember when Nico had been held captive by the giants, with only limited time left to live. He couldn't let his son go through that horror.

“A—And I just don't know what to do...”, whispered Donny, his voice muffled by Percy's shoulder. “I mean, there was a prophecy and that said we would get 'backup'. But I don't know who. Nico thinks it's the two German demigods, but I don't... I don't think so. So... as the leader, it's up to me to pick the right backup, but I have no idea how I am supposed to do that. All the friends I have are already on board of that ship and I... I just want to take you with me so you can make it alright, like you always do, but I can't do that, I know you and dad have that agreement of no more quests because of us and I wouldn't be able to handle the guilt if something happened to you, mom...”

“That aside, it would look pretty weak if you'd have mommy come to the rescue”, teased Percy softly, kissing Donny's head. “But it's alright to ask for help, Donny. Now, let me think...”

He tried to come up with a solution, but he wasn't sure. He didn't know the current demigods all that well, but Donny's comment about their deal reminded him of something. He suddenly sat up.

“I think I know where to start, bambino”, exclaimed Percy wide-eyed. “Your dad was on a quest – it was just a minor quest, he's fine, really – but his quest was to collect a demigod. A daughter of Persephone. If there is one thing I learned about the gods, it's that they never do anything without a reason. It can't be a coincident that she lets your father bring her daughter her so short after giving out a quest. If you have to find backup, start with her. Go to your father and ask for her address.”

“Thanks, mom!”, grinned Donny and kissed his cheek. “Uhm...”

“Go”, sighed Percy and rolled his eyes. “I know how important that quest is. _But_ I demand a giant cake from you and some mother-son-time as soon as that quest is done. Am I clear?”

“Of course, mommy”, agreed Donny and hugged his mother tightly. “Thank you. I love you.”

“Love you too, honey”, whispered the son of Poseidon, kissing Donny's cheek. “Be safe.”

Sad eyes stared after Donny as the boy stumbled back inside to talk to Nico about the address of that daughter of Persephone. Heaving a sigh, Percy leaned back. His baby boy was going to leave. He had seen it in Donny's eyes when he had talked about losing Sander. Donny was in love with Sander and he was growing up, fast. His nest was slowly getting empty. Heaving a sigh, he clutched his midsection and pushed the swing to whip slowly.

“So... daddy is going to give you a baby for your birthday? I leave for a couple of months and you decide to make a replacement-baby? I'm hurt, mom”, chuckled Bianca Maria.

“It's not going to be a replacement-baby”, huffed Percy warningly. “You're my firstborn child, nothing will ever replace you, Bianca Maria. Don't say things that make me feel guilty.”

“Oh, mommy, you know I didn't mean it like that”, objected Bianca Maria, cuddling up to him. “Now, seriously, mom. I feel out of the loop. You're going to have another baby?”

“Well, your dad and I started to talk about it like two hours ago”, sighed Percy. “It was due to your siblings not knocking that they overheard. I'd rather we would have gotten to talk things out first and see if we even can, I mean, I am forty and we don't know if there's a time limit for this whole male-and-pregnant-thing. But yes, I want another baby. Your dad and I, we always wanted more kids, but we didn't have enough room or time to properly tend to you all, bambina. But with you having moved out and... Donny being engaged, well, he won't stay with us for long either. He's... growing up. I just... I feel as though I still have a lot of love to give, but you guys are leaving me...”

“Now who's making who feel guilty?”, huffed Bianca Maria, nudging Percy. “Wait. What do you mean, Donny is engaged? My baby brother can not seriously be engaged. Who is it? This Sam?”

“You really are out of the loop”, chuckled Percy with a small smile. “To Sander Rodriguez.”

“Oh my gosh, I love that ship!”, yelped Bianca Maria and jumped up, but then she turned toward her mother again. “I'll talk to you later again, but I _need_ to tease Donny before he leaves!”

“Go”, nodded Percy with a tender and amused grin on his face.

He knew how close Bia and Donny had always been. They had been inseparable as children, Bianca Maria used to protect Donny from bullies and shelter him from harm. When Donny had nightmares he would always first wake Bianca Maria, mostly so because he didn't want to bother his mom and dad since he knew they had work early, so it was up to Bianca Maria to carry her half-crying-half-sleeping baby brother over to their parents' bed, wake Percy and Nico and then they would cuddle. Gods, Percy was so grateful that they had Bianca Maria, she had been a great help to deal with their not very confident and overly shy baby boy. Heaving a sigh, Percy placed one hand back on his stomach. He would love to have another child. There was a lot of love still for him to give. And he was kind of afraid of an empty house. He wanted his big family.

Shaking his head, he stood. Time to get back to the party, after all, he was the main event here. But before he had a chance to enter the house again, he was run over by his other expected guests. Nico must have called them to start early. Annabeth, Grover, Rachel, Connor and Travis piled on top of him, while Piper, Chris and Clarisse were standing by, smiling amused. With them were their other children, Carry Rodriguez and the Chase boys – Luke, Fred and Matt. Percy smiled brightly as he got once again hugged by all his friends. He did love his birthday, it was the perfect excuse to gather all the people he loved together in his house. Percy was stuck between Annabeth and Rachel as they entered the house to join the others in what had turned into a brunch with everyone instead of a calm breakfast for the family. Hazel and Frank were already at the hearth, preparing more food. They were soon joined by Connor and Travis (after those two got run over by their sons).

And while the adults sat down – Octavian and Jason had brought in the table from the garden and the table from the living room to get enough seats for everyone – Luke was stuck with the brats. Well, he knew how to get rid of them. As they entered the house, Luke right away spotted Silly and Jimmy laying on the floor, plotting _something_. One thing Luke had learned about Fred and his friend was that they were always plotting something. Which was perfect, because it picked Carry's and Fred's interest and the young couple was already sitting on the ground with them. Luke grinned amused, one hand on Matt's shoulder. Now he just needed to dump the little one somewhere. And there was the _perfect_ place for that. At the kids table sat Jack, with the Hood-brothers on either side of him, giggling and waving his arms around wildly while talking. Luke grinned mischievously as he sat down behind Matt, both hands on the seven-years-old blonde's shoulders.

“It seems those thieves are trying to steal your Jackie again”, whispered Luke with a grin.

“They can't have him!”, huffed Matt with a glare, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Then go and get your sea brat back”, suggested Luke with a nudge.

Matt huffed and nodded determined before dashing off to squeeze in between Hunter and Jack, glaring at the Hoods. Luke grinned mischievously. Those four were adorable to watch.

“Ciao, mio amore”, whispered someone into his ear.

Luke was so surprised, he fell over forward, staring wide-eyed up at the siren who was leaning over him, grinning amused. His mouth hung open a little. Thess' hair was curled a little as it framed his face, a soft grin on pink lips, deep, dark eyes staring down at him. A tight-fitted blue shirt and an even tighter white jeans that showed off his long, lean legs.

“You startled me, Thess”, sighed Luke and took the offered hand from his boyfriend.

“I'm sorry, amato”, chuckled Thess and pulled his blonde against his chest.

Luke grinned slightly, wrapping his arms around his own sea brat, pressing his lips against Thess'. The grandson of Poseidon hummed delighted, wrapping his arms around Luke's neck. At least until his boyfriend got pulled away from him. Thess frowned as he saw how his dad had Luke at the neck and was carrying him off toward the hall where no one was. Thess followed, of course.

“Bambino, give me and Lucas a second, will you?”, asked Nico as he noticed.

“Like hell I will, father”, huffed Thess, his hands akin. “I won't just go and sit it out while you're going to threaten my boyfriend. That is not going to happen.”

Luke gulped, afraid that his head would get ripped off for Thess talking back like that. But Nico had entirely different thoughts. The way Thess stood there, with a determined yet angry glare, his hands on his hips, not willing to back off and let his boyfriend be threatened. Nico smiled slightly and let go of Luke, which made Luke panic a little and confused Thess a lot. Still, Thess took it, grabbing Luke's wrist and pulling the blonde to him. Nico shook his head slightly and walked up to his son, grabbing his face and kissing his forehead. Which now confused Thess a lot.

“Papà?”, asked Thess, tilting his head and staring at his father.

“You've never reminded me more of your mother”, chuckled Nico affectionately.

Thess blushed a little at that. He always feared that he was too little like their mother – Silly, Jack and Donny all had Percy's powers _and_ Percy's eyes. Sometimes, he felt like he didn't belong, having his father's eyes. Not that he disliked being like their dad, he loved Nico, but Bianca Maria and Jimmy had Nico's power _and_ his eyes. Only Thess and his twin had that reversed and it drove them crazy sometimes. While Thess was deep in thoughts, Luke stared fearfully at Nico.

“You and your dick stay away from my little boy”, warned Nico, poking Luke's chest.

Luke stared wide-eyed at the adult, nodding obediently, because really, what else was he supposed to say to _that_? Nico looked at his son, who gave him a warning glare, conveying the message that that was enough and the only threat allowed. Heaving a defeated sigh, Nico left.

“W—What was that, Thess?”, asked Luke confused, hugging Thess closer.

“Mamma gave me his tea this morning”, replied Thess and bit his lips.

“B—But you said I would have to be there when we asked your parents!”, exclaimed Luke.

“I didn't talk to them!”, shrugged Thess, biting his lower lips. “Mamma just knew. Like he always does. And he just... gave me the tea, without any weird conversation or stuff.”

“You ma is kind of awesome”, noted Luke and blinked a couple of times.

“Yeah”, agreed Thess with a broad grin, before getting serious. “But no, that doesn't mean you and me are going to fall into bed right away, Lucas!”

“Theseus”, warned Luke, his arms wrapping around Thess' waist. “You know I'm not just after sex. You know I love you, Thess. I'm okay with waiting, as long as you find appropriate.”

Much to Luke's luck, Nico had lingered to listen in. This just brought him some bonus points with the son of Hades. But now that the young couple was back to kissing and groping, Nico rather left them alone. Before returning to the brunch, he picked up the phone. If the party with the friends happened right now, he could change the other plans up some too.

 

/break\

 

“Can I please, please, please be the one to tell Cally? _Please_?”, whined Bianca Maria.

She was hanging off her brother's neck, nose buried in Donny's curls as she let him drag her along. He was very embarrassed as he tried to leave the house. She had spend the last twenty minutes embarrassing him about his engagement. Also, _everybody_ knew now. Including Sander's parents. Clarisse was still glaring daggers at his back, while Chris had that mischievous grin on his lips. Then again, he must have known about this beforehand since it was his ring.

“Yes, you can. Now stop teasing me. Go and tease Jack and his pet Tricksters”, huffed Donny.

“Which seems to be a theme. You have your pet Trickster, he has his... mh... You're probably right”, agreed Bia with a frown, before tightening his grip once more and kissing Donny's cheek. “Be good. Be safe. I love you. I miss you. Hug Thea and Nico from me. I love you. Can I keep you?”

“I am _not_ becoming the hunt's pet, Bia”, chided Donny and returned her hug. “Miss you too.”

Bia waved and watched until he disappeared around the corner, before she turned attention toward her youngest brother. It seemed Tricksters were the thing to go with, judging by the two tricksters hanging off Jack on either side, with a slightly pouty Matt opposite him.

“Hello, Jack”, smiled Bia and took one of those tiny chairs to sit next to her brother. “Do you want to introduce me to your new friends there, baby brother? It's nice you have more friends, sweetie.”

“This is Hunt and this is Heist!”, exclaimed Jack, pointing at one twin respectively. “They're my Hoods! They're thieves and tricksters, but they don't do bad things!”

“Your Hoods, huh?”, asked Bia a little confused but just as amused.

“Their last name is Hood”, explained Matt and rolled his eyes. “And they stole my Jack.”

“Aw, but I still love you Mattie!”, exclaimed Jack worried.

Bia smiled a little and shook her head as she saw the way the Hoods and Matt glared at each other.

 

/break\

 

The family's friends had to leave one by one for work and their own families, giving the di Angelos the afternoon to sit together around the living room table to play Monopoly. Soon after that, the Bianca Maria had to leave for the hunt again. After a tearful goodbye to her, Nico ordered everybody to get ready for dinner. The Italian had arranged for the family to go to New York for dinner. Which was a pleasant, happy surprise for Percy, because that evening, he found himself sitting at a table with most of his children, his husband, Tyson, Ella, Paul and Sally. This was so sweet, Percy loved being with his family. Sally had cooked all his favorite food and all in blue.

“My baby boy, forty... I can't believe it”, sighed Sally, looking fondly at Percy.

The two of them were sitting in the living room with Paul, Nico, Tyson and Ella, drinking wine. Thess and Percy had volunteered to do the dishes while Silly and Jimmy were playing with Jack so the adults could have some time to themselves. Percy smiled as he listened to what Ella told him about how work at the Clio Library was going and what Tyson had to tell about all that was going on at the underwater palace and the forges and with the other cyclopes. He wasn't seeing his brother a lot, the underwater palace was not exactly that close by, after all. It was also good to reconnect with his parents. Especially to be without the kids for a moment. He loved them a lot, but talking to adults was nice too. And he was kind of like his kids, he loved spending time with his mom.

“So, how long will you two stay?”, asked Paul as he opened a second bottle of wine.

“Mh? I don't know”, shrugged Percy confused. “The kids are pretty excited right now.”

“Oh, they're going to stay here”, dismissed Nico. “ _We_ are free to go whenever you want.”

“They're... what?”, asked the son of Poseidon stunned, blinking a couple of times.

“We put mattresses out in the guest room for them. Nico asked us earlier if the kids can stay over tonight so you can have some... alone time”, replied Sally with a smirk.

“Well then, why are we still here if we can have the whole house to ourselves?”, asked Percy.

“And Ella and me will take them over the weekend!”, said Tyson with a broad grin.

“Because I didn't get to give you your birthday present”, smiled Nico amused, pulling Percy close. “I booked us a weekend get-away in Venice, just you and me.”

“I love you”, murmured Percy and wrapped his arms around his husband. “You're the best.”

“And you two _really_ want to make another baby with how relieved you are to get rid of them?”

“Mom”, complained Percy with a pout. “That's something different. To get a couple of days alone with my husband is brilliant. And it makes me be even happier to get my babies back.”

“Have fun!”, chorused Ella, Tyson, Paul and Sally, waving them off.

Nico shadow-traveled them right into their bedroom. Percy grinned down at his husband, who laid right beneath him. The grin turned into a soft smile as he started to play with Nico's curls.

“You are the best husband on this planet”, whispered the son of Poseidon. “It was an amazing day.”

“Even though it was nothing like how I planned it”, sighed Nico annoyed, peeling the shirt off his husband. “But I'm still glad you enjoyed it. Now... I may have something else you'd enjoy.”

“Idiot”, chuckled Percy and helped Nico undress them.

The two kissed passionately as Nico rolled them over. Percy moaned into the kiss as he was pinned into the mattress by his husband. While the son of Poseidon arched into the touch of his lover, Nico trailed kisses all over Percy's upper body, biting a perky, pink nipple, twirling his tongue around it.

“A week from now, we can start... with the baby-making”, whispered Nico against Percy's stomach.

But Percy interrupted Nico's attempts at foreplay by grabbing his shoulders and pulling him up to look into _very_ guilty sea-green eyes. “Uhm... technically, we can... start now...”

“The tea only stops working after a week”, pointed Nico out.

“And I kind of... stopped drinking it eight days ago”, admitted Percy, biting his lower lip hard. “I just... Well, I wanted to gather my courage to ask you about the baby and I figured if you'd agree, we could start right away and if not, I'd just go back to drinking my tea...”

Taking a minute to think, Nico stared stunned at his husband before relief filled him and he just collapsed on top of Percy. “Oh gods, that's why you've been avoiding my touch for the last four days? I thought you were in one of your 'too old and not pretty enough'-phases because of your birthday and all. You had me so worried, amore.”

“Sorry”, grinned Percy sheepishly, stealing a kiss. “I just... I mean, Persephone said it takes a week to wear off, but I figured I'd rather be safe. I want a baby, but I didn't just want to get pregnant behind your back, so I thought it would be safer to refrain from having sex with you until the two of us could actually talk about the whole having another baby thing...”

“So... You and me... Right now, we could make a baby...”, drawled Nico slowly.

“Well, we could get started on it”, nodded the son of Poseidon, his hands wandering down along Nico's torso, caressing the olive-skin and the hard muscles. “I mean, if you're sure about it...”

“Of course I am, amore eterno”, whispered Nico, hovering over Percy's lips. “I love you more than my own life. And you know how much our children mean to me. After I lost my mother and sister, you were the only family I had until I found Hazel again. And our children, our family, this is all I ever wanted in my life and adding another member to our family sounds wonderful.”

“So we are going to... make a baby...”, whispered Percy, clawing his fingers into Nico's hair to pull him into a hard, passionate kiss. “Come on, Mister di Angelo, make me di Angelo number ten.”

Nico snorted amused as he grabbed the bottle of lube they stashed in the nightstand. Nico moved his attention downward to his husband's delicious abs again. Percy spread his legs demandingly, his fingers clawed into Nico's curls, pushing his head down a little more. Chuckling amused, Nico wrapped his lips around the attention-seeking member in front of him. Once his husband was too busy moaning and whimpering, Nico lubed his fingers and cock up. Distracting Percy with deep-throating his aching member, Nico teasingly circled Percy's entrance. His fingers curiously caressed the soft ring of muscles, only slipping in the tip of one finger.

“Come on, don't tease”, whined Percy with a pout. “It's been four days. And it's my birthday.”

“Okay, okay”, chuckled Nico amused, slipping one finger in.

He bobbed his head while wiggling his finger inside of his tight husband. Percy moaned and thrust back down on it, enjoying the attention from his Ghost King. He was still grateful when Nico added another finger. And another. The son of Hades knew exactly how to move and where to tease and touch and kiss. After what felt way too long, the fingers were finally replaced by Nico's cock. The son of Hades sat up some and pulled his husband up against him. One hand was resting on Percy's ass, the other was tenderly and teasingly caressing Percy's cock. Their movement was perfectly synched – years of being together had truly given them one mind when it came to those things. Percy rode his lover's cock, the Ghost King thrusting up into the tightness while jerking his Sea Prince off. Their lips remained locked nearly the whole time, only sometimes did they part to trail kisses along each other's necks and collarbones. Nico was the first to finish, coming deep inside his husband. Milking the son of Hades for every last drop of cum he had, Percy felt himself coming closer to his own orgasm under the cunning touch of his lover. With a moan on his lips did the son of Poseidon follow his husband and spray his seed between their bodies. Panting hard, they just collapsed sideways, still joined and tangled up. Percy smiled brilliantly up at his husband, cheeks flushed from his orgasm, short of breath and pupils blown. Even after twenty years of dating, he was still the most beautiful thing Nico could ever imagine. Cupping Percy's cheeks tenderly, Nico placed a feather-light kiss on the plump lips of his husband.

“Ti amo, mio amore eterno”, whispered the son of Hades, voice rough from the moaning. [trans: _I love you, my eternal love_ ]

“Love you too, best husband ever”, murmured Percy and snuggled up to Nico.

They stayed like that, not speaking, just laying in each other's arms peacefully, for a little while, until they both felt a bit cooled off. Their thoughts were drifting apart after the day's events.

“I hope Donny is going to be fine. He seemed to be struggling with his quest...”, whispered Percy after about half an hour of just laying here and enjoying how Nico caressed his hair.

“Of course he will be fine. I gave him Phylicia's address. It'll all add up in the end”, promised Nico and kissed Percy's temples. “Besides, I'm more worried about Thess' virtue.”

“Either you truly are confident that Donny will make it, or you don't take that quest serious”, snorted Percy with one cocked eyebrow. “Because I don't think Thess' virtue should be your top priority at the moment. Besides, that kid is fierce. He's not going to do anything he doesn't want.”

“Yeah, he is fierce”, agreed Nico thoughtful. “He's an awful lot like you.”

“Awful lot? _Excuse me_?”, huffed Percy with a warning glare.

“I'm just saying that the two of us have had sex like two weeks after we got together and Thess has been dating the Chase boy for months now!”, defended Nico with a pout. “And he's my baby.”

“I start doubting if exposing another child to your overbearing nature is a good idea...”

“Don't tease, Perseus”, warned Nico and stole a kiss. “I'm just... worried.”

“I know, Nick”, grinned Percy against Nico's lips. “Don't worry. Our children will be fine.”


	62. Five Friends as Backup (Camp Life Part V)

62\. Five Friends as Backup (Camp Life Part V)

 

Phylicia Rosenberg was just a shy, young girl. She had always been more of a wallflower, trying to hide from too much attention. But Derek was stubborn and he and Melissa Montgomery had decided to be her friends. Derek however seemed to be some kind of package deal, because there was constantly someone trailing after him – Stella, the Aphrodite girl, Marshall, the Enyo boy. Or like right now, Marshall, his girlfriend Sara and this other Roman girl. What Phyl didn't understand however was that she agreed to get dragged along as the four others determinedly headed toward camp. Summer was over, right? No more camp then, right? So where were they going?

“Derek”, asked Phylicia shyly, tugging on his sleeve. “Where are we going?”

“We have this pretty awesome lady living in a cave”, started Derek. “Uhm, that sounds awkward. She's the host of the Oracle of Delphi. It has been bugging me for weeks now that she hadn't given out a prophecy for this. Marshall, Sara and Joe are worried for our friends, so we're investigating. You don't have to come if you don't want to, Phyl.”

Phyl opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed it. Derek had been so kind to her, he had befriended her, guided her during the Cabin Head meetings, explained everything at camp to her. He had welcomed her with open arms and introduced her to his friends so she would be able to make some connections of her own. And this right now was about Sam and after all the time she had spend with Derek and all the stories the son of Demeter had told her about Sam, she knew just how much this guy meant to her new friend. After how much Derek had done to her, how could she just turn her back on him when he seemed to need someone?

“No, I'm fine. I'd like to meet an oracle”, replied the daughter of Persephone with a small smile.

“Who is that chick anyway? I mean, no offense, but I never saw you before”, stated Sara.

“No need to bark all Mars at her”, grunted Derek defensively. “She's my friend. Phylicia, daughter of Persephone. Now try calming down, Sara. You know our Sammy, he's fine.”

“I'm not worried about Sam!”, barked Joe in. “He's a kid of Ares, he's fine! But _Nico_ won't be!”

“Oh, shut up, Joanna”, said Sara and patted her back. “Nico's not useless either.”

Phyl frowned worried and turned toward Marshall. The big guy was more after her liking, he was silent and laid back. Derek was nice and funny, but he was very hyperactive and overly passionate – especially when he was talking about Sam. But those two Roman girls, they were loud.

“Derek, Marshall, Phylicia. What can I do for you?”, asked Chiron suspiciously as they reached the Big House. “And you are... Sara, if I'm not mistaken. I'm sorry, I don't know you.”

“Joe Foxx, daughter of Vulcan”, introduced Joe herself.

“Nice to meet you”, nodded Chiron. “Now tell me, what can I do for you?”

“Our praetors send us. We're... worried, about our friends, the ones on the quest”, answered Sara, fidgeting with her purple camp shirt. “B—But we don't know how so we wanted to speak to the Oracle of Delphi. If that is fine with you, Mister Chiron, sir.”

Chiron had to smile kindly at the nervous girl. “Of course that's okay, Sara. Go ahead. But she's not in the cave. She does normally live in the Big House. The cave is more... more appearance.”

“Thank you, Mister Chiron, sir”, nodded Sara and bowed a little.

She was always freakishly nervous around the wise, old centaur. The five teenagers ran past Chiron on their way into the Big House, where they nearly startled Rachel to death. The redhead looked up from her cup of tea to stare over at the five curious and nervous children.

“Miss Dare, ma'am, we need your help!”, exclaimed Sara, still nervous. “We want to help my brother and our friends on their quest. Is there... Is there any way we can help them?”

Phylicia tilted her head intrigued, staring at the pretty redheaded woman. Sara was nervously leaning back against Marshall, who had his arms wrapped around her in a supportive manner. Derek just looked impatient, tapping his foot. And Joe looked short of exploding with nerves. Much to their collective surprise however did sudden green mist surround Rachel, scaring them.

“Seven Heroes Crossing Waters, Six Sons not Defied.

Five Friends as Backup, Four Greeks not Allied.

Three Hours left Fighting, Two Sides of the Same.

One Love Left Dying, Zero Ways out of the Game.”

Her voice was otherworldly as she spoke the words that seemed to bounce off the walls and echo a hundred times over and over ago in the living room. Marshall hastily grabbed her as Rachel collapsed forward, cautiously placing her on the couch. He turned to exchange a worried look with his girlfriend, but Sara was too busy not having a heart-attack.

“Oh my father, it's a prophecy. I mean, we came here because we hoped we'd get one, but I never expected for it to really actually seriously happen. Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods”, chanted Sara.

“Love, calm down”, whispered Marshall softly and hugged her close again. “It's fine.”

“H—How is _anything_ fine?!”, exclaimed Joe, waving her arms around wildly. “Someone is going to die! Didn't you listen to her?! Oh gods, we are _so_ heading over there! I won't let Nico die!”

“Your friends are real drama queens”, whispered Phyl as she tugged on Derek's shirt.

“Yeah. We're getting back to New Rome now and then Marshall and I are getting packed and we're going to leave. My Sammy is not going to be in any kind of danger”, growled Derek determined.

 

/break\

 

Phyl wasn't exactly sure what had happened today, but the prophecy had scared her and while Marshall and Derek had left to pack some clothes and such, Phylicia had returned to her apartment, where she was now sitting on her bed, staring thoughtful into the large mirror that Derek had gotten for her. He had told her that the apartment needed a more personal touch and that a pretty girl _had_ to own a full-length mirror. Biting her lips, she started to worry. Derek and his friends were so willing to throw themselves into danger to help their friends. She wondered if she could ever be so brave, because right now, sitting on her bed, she felt kind of like a coward.

When suddenly the doorbell rang, she jumped up right away and stumbled to open it, hopeful that it may be Derek. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do though. Beg him to stay so he would be safe, or ask him to take her with him so she could... help? What kind of help could _she_ be? She had only found out that she was a demigod about three weeks ago!

“Derek!”, exclaimed Phyl, just to falter. “You're not Derek... Who are you?”

There was a cute boy standing in front of her, with olive skin and wild, dark curls, pointing into every direction possible. He wore a blue shirt and black leather pants that were definitely too tight for a guy, with a skull belt-buckle the size of his fist. But he had the most extraordinaire eyes possible, like the sea when a storm was raging over it.

“Hello”, smiled the boy – and what a charming smile, she could fall in love right at that moment!

“Hello”, replied Phyl shyly and felt herself blushing brightly. “C—Can I help you?”

“I'm Donny di Angelo and my father send me here. You're Phylicia Rosenberg?”, asked the boy.

“Uhm... Uhu”, nodded Phyl and felt herself flushing even more.

“My dad is Nico di Angelo. The man who brought you here”, continued Donny, nervously wringing his hands. “And, uhm, I don't know if you've heard of this, but me and my friends, we're on a quest given to us by your mother a—and now we're kind of stuck and my mom said, well I think that doesn't really matter, why I'm here is that I don't think that it's a coincident that grand—uhm, I mean, Lady Persephone, that she claimed you now that she gave a quest. I think you're important.”

“I'm not important! Y—You surely have the wrong person!”, exclaimed Phylicia panicked.

“Really?”, groaned an annoyed voice from behind Donny. “Out of _everyone_ on that quest, it had to be you who returns first? Where's my sweetie pie? What are you even doing here? Out of the way.”

“D—Derek, don't be mean”, gasped Phylicia, turning apologetic eyes on Donny. “I'm sorry, he's-”

“Rude. I know”, grunted Donny unimpressed and turned to glare at Derek.

The two green-eyed boys glared heatedly at one another. Sara, Joe and Marshall were standing in a half-circle around Derek, staring curiously at Donny. Phyl was generally just confused.

“Look, I'm not here for fun”, sighed Donny. “I'm here because we needed help and Nico, Sam and me decided to ask for help. So I want the daughter of Persephone to help us on Persephone's quest.”

“Yeah, we know that you're having problems”, snarled Derek, glaring at Donny pointedly. “It's why we went to the oracle. And unlike you, _we_ received a prophecy.”

“Wild guess, it was a countdown from seven heroes to zero ways?”, asked Donny unimpressed.

“H—How do you know that?”, asked Sara stunned, staring wide-eyed.

“Because that's the prophecy _we_ received too”, replied Donny, still staring at Derek.

“If I may interrupt your staring contest?”, asked Marshall and pushed between them before he had to break up a cat-fight between two tomcats. “This prophecy, it had a line about Five Friends as Backup, right? Now if I count this correct, we have five people willing to go here, right?”

“Well, we have _four_ people willing and one that's being forced by a snotty little princess”, pointed Derek out, cocking one eyebrow as he tried to glare past Marshall. “Phyl is completely inexperie-”

“I want to help!”, interrupted Phyl, biting her lips.

“What? No!”, objected Derek, redirecting his glare toward her. “That will not happen.”

“B—But you're the only real friend I made so far. I don't want you to go and I don't want anything to happen to you, so I want to come with you”, whispered Phylicia unsure, worrying her lips more.

Donny stared at her ridiculed. Derek was her only friend? Poor girl. The next second, he already felt bad for thinking that. He had only had two friends for far too long too. And _something_ about Derek must be good, otherwise someone as awesome, amazing and wonderful as Sam wouldn't be best friends with the guy and Trend and Sander surely wouldn't have dated him if he'd been an asshole all of his life and to everyone. So Derek had to have a good side. _Very_ well hidden, somewhere, but it had to exist. It had to. Simply because no person could just be a mean prick. Right?

“Okay. Fine. But I have no idea how to transport five people plus myself”, mumbled Donny.

“Your family owns a giant-ass hell-hound with the ability to travel through shadows. Jeez, no idea how we could _possibly_ get to Europe”, sighed Derek dramatically and rolled his eyes.

“I'm going to kill him, before we reach Europe, I will just throw him off in the shadows”, whispered Donny to himself, giving Derek the evil eye. “You can be glad Sam cares so much for you, Rhys.”

“Yes, yes, eternally grateful and all that jazz, now go and get your lap-dog. Not Sander, the other.”

“You're such an a-”, started Donny, the rest of his sentence swallowed by the shadows as he left.

“Uhm... So, who was that and why doesn't he like you, Derek?”, asked Phylicia shyly. “And where di he disappear to? I mean, he just walked through the wall!”

“That's called shadow-traveling. Descendants of Lord Hades can do that. He's the grandson of Lord Hades. And of Lord Poseidon, actually”, replied Derek, looking annoyed. “But he's useless. He has all this power, but he doesn't even know how to properly control them. A prissy, arrogant little princess who thinks he's better than anyone just because he's the son of our greatest hero.”

“They can't really see eye to eye”, summarized Sara with a small, apologetic grin.

“Why yes, I noticed that”, nodded Phylicia worried. “And they're supposed to work _together_?”

“Well, someone seems to be dying anyway, so I'd have my money on one of them killing the other”, drawled Joe, half serious. “But honestly, Rhys, get your act together. This is our way to get to Nico and the others, so do not screw this up, Derek Rhys.”

“Uhm, would you like to come inside to fight, or do you want to stay in the hallway?”, asked Phyl.

“You're sweet”, grinned Sara. “But that's not a good idea. Mrs. O is _large_. So let's go outside.”

“You guys go outside, I'll help Phylicia packing some stuff”, suggested Derek.

While Sara, Joe and Marshall went downstairs again, Derek followed Phylicia inside, closing the door behind them. Grabbing a stylish leather messenger back, he went straight to her wardrobe. Phylicia was a little embarrassed that a boy was going through her clothes, but if there was one thing she had learned about Derek Rhys in the past two weeks – aside from him being obsessed with Sam – was that he was as gay as the flower bouquets he liked to arrange. Then again, his obsession with Sam and him being gay was kind of one and the same.

“And you're sure about this, Phyl?”, asked Derek softly, packing various summer and spring and winter clothes, just to cover everything. “Look, this is dangerous, Phylicia. Really dangerous.”

“B—But it's what we demigods do, right?”, asked Phylicia unsure. “We are... heroes. I want to be a hero, if it can help you. You love this Sam and I'm afraid of what you're going to do to save him.”

“Brutal honesty, I like that”, nodded Derek with a distasteful look. “Okay. I... Thanks. I mean, aside from Sam, I never had a friend that cared that much for me... So, thanks, I guess.”

“You're welcome”, smiled Phyl timidly, taking a dark green leather jacket. “Come.”

The two brunettes left the apartment, Phylicia locked it, unsure when she would next get to be there. One the one hand, she was dreading this, but on the other, she felt a rush of excitement like never before in her life. A sense for adventure that her father had given her. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed Derek's hand and followed the son of Demeter outside. Where everyone was already gathered. There was Marshall, uploading luggage onto the most gigantic hound Phyl had ever seen. Sara and Joe were already sitting on top of the beast, while the cute guy was feeding her the largest treat Phyl had ever seen. It was kind of adorable. She smiled as they walked over to join them.

“This is a mighty beast”, commented Phyl impressed, cautiously reaching out.

“Don't worry”, smiled Donny kindly, grabbing her hand and placing it on Mrs. O'Leary's snout. “She's a good girl and really tame, she has never bit anyone who wasn't a titan or giant.”

But what Phyl noticed was the engagement ring on his finger. The good ones were always taken.

“Okay, now, every one of you on board the hellhound express! Everyone aside from Derek, hold on tight so you won't fall into the shadows”, announced Donny with an overly sweet smile directed at Derek who flipped him the bird. “Mrs. O'Leary, follow me, okay, my girl?”

Derek wrapped his arms around Phylicia, holding onto her tight so she won't get lost. He really didn't care what di Angelo was thinking about him. He never cared about what others thought of him, as long as he had the people he cared were safe and knew _him_.

As the hellhound landed on deck of the Argo II, Donny right away led them down to the infirmaries, leaving Mrs. O'Leary to rest. Once inside, multiple things happened at the very same time.

Marshall walked over to his unconscious friends, checking Trend and Sander – their pulse, their breathing. It was unnerving to see both of them so silent, he knew them loud and fighting. Donny joined him and sat down beside him, caressing Sander's hair softly. That was when Marshall noticed the engagement ring on Donny's finger, as those fingers ran through Sander's hair so lovingly. Marshall had to smile to himself. So the hero finally got the princess, mh? He continued grinning while Donny explained to him what exactly had happened – well, to everyone actually.

But the others were only listening with one ear, because Joe was way too busy pushing herself between the admittedly pretty black-haired girl and her Nico. The Latina looked flustered and embarrassed as Joe wrapped one friendly (read: possessive) arm around her waist.

“I missed you, purgatory”, grinned Joe and hugged her close. “I'm glad you're fine.”

“I... eh... I missed you too, Jojo”, mumbled Nico and blushed a little.

While Ulrika was busy glaring heatedly at that new, dark-skinned girl that was sitting _way_ too close to Nico, Arielle found it relatively boring to loiter with them so she rather put her focus onto the only one from that group that looked out of place. The pretty brunette girl with the braid.

“Hi, I'm Arielle. Me and my best friend kind of got... pushed into this thing”, offered the redhead.

“Hello, I'm Phylicia”, smiled the brunette softly. “It's, uhm, nice meeting new people?”

Sara all the while was busy choking Sam in a hug, telling him how worried she had been and how much she had missed him and how much she loved him, at least until she got poked in the side by a glaring Derek. Sam reluctantly put his sister down, just to get jumped by Derek.

“Oh my gods, sweetheart, you're alright, you're alive, I'm so glad”, gasped the son of Demeter.

“I'm glad you're here, Der”, grinned Sam, face buried in the brown curls of his best friend. “Gods, I missed you. I'm sorry I worried you. I—I'm _really_ glad you're here.”

“I'm also glad that I'm here”, chuckled Derek, legs tightly wrapped around Sam's waist to hold onto him as he pushed off some with his arms to take a closer look, tilting his head into all possible directions to see if Sam was fine. “Thank the gods your beautiful face didn't get marred.” That was when Derek noticed that Sam was spotting two pointy, peanut-colored cat ears. “Oh. My. Gods.”

“Don't freak out”, mumbled Sam embarrassed, the ears twitching.

“Fuck, those are _real_?”, gasped Derek, poking them and stroking them and tugging just the tiniest bit on them (which made Sam hiss like a furious kitten). “Oh. My. Gods. We are _so_ keeping those.”

“What? No. Fuck you, asshole”, growled Sam, his ears flat against his head.

“But they are freaking adorable!”, exclaimed Derek, caressing them softly. “So cute. Damn. They give me about a bazillion ideas. Oh! We're getting you a collar! Red leather, with a tiny, golden bell that jingles when you do cat-stuff. Are you doing cat-stuff? Like chasing mice and licking your-”

“Shut up!”, interrupted Sam, his face beet-red. “And I can feel what kind of _ideas_ they give you.”

“Let me take this burden from you, Sam”, offered Marshall in his deep, dark voice.

He grabbed Derek around the waist and sat him down on a chair, making Derek pout like a little child. Sam grinned amused, still red-faced as he sat down next to Derek. They all took seats in a circle – Derek, Sam, Donny, Ulrika, Nico, Joe, Sara, Marshall, Arielle, Phylicia. Derek was practically sitting on Sam's lap, his fingers running through the long, soft fur of Sam's tail. Donny glared at them, feeling a little responsible since Trend was out cold and he surely would _not_ appreciate the way Derek was behaving. Then again, Sam was acting as though it was totally cool.

“I was so freaked out when I didn't hear from you in weeks”, hissed Derek, tugging a little on the tail, which made Sam meow miserably. “Bad kitten! Don't ever do that again! I thought you died!”

“Don't call me a kitten and I'm _sorry_ , okay? What else am I supposed to say? This is a quest, no time for idle, long chats, Der”, sighed Sam, nuzzling Derek's neck like an affectionate kitten.

“Gods damn it, why do you have to be so cute? How is anyone supposed to stay mad at you?”

Derek was positively pouting at that point. But at least he was back to caressing Sam's tail instead of pulling it. Sam had noticed that that thing was overly sensitive, just like the ears. It was really bothersome and it was already enough that Donny kept playing with them as though he was a toy or a pet or something. Taking a look around, he appreciated that Marshall had, in the end, joined their quest. The Sons of War united again. Who was supposed to beat them? And Sara! She had always been kind of the unofficial fifth member, the Daughter of War. Joe, okay, another tinkerer could be helpful since this forced stay in Berlin had given Nico enough time to fix the damaged rooms properly, but still on the long run, two tinkerers surely were better than one. Derek was... worrying. Sam knew that Der was already short of screeching when be broke a nail. But a _quest_? Still, it was kind of awesome to have him back. He had missed his best friend a lot, they had never ever stayed apart for such a long period of time before, not since knowing each other. Though it was also kind of unsettling, because there was a reason he hadn't called Derek so far and that reason was blonde and unconscious and called Trend. How was he supposed to tell his very best friend on the entire planet that he was dating Derek's ex? The one he had only broken up with not even two months ago. The one Sam had gotten together with not even half a month after Trend had dumped Derek. What kind of impression was he going to leave with that? He didn't want to look like the jerk who stole his best friend's boyfriend. He cared too much about Derek. What if Derek would hate him for it? Shaking his head, he tried to concentrate on Donny and Nico, who started to tell their story.


	63. Six Sons not Defied Part IV

63\. Six Sons not Defied Part IV

 

Sam had nodded off a little – being a catboy did make him more tired. And he also already knew the story of how they got abducted by the Erotes. He had his feet in Derek's lap and his head against the other brunette's shoulder, purring peacefully as Derek caressed his ears. Donny did not like it. Trend would throw such a fuss if he'd see this – the blonde was so extremely jealous. Nonetheless, he continued his tale. He was glad that Sam for once wasn't pacing the room. Heaving a sigh, he instead played with the fireflies. The seven green-glowing insects had grown more antsy too after the crew had been put to sleep. They kept circling Donny, so he patted them.

“But you know that you're right now playing Disney Princess with the solution to your problem, right?”, drawled the son of Demeter with a deadpan, staring at Donny. “The Demetria Lampyridae.”

“The what now?”, asked Sara confused and turned to Derek, nudging Marshall.

“Yeah, what's that? Never heard of it before”, agreed Nico, trying to push past Rika and Joe.

She was nervous, sitting between Rika and Joe who both kept glaring at each other. So the distraction of Derek and his gibberish was pretty convenient. Derek rolled his eyes and sighed.

“The Demetria Lampyridae. Demeter's Fireflies. The green glowing things?”, snorted Derek.

“Oh. I didn't know the fireflies had names”, admitted Donny sheepishly. “Wait. What do you mean, the fireflies are the solution? I mean, they led us to Europe, but I don't see how they can help now.”

Just as Derek took another long-suffering and degrading sigh, he got grabbed around the waist and lifted up, thrown over Sam's shoulder and carried out of the room.

“You know I dislike it when you manhandle me like that”, protested Derek as he was put down.

“And you know I dislike it when you're being an arrogant prick”, replied Sam with a deadpan.

“Oh, come on. It's the freaking Disney Princess”, snarled Derek and rolled his eyes.

“Please. Don't”, sighed Sam, running his fingers through his mohawk. “This is important. This is more than important. It's about saving Trend and Sander and Herc and Thea. Please, try to keep the snark and the 'everybody is an idiot'-attitude to a minimum, at least until the others are safe?”

Derek groaned agonized as he looked at Sam. The son of Ares had gone into his knees a little to look up at Derek, his eyes as wide as possible, lower lip pushed forward, cat-ears flat against his head. Those blasted ears made his begging-kitten eyes even more irresistible than they used to be.

“Yes. Okay. Yeah, I'll keep the attitude down until everybody is safe”, sighed Derek frustrated.

“Thank you”, smiled Sam and kissed Derek's cheek. “Now get back in there and explain yourself.”

Derek blushed slightly as he followed Sam back inside. Damn that boy and his irresistibility. Back on his chair, Derek could feel the curious eyes of everyone burning holes into him.

“The Demetria Lampyridae are the fireflies created by Lady Hecate to help my mother on her search for her daughter Persephone. They are magical creatures, as you may have already noticed. They exist to guide the way, like they guided my mother the way through the dark nights on her search”, explained Derek slowly. “But that's not the only way they guide.”

“Yeah, they guide Teardrop on his way to bring spring and summer”, nodded Donny.

“They guide. Period”, said Derek. “With the right... help, they will be able to guide them back from the coma, back to reality. It's just... really powerful magic. I have a connection to them, since they are my mother's. But I doubt I can do it entirely on my own. Never did it before, after all.”

“I could help?”, offered Phyl, blushing as suddenly everyone turned toward her. “I mean, you say they were created when your mother was searching for my mother. D—Does that mean I could help? I have _very_ similar powers to you, after all. Right?”

“That is... genius”, nodded Derek slowly, staring wide-eyed.

“If she can help, so can I”, interjected Donny with a frown. “I mean, I'm Persephone's champion.”

Derek looked positively pained at the prospect of working with Donny, but after a sharp glare from Sam, he nodded slowly. “I suppose. And the three of us should be able to... do it.”

“What do you need for it?”, asked Marshall, arms crossed over his chest.

“A knife and the fireflies. It's not like it's real magic and we need a wand and a pot with potion”, snorted Derek and rolled his eyes. “They just need to follow my lead. We should be fine.”

“Okay, who do we start with?”, asked Sara excitedly, bouncing on her heels.

“First, we get this ship up again”, interrupted Nico and stood. “Joe, uhm, you mind helping me?”

“Sure!”, exclaimed Joe, grinning victoriously down at Rika.

Rika glared and stood, trying to follow, but Donny cut in. He wasn't stupid. He knew what was going on there. So with the most charming smile possible did Donny grab her arm.

“Would you and Arielle mind showing Marshall, Sara, Phyl and Derek the free rooms?”

“Free rooms? This ship has seven bedrooms. How are any rooms still free?”, questioned Joe.

“Sam and Trend, Donny and Sander, Herc and Thea, they're all sharing rooms. Because half our bedrooms got demolished by a giant squid. But since we reached Berlin, I managed to fix them up some again. So, I don't know, we're like fourteen people and have seven rooms”, shrugged Nico.

“Rika and me won't mind sharing a room”, shrugged Arielle, earning the stinky eye from Rika.

“Oh, and I could share with Derek. I don't mind”, offered Phyl with a bright smile.

“And Marshall and me, obviously!”, chimed Sara, smiling brilliantly.

“Thank you, best friend”, muttered Joe with a glare. “And what about me?”

“Well, I guess you're stuck with me then”, said Nico, blushing furiously as she led the way out.

While Nico and Joe were off to get the ship started, Arielle and Rika showing Marshall, Sara, Phyl and Derek the rooms, Donny remained alone with Sam. Somehow, the son of Ares felt as though there was a reason for this. Sam cocked one eyebrow, staring quizzically at Donny.

“What's the matter, princess?”, asked Sam, straightening up some.

“I just... Derek has tormented me the biggest part of my life. I don't trust him with Sander's life. But _somehow_ , he earned your trust. So far, we've talked about a lot of stuff, but we avoided the topic of Derek because of obvious reasons. Right now I _need_ to know why you trust him.”

Sam shifted uncomfortably and averted his eyes. “When I was ten, I started figuring out... who I was. That I was gay. It was... confusing and upsetting for me, because my grandpa used to preach, a lot. See, I'm an Irish boy. I'm catholic. I used to go to church, every Sunday morning. Still do whenever I'm home or staying over at my ma's. My grandpa taught me and my cousins that being gay is a sin, that having sex before marriage is a sin, that... a lot of things are sins. And my grandpa was someone I looked up to. I _needed_ his approval. So... it threw me off, being something grandpa hated. I... fell into a hole. I barely left my apartment at all, only if I had to. I didn't talk to anyone, didn't answer when my friends knocked at my door. Because I couldn't face them. Because, let's face it, all my friends are hot guys. I was too confused to face them and I didn't know what to tell them. I barely ate, couldn't really sleep. Honestly, I was at a bad place back then. Very bad. And it was Derek who picked up on my weird behavior, well, the others did too, but I guess being kids they just... hoped it would go away. They didn't know what to do either, I don't blame them. But Derek, he... did something. He called your pa and send him to talk to me. Your pa told me about how he went through the same thing and he calmed me down and Derek, he supported me. And _this_ is why we work, why I trust Derek. Because Derek always picks up on my moods and knows how to... how to fix it again. He knows how to fix me again. He's always been there for me.”

“Okay”, nodded Donny slowly, arms around his legs, chin on his knees.

“Okay?”, asked Sam concerned, biting his lips nervously.

“I don't like it, but I can respect it”, said Donny and sighed. “If he's good for you, if you trust him, then that's enough for me. Because I trust _you_ with Sander's life and if you trust Derek...”

“Thanks”, grinned Sam and hugged Donny tightly. “I don't expect you two to become best friends, but I'd _love_ for you not to kill each other and maybe just... at least co-exist?”

“I think that may be okay”, chuckled Donny and shook his head. “For you.”

 

/break\

 

Half an hour later had Donny, Phyl and Derek gathering around the four unconscious demigods. Nico and Joe were steering. Marshall and Sara were on watch-duty in the crow's nest. Rika and Arielle were catching much deserved sleep after they had been on watch-duty for probably too long to be healthy already. And Sam was with the rescue-team, pacing the room nervously.

“Who do we start with?”, asked Phylicia worried, looking from one unconscious body to the other.

“With Sander. The brunette boy”, replied Sam, pointing at Sander.

Donny frowned surprised, looking up at his best friend. “But... Trend...?”

“Look, Don”, sighed Sam, grabbing Donny by the shoulders and staring him dead in the eyes. “You want Sander back, that is and will be your first priority. Even if you start with someone else, your head will be with Sander. So if you get Sander back, once you know he's safe, you have a clear head to save Trend, Herc and Thea. So you go and get your fiance back, Donny.”

“Okay”, nodded Donny with a small smile, hugging Sam.

“Can we now _please_ get started?”, sighed Derek bored, holding out his hands for them to take.

Donny looked positively annoyed, but he still put his hand into Derek's, taking Phyl's hand with the other. The three stood in a triangle around Sander's head, Donny left and Derek right, Phyl right in front of Sander's head. The three closed their eyes, taking deep breaths. The seven fireflies flew between them in a circle and Sam kept a watchful eye on them all (while curling together next to Trend). Even in his sleep did the blonde lay one arm around Sam's waist, making Sam smile.

“Okay, you need to focus on Sander, on finding Sander. The fireflies need to know that you're searching for Sander, so they can guide us to him. Concentrate on Sander”, explained Derek.

 

/break\

 

Sander smiled brightly as he laid on top of Donny. His Donny. His husband. And tonight was their wedding night. He would _finally_ get to claim the love of his life in that one special way. And to top it all off, Donny looked _stunning_. In a white tux, with a blue dress-shirt and a Jackson-rose adoring the jacket. A charming, nearly seductive, smile laid on those rosy lips, sea-green eyes sparkling with temptation as Sander leaned down to kiss his husband. His husband. He did not tire of saying that.

“Sander, if you sleep with that—that clone, I will never forgive you that!”

Sander yelped and whirled around, falling off the bed in the process. He frowned, to equal parts guilty and utterly confused. There were Donny, Derek and some pretty brunette girl with flowers braided into her hair, all three just standing there and staring at him. Okay, this was officially weird.

“What... is going on here?”, asked Sander and tried to get up again.

“You utter morons got yourself abducted by the Erotes, each trapped by one of them. You... seem to have gotten the wedding-deal out of it, if the banquet outside is anything to go by. Your mother is dancing on the table at the moment, utterly delightful. Anyway, I had to come to save the day”, replied Derek nonchalantly, arms crossed over his chest. “This is my friend Phylicia, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you”, smiled Phyl and waved shyly at the still confused boy.

“I... don't understand...?”, mumbled Sander, holding his head.

Donny looked worried as he walked over to his fiance and knelt down beside him, taking both Sander's hands into his own and looking deep into those loyal, chocolate-brown eyes. At that very moment, he could feel himself falling in love with Sander all over again. It was obvious that Sander was confused and had no idea what was going on, yet he still blindly trusted Donny, simply because it was Donny. Also, the dream-world holding Sander captive was their wedding? That was – by far – the sweetest thing Donny could imagine. Smiling softly at Sander, he leaned in and kissed him. Sander sighed into the kiss, as though he had just entered heaven, his arms around Donny's neck.

“You're real”, decided Sander against Donny's lips. “You feel so much more... like love than him.”

“I feel like love?”, giggled Donny, nuzzling his nose against Sander's cheek.

“For the love of it, get up so we can leave before I have to puke”, groaned Derek annoyed.

“So wait, you're real too?”, asked Sander surprised as he got up. “But what are you doing here...?”

“Sammy will explain it to you once you wake up while we get the others out of their own dream-worlds. This is a dream, by the way. Now if you'd come along, please”, replied Derek impatiently.

“B—But if this is a dream, how did you get into my dream and how do we get out of it? I mean, I don't know how to wake up from a dream after knowing that it's a dream”, sighed Sander upset.

“We got in the same way we'll get out”, explained Derek, motioning for the fireflies around his head. “We follow the white rabbit out of wonderland, now grab your Alice and come.”

“I hate him, I hate him so, so much”, groaned Donny, hiding his head in Sander's chest.

Sander grinned amused, running his fingers through Donny's hair. He was used to Derek's bite and found his sarcastic snark kind of funny. Getting up, he grabbed Donny's hand tightly.

“Okay, Der. Lead the way”, nodded Sander, Donny close to him.

He took one last glance at the frozen-in-time Donny on the bed. One day. One day he would have the _real_ Donny right there, beneath him, married to him. He chocked as the air got knocked out of him and he suddenly felt like falling deep into a bottomless pit. Suddenly, he sat up in a bed.

“Donny!”, was the first thing he gasped, the room still swirling around him.

“I'm here, mio eroe, I'm here”, whispered Donny reassuringly and collapsed on Sander's lap.

Sander heaved a relieved sigh as one of the cabins on board of the Argo II came into focus – the first thing he saw was the smiling face of his fiance. Now he remembered, remembered all the dreams of their wedding that he has had and how they always reset themselves once he noticed that something was off. He also remembered how they had gotten drunk, how he had ended up with that Erotes. But Sander's musings were interrupted by a yelp and much giggling from Donny.

“Oh my grandfathers, you are the most adorable thing ever”, cooed the half-Italian.

Sander tilted his head, which only made him look even more adorable because the nougat-brown puppy-ears at his head bounced wonderfully. Donny bit his lips to keep from squealing as he also noticed the wagging dog-tail. His fiance was a dogboy. The most adorable dogboy ever.

“Stop cooing over Sander. Go and bring back the others”, ordered Sam. “I'll stay here and explain to Sander why he looks like an oversized puppy, well, more than he normally does. Get going.”

Donny wanted to bring Trend back next – for Sam. But Phyl and Derek were already standing around Herc. It wouldn't be fair to protest, since he wanted all their friends back and so obviously prioritizing would make him feel like and awful person and a horrible friend to Herc, especially now that they were at the verge of becoming real friends. So Donny joined the demigods.

Sander frowned confused at them while scratching himself behind the ear. The dog-ear. Somehow this quest was now what he expected. He turned toward Sam for answers, just to laugh loudly, because there was a bushy tail and cat-ears on top of Sam's head. Sam was a freaking catboy!

 

/break\

 

Phyl was feeling dizzy. This was draining and she already knew that after this one, she would need a break. Her knees were wobbly. And her head was swirling – but not because she was dizzy. All those new people she had just been meeting and now she had to rescue them? She was so confused. But she was happy for the cute one that he had such a loving fiance, because this brunette, he had stared at him with so much adoration and love, it had even made Phyl's heart flutter. They were a sweet couple. And she had to admit, the one Derek cherished was quite cute too, but that could also be because she was a cat-person and he was a cat, more or less.

“Oh bloody hell, what incarnation...”, stuttered Derek disgusted and grabbed Phyl's shoulder hard.

“Oh my gosh, what in the world are you doing?!”, yelped Donny loudly.

This was supposedly the first time ever that those two seemed to agree, noted Phyl silently to herself as she turned her focus on the reason for their shock. She blushed furiously, yet couldn't find it in herself to turn away. The handsome blonde they had gathered around – Herakles was it? – was laying on the bed, with Sam in not-catboy-form riding him, both covered in sweat, their quite admirable muscles flexed at the intense movement. It was startling how fascinating this was, but at that moment, she completely understood her Greek ancestor's fascination with the naked, male body better than possibly ever before. They were mesmerizing. Especially together.

“Okay. Get off him. I don't care that you're not the real Sam, but you are _not_ having sex with this guy!”, screeched Derek aggressively and pulled the naked, sweaty, hard Sam off Herc. “Mine!”

While Derek was busy touching naked Sam, who had frozen up like a statue just like Sander's Donny had. Donny all the while pushed forward to get to Herc, who looked mortified and embarrassed. Chuckling amused, Donny sat down and grabbed Herc's hand.

“This is a dream produced by one of the Erotes and you need to join us and focus on getting home so the magic fireflies can bring us back to reality. The conversation about why you're dreaming of having sex with Sam will be discussed at a later date, but it _will_ happen, Grace”, said Donny.

Herc just nodded numbly and got up, with the sheets wrapped around his waist. Coughing slightly, Donny gained Derek's attention and the teens gathered together again. Phyl couldn't help but stare at Herc's well-defined body. How come those heroes were all so handsome? At any rate, she was grateful when the magic worked and she opened her eyes in the real world. And then she screeched, because there was a falcon flying around her head. Derek pulled her out of harm's way in time.

“Look, I trained your puppy, Donny!”, purred Sam delighted, drawing the attention to him.

Donny was torn between the damsel-in-distress-like fall of Phyl, the screeching hawk-falcon-eagle-thingy (seriously, he didn't know his birds of prey) and the utterly adorable picture of Sam laying sprawled all over Sander's lap, his body shaped like a C as he pawed the air and got his belly pat by a sheepish grinning Sander. Since Derek had Phyl and the Herc-bird had decided to land on a chair, Donny sat down next to Sam and Sander, cooing over their adorableness.

“What is going on here?”, asked Sander with a grin, patting Sander between his puppy ears.

“I trained your puppy to pat my belly”, purred Sam, eyes closed in bliss. “I'm sure you can teach him a lot of tricks. And he already plays fetch. He fetched me a drink. Such a good boy.”

“Dark Sea”, whined Sander, nuzzling Donny's face. “He's been teasing me for an hour now.”

“It took us that long...?”, asked Donny surprised. “Wow. That explains why I feel so drained.”

“We should call it a day for today”, sighed Derek, supporting Phyl's weight. “She isn't used to using her powers and this was very exhausting, even for me. We'll continue tomorrow.”

“And what are we going to do about... uhm... the birdy?”, asked Sander worried. “That's Herc?”

“It is”, nodded Donny wearily. “I'll ask Nico and Joe to build a cage or something. We don't know how human his mind is. I don't want him to fly away or attack one of us.”

Donny left and Sander and Sam sat upright. Sam frowned worried as he saw the pale girl, short of falling over. She was a newly claimed demigod, according to Sara and the rumor mill, and yet here she was, risking her life for them and using obviously exhausting powers. Sam stood to walk over to her, placing his hands beneath her knees and on her back to lift her up, making her yelp.

“Let me bring you to your cabin”, offered Sam, smiling amused as Phyl blushed brightly.

How could those heroes be that handsome and kind? If she would have known how amazing they were, she probably wouldn't have fought the notion of joining camp for so long. And that smile!

“Hey! Don't carry her! Carry _me_!”, called Derek after them with a pout and a glare.

Sander grinned impishly and grabbed him around the waist. “Come on, big hero. I'll carry you.”


	64. Six Sons not Defied Part V

64\. Six Sons not Defied Part V

 

Donny frowned confused and upset as he laid curled together against Sander's chest, his fingers tracing his fiance's sixpack. The brunette hummed pleased at the feeling of Donny close-by.

“Why do you look so worried, my Dark Sea?”, whispered Sander, nose buried in Donny's curls.

“Why do you like Derek? I mean, I talked to Sam already and he told me why he trusts Derek and I think I kind of get it, but why you? You're the kindest, sweetest, purest person I know, how did you ever end up dating someone like Derek to begin with?”, asked Donny confused. “I'm sorry. I never wanted to dig into your dating-past, because it'll probably only upset me and also you because I know how easy you feel guilty. But... I just... I don't get it. Why do you like him?”

“Because he's awesome?”, offered Sander with a half-grin. “It was the summer that Sam stayed in... oh... when he was in New Rome... A—Anyway, without him, we were kind of off-balance. It was always us – Sam, Trend, Marshall and me. And then Sam had befriended Derek. And okay, you're right, Derek isn't the easiest person to be around, at least not if you don't know him. So when Sam left for that summer, Derek was kind of awkwardly lingering around and I was feeling bad for him, because I knew that he missed Sam too, after all, he was both our best friend. So I started to hang out with him. And like I said, if you get to know him, it's really easy to like him. And then we kind of kissed and sort of got together. It was easy to be with him, because he was tender and understanding and patient. I mean, he _was_ my first boyfriend and I had absolutely no clue what to do, but he, well, he taught me and he was really awesome. I'm glad that he was my first, he made things easy and not awkward for me. And even after I broke up with him, we remained friends.”

Donny heaved a long-suffering sigh. Why did Sander have to be so caring and kind-hearted? He could hardly blame Sander for it and after all, that was what he loved most about his hero. That he was so pure, gave everyone a chance. Burying his face in Sander's chest, he closed his eyes.

“I need my sleep. Got to save Trend tomorrow so Sam can stop with the sad-kitten-eyes...”

“Good night, my Dark Sea”, grinned Sander, kissing Donny's head. “I'll watch over you.”

 

/break\

 

Trend was still stuck in the future, but he didn't really mind. He was having a wonderful conversation with future Sam while watching Cal, Eli and Tom playing in the living room. The son of Ares was preparing dinner for the family and Trend couldn't help but feel his heart warming up at the thought that the family Sam was cooking dinner for was _their_ family.

“Sammy, guess who's _finally_ back home?”, asked the older Trend with a smirk as he entered the kitchen, only sparing one surprised look at his younger self. “Come to the living room, love.”

Older Trend waited at the door, letting Sam pass him and holding his younger self back some. Trend glared up at the slightly taller blonde, obviously confused. But then he heard Sam yelping surprised. There was Derek, just standing there, with a young girl at his hand. The girl looked like a tiny female version of Sam, with her long curls and dark, green eyes.

“Who is she?”, asked Trend softly, a little confused while Sam hugged the air out of the girl.

“That's our oldest daughter. Cornelia Salene. She was being a little... complicated over the past few weeks”, sighed his older self. “She wanted to become a huntress. Sam had a mental melt-down. Derek figured that maybe the lack of a female role-model may be the cause for her wanting to join the all-girls-club. But then Christmas came around and it was our turn to host for the others. Derek offered to take Cornelia to the Raser mansion since Malene and Jolene were hosting a Christmas family party too. He figured maybe being surrounded by all the females would give Cornelia what she was hoping to gain from the hunt. I hope he was right.”

Trend smiled a little as he watched how Sam was whirling the girl around in his arms, hugging her tightly and smiling brightly. Yes, that was definitely Sam's daughter. But where did Derek go?

“How did you like staying with grandma, little princess?”, asked Sam softly as he put her down.

“Was awesome!”, replied the seven-years old enthusiastically. “But I missed you and pa!”

“Did you miss me too, big sister?”, asked Eli's voice softly as he tugged on his sister's dress.

Cornelia nodded vigorously and hugged her baby brother. “Yes! Lots! Gruncle Liam said that if I join the hunt, I can't spend time with boys, but that would mean not seeing you and our parents and that's no good! I don't wanna be a huntress if I can't have my baby brother.”

Sam heaved a relieved sigh and collapsed against his Trend's chest. “Thank god and uncle Liam.”

Older Trend smiled amused as he wrapped his arms around Sam's waist. “Where's Derek?”

“Probably upstairs, suffocating Colene with hugs?”, suggested Sam amused.

“Who's my precious little lady? Who's my golden-locked princess?”, cooed Derek on cue.

Trend stared past the still hugging Trend and Sam to look at Derek, who was carrying a happily smiling Colene, the green-eyed blonde having her arms widely spread. “Me! Me! Me!”

In the blink of an eye, the constellation changed and Cornelia had moved on to hugging older Trend, who was more than willing to cuddle his oldest child. Derek sat down on the couch, having Eli sitting perched next to him, tugging on Derek's shirt with his large eyes staring at Derek.

“Did you miss me too, dadaí?”, asked Eli, biting his lips.

“Oh, of course I missed you, my little prince”, chuckled Derek and wrapped his free arm around Eli's waist, pulling him up so Derek was cuddling Eli and Colly. “I missed you so much.”

“Colly, why don't you go and help your big sister unpacking? Eli, you come with me so we can drop your friends off at the di Angelos and then we'll have a nice family dinner?”, suggested older Trend.

Eli had a hard time letting go of Derek and he only did so because Derek _promised_ him cuddles later on. Trend stared after his older self, with Eli, Cal and Tom trailing after him like ducklings. He then turned to watch Colly clutching her big sister's hand and pulling her upstairs, talking a mile an hour about how their Christmas went and asking about grandma and how their Christmas was. The instant all parties had left the living room, Sam was suddenly all over Derek. Trend stared, completely shocked, as Sam was straddling Derek's lap, his arms around Derek's neck as he was passionately kissing the son of Demeter. Trend was to equal parts disturbed and aroused. Maybe more disturbed than aroused because the fact alone that he was aroused disturbed him even more. Then again, he still vividly remembered what an animal Derek was in bed. After all, up until two months ago, the two of them had still been a thing. Trend's longest and most intimate relationship so far. And Sam was Sam. His Sam. Still, that was it. Sam was _his_ Sam. He had always pictured that once Sam was his, he would never want to give him up again or let anyone near him.

“What's the meaning of this?”, growled Trend after a few moments of 'Gods, I missed you so much' and 'I love you, how did I survive two weeks without you'. “What are you two doing?”

“Oh. So I'm gone for a little while and you get yourself a replacement in the form of Trend 2.0?”, grunted Derek as he pushed Sam off a little. “And fyi, I for my part am enjoying our Sammy.”

“So... you look seriously shocked, which is not a good thing”, mumbled Sam embarrassed, hiding his face in the crook of Derek's neck. “I hope Khan will be back soon so _he_ can explain...”

“Yes, let's wait for myself. I'm _dying_ to hear why in the world Derek is all over my Sammy and why in the world I would be okay with this, ten years in the future”, grunted Trend with a glare.

 

/break\

 

Sam was sitting curled together next to the bed, staring nervously at Donny, Derek and Phylicia were standing in a circle around Trend's head. He was so nervous. What if this didn't work out? Or worse, what if it worked and Trend would be angry at them for freeing him? After all, there had to be a reason why Trend hadn't broken free yet, right? What if the kind of love he was shown was a family's love? A world where his dad was still alive, where he had a family? He would be angry for being pulled out, right? Sara poked his cheek until he broke out of his thoughts.

“So, you totally owe me a detailed retelling of how you got yourself a boyfriend”, declared Sara.

She had changed shifts with Sander so she could keep her nervous brother company and also in case Trend turned into a dangerous animal and they'd have to subdue him, while Sander was on watch-duty with Marshall. After their long night shift, Rika and Arielle were resting. Nico and Joe were taking turns at the steering wheel. And hawk-Herc was locked into an improvised cage the tinkerers had build last night. And the daughter of Mars knew exactly that right now, Sam was a mess, because he was worried that maybe, Trend would return as a wild animal too, or won't return at all. Snuggling up to Sam, Sara listened to the story of Trend's wooing, starting with a cold and clothes exchange and an accidental kiss in the woods. It was as messy as Sara had ever pictured it.

 

/break\

 

Derek, Phyl and Donny were dizzy by the time they landed. They had to travel farther than any time before. It seemed that falling into an Erotes-coma had not been enough for Trend. No, he had to take a dragonfly to the future. Derek frowned annoyed, holding his head.

“Okay, seriously, we're not hosting a party here! What is it with all you guys suddenly deciding to drop by? Stay in your own time, damn it!”, ranted Sam's voice all of a sudden.

Blinking a couple of times, Derek noticed that they were outside of a duplex house, in a backyard. A ten-years-older Sam was standing together with a Sander and a Donny, who looked just as much older. Donny yelped loudly and ran over to inspect them. Older Sander was _hot_. And cute. And his.

“Oh my gosh, you're married? We're married? You're mine?”, yelped Donny excitedly.

The older Sander grinned sheepishly at him and lifted their joined hands, showing off their matching silver skull wedding bands with the jade eyes. Donny squealed in delight at that.

“Oh, can I show you our son?”, asked Sander, turned to the older Donny with puppy eyes.

Donny's heart was racing as he walked with the older Sander toward three little boys, playing at a pond. One was blonde, the other looked like a tiny Sam and the third... the third was the perfect mixture between Sander and Donny. All messy, brown hair and sea-green eyes. He was sitting on a swing, with the blonde boy pushing him. Once he saw his father approaching, he looked up.

“That's Cal, our firstborn”, stated older Sander proudly. “Oh, and that's Tom Grace.”

The third little boy had run off and was currently tugging on Derek's pants, startling the son of Demeter who had up until now been busy checking older Sam out. Darn, that boy looked hot, even as a man. Startled, Derek turned to look at the tiny Sam in a dress. Okay, interesting.

“Hello there, sweetling”, offered Derek with a smile. “Aren't you a cutie? You must be Sam's?”

“Hello”, whispered the boy shyly, his thumb between his lips. “I'm Samuel Elijah James Raser the Fourth, it's nice meeting you. You can say Eli, is shorter. Can I show you something, please?”

Derek bit his lips to keep from cooing. How could anything be that cute? He nodded his head, really not caring that this was probably Trend's child, right now all he could think that this boy was adorable and that he was Sam's. Nodding slowly, he let the boy take his hand and lead him over to the beautiful flower garden. All around the joined backyard of the duplex house were the most gorgeous flowers. The two of them reached a stock of dark red roses and Eli looked at him shyly for a moment before tenderly taking a rose bud into his hands, cautious not to harm the young blossom. The small child closed his eyes in concentration and the rose bud blossomed into the largest, most beautiful rose flower Derek had ever seen. The son of Demeter was stunned into silence.

“See? See?”, asked Eli eagerly, turning wide-eyed to Derek. “I trained! I got better! You proud?”

Phylicia all the while was feeling a little lost, with her companions being dragged away and busy with admittedly cute children, she had no idea what to do. But she knew that something was up. The older Donny and the older Sam were talking quite heatedly and this Sam looked very upset.

“Uhm, excuse me...”, whispered Phyl shyly, getting the adults' attention. “Hello, my name is Phylicia Rosenberg. I'm not quite sure how this works, but... we're here for someone named Trend?”

“I forgot what a shy little wallflower you used to be as a teen”, laughed Sam amused and ruffled her hair. “Damn, you're adorable, Philly. I think it's time for you all to go. I'll get Trend, he's inside, talking to... well, to Trend. Just wait here, or try to get Donny and Derek off the kids.”

Sam smiled tightly as he passed her and entered the house again. The two Trends were still talking.

“You understand that what I just told you is confident, right?”, whispered Sam's husband urgently. “You can not tell anyone. Not Sam, not Derek, no one. And I really shouldn't have told you. I remember what a burden it was. But... if I hadn't told you, I'm pretty sure you would do something stupid. Because only if things happen as they did will things turn out the way they are now. And I _want_ them to turn out the way they have. You may not see things the same right now, but...”

“Your escort is here to pick you up and I'd prefer for you to leave now, because your Donny decides to take Cally with him, because he keeps squealing at the boy”, interrupted Sam softly.

The younger Trend straightened and looked at Sam for a second before nodding.

 

/break\

 

Something changed. They were moving. They were coming back. Sam closed his eyes tightly, too nervous to look. What if Trend turned into a crocodile or a giraffe or he had no idea what. He had no idea how the animal was chosen anyway. He had cat-ears, Sander had dog-ears but Herc was a hawk. Sara grabbed his hand tightly, reassuringly. Sam took a deep breath.

“Sammy? Sammy, are you alright?”, asked a concerned voice.

Sam could feel the large, warm hand cupping his cheek. He opened his eyes reluctantly, just to look right into those dark, storm-gray eyes he loved so much. They were filled with concern.

“You came back”, whispered Sam, sighing relieved and wrapping his arms tightly around Trend.

The son of Athena laughed softly, his arms around Sam's waist, whirling the brunette around once. But when he put the son of Ares down again and took a closer look, he was startled. Sam frowned confused at the surprise on Trend's face and he jumped a little when golden wolf-ears were pressed against Trend's skull and the son of Athena growled in a deep and feral voice.

“T—Trend...? P—Please don't... eat me?”, whispered Sam worried and took a step back.

He was worried, his boyfriend kept staring at him so weirdly and he kept growling. What if the animal took over too much? Would Trend attack him? Or was Trend angry at him? Or—Sam froze when the blonde pulled him into a harsh, passionate kiss, his arms around Sam's waist sliding down to squeeze his ass tightly, then grabbing Sam's cat-tail. Not harshly, but cautiously.

“I'd really like to eat you right now though”, whispered Trend into the silken cat-ear. “You look delicious, little kitten. My little red riding hood. Tell me what the big, bad wolf can do to you. “

Okay, so Trend surely wasn't mad at Sam. He was _horny_. And a wolf. Maybe Sam should get out of his red hoodie before Trend did anything naughty. Sara was still in the room. And she was giggling.

“Why don't you two go to your room and I'll get Marshall to watch with me?”, offered Sara.

Trend growled in approval and threw Sam over his shoulder, walking off with his prize. Sam stared fascinated down at the wagging wolf-tail. A golden wolf. Sam yelped slightly as Trend was holding him by the ass. The wolfboy sounded pretty content right about now.

“Pretty, little kitten”, whispered Trend, caressing Sam's ass in a praising manner.

“T—Trend, wait up!”, gasped Sam as he was thrown onto the bed in their cabin. “Please.”

“Why, my little red riding hood? Don't you want to see what is big about your wolf?”, asked Trend.

Sam huffed annoyed and slapped Trend. This wasn't his Trend. His Trend was a gentleman and not a sexual predator, for crying out loud. Trend shook his head and when he looked at Sam, his eyes were clear and not clouded with animalistic lust anymore. He stared surprised for a moment.

“What is going on, Sammy?”, asked Trend. “Because it's really hard to fight the urge to... mate?”

Sam grinned a little, relieved that his Khan was still inside the wolfboy. He leaned back and got more comfortable, cuddling up to the blonde before starting to explain everything.

 

/break\

 

Donny was sure that he would never get rid of the picture of a naked Thea again. Especially not of a naked Thea having sex with Herc. That one would leave him traumatized for at least all of his life. He groaned a little when they reached the real world again. The seven fireflies looked nearly as exhausted as Donny felt and there was also that dragonfly that had taken Trend into the future. Donny wasn't sure what to do with that yet, but he was tired, so the only coherent thought in his mind was: Where's my Sander? So he left Sara and Marshall chasing and trying to catch the quite beautiful barnowl that most likely was Thea. Right now, Donny needed sleep. Heck, Phylicia already had fallen asleep on the infirmary bed, too tired to even get up.

“Sander! Cuddles, now!”, called Donny through the Argo II, heading toward their cabin.

By the time he collapsed on the bed, Sander sneaked in after him. Heh, he really had the puppy trained already. He was already following orders. Blinking sleepily, he patted the bed. Sander whined happily and crawled in, curling around Donny, nudging his fiance softly with the nose.

“Who's a good boy?”, grinned Donny teasingly, ruffling Sander's hair. “Gods, I love you.”

“I love you too, my Dark Sea”, replied Sander, kissing Donny. “Did it go well?”

“Trend has wolf-features and Thea is an owl. We have you with dog-features and Sam with cat-features and Herc is some bird-thing too”, groaned Donny annoyed. “I have no freaking idea how we're supposed to handle this. What is going on. And I'm honestly too tired to care right now.”

“How about we sleep some for now, mh?”, suggested Sander softly, kissing Donny's temples. “You're exhausted and annoyed. But you did good. You saved four of us. We'll figure everything else out once you're well-rested, love. Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out, together.”

“Good... boy...”, yawned Donny and patted Sander's head. “My husband...”

A sleepy and happy smile laid on his lips as he drifted off to sleep, thinking of the happy older Sander he had seen, proudly holding Cal up and presenting him like that boy was the darn best thing on the world. Which he was, after all, he was their son. That was the future he'd be fighting for.

 

/break\

 

“So... Thea is an owl now, that is new”, started Nico slowly as she entered her cabin.

Joe followed her tail. They were tired and Arielle and Rika had taken over steering for the night. Nodding slowly, Joe stripped off her shirt and jeans, leaving her in her underwear before she grabbed a night shirt. Nico caught a little fire as she looked at the dark-skinned beauty.

“Well, legacy of Athena turning into an owl, who would have figured?”, snorted Joe sarcastically.

“Y—Yeah, guess you're right”, nodded Nico nervously, hastily getting changed herself.

“When will we get rid of the Germans? I mean, come on, ship ain't that big and they're not part of the quest. They're not our people”, grunted the daughter of Vulcan with a glare.

“Not our people, huh?”, repeated Nico and cocked one eyebrow. “They're demigods too, you know? And they did help me out a lot when I was stuck here on my own.”

“Yeah, and sleeping with that one chick surely helped too”, muttered Joe lowly.

She laid down on her own bed and turned her back toward Nico. The Latina winced slightly. Great, how was she ever supposed to get together with Joe if Joe thought she was with Rika...? Fuck life.


	65. Like Cats and Dogs (and Birds)

65\. Like Cats and Dogs (and Birds)

 

“You're a cutie, Nicole Zhang.”

The Latina stared surprised and whirled around. She was circled, more or less. The one that had talked was a brunette Asian, lithe and a little feminine, with a wedding magazine tugged under one arm. An athletic blonde had one possessive arm around his shoulders, steel-blue eyes glaring at Nico and making her feel uncomfortable. A grumpy looking boyish girl, or girlish boy, she wasn't really sure but that one looked positively hung over. Another was a fierce looking redhead with a wicked smirk. Then there was another couple – one a gray-haired gentleman with a young and pretty brunette boy hanging off his arm, batting his eyelashes at the gray-haired one.

“Name's Hymenaios”, continued the Asian with a short nod to his blonde. “And this one is Pothos.”

“You're... Erotes...”, whispered Nico stunned, taking a step back.

“We're not just 'Erotes', we're _the_ Erotes”, huffed Hymenaios with a pout, pointing at the redhead and then at the boy-girl. “That's Himeros and that is Hermaphroditos. Oh, and those are Anteros and our sweet, little Hedylogos, our youngest brother. We're the Erotes.”

“And... you're here to... finish the job you failed...?”, guessed Nico nervously.

“Naw”, huffed Hymenaios and waved his magazine around a little. “Would be kind of pointless. You got out of our trap once, you'd just do it again. And you can't defy us. We're love, lust and desire. We're part of human nature and you can't fight human nature. So let's just skip the unpleasant fight, shall we? We were supposed to extract your energy and stall you, we did both. I think that's enough. No, no, we just wanted to say good bye, you see. Oh, and I wanted you to give this to the cute little one with the green eyes, the one that partied with Hermaphroditos. I marked some things for him. He can give me a call once they get around to the wedding, I'm dying to plan it.”

He threw the wedding magazine at Nico and the Latina caught it out of reflex.

“All of that just so you can get to plan another freaking wedding”, muttered Pothos annoyed.

“Oh, I hope you appreciated the pretty, German distraction I threw your way”, added the redhead.

The Erotes snapped their fingers, all at once, and Nico started awake, panting surprised. She grabbed for the sheets beneath her, just to grasp paper. Frowning confused, she looked down just to see the wedding magazine laying on her bed. Did that really mean that the Erotes were gone? But how were they supposed to turn their friends back now? What was she supposed to do now? And Rika had been the idea of one of the Erotes too? Wonderful. Just fucking wonderful. Groaning tired, she collapsed back onto the bed and closed her eyes. It was way too early for this shit.

 

/break\

 

Sam moaned lowly beneath Trend as the blonde bit and sucked on his neck, adamant on leaving a mark. He was also pumping two fingers in and out of Sam's hole, teasing his prostate. They had talked, for about an hour or so. Trend had told him that the Erotes hadn't been able to bait him since the one he longed for was already his, but since there was no bait, Trend also didn't have the chance to break out of the dream. Which may be why Trend had the animal features, because he had been stuck in the dream-state for a while, but he hadn't given in to temptation like Herc and Thea seemed to have. At any rate, Sam had a horny wolf at his hands and there was only so long that he could keep the blonde calm before he started nibbling his neck. Which had led to now. The only thing Sam was wearing was his red hoodie while his big, bad wolf was ravishing him.

“Get on all four, pretty kitten”, ordered the blonde hoarsely. “I need to be inside of you.”

“I'm still not sure if I like this animal-side of yours”, mumbled Sam a little unsure.

He loved that Trend seemed so very fixated on him, that Trend wanted him and only him right now. But that urgent and controlling side was a little unsettling for Sam. Trend placed tender kisses on Sam's neck to sooth him when he noticed that his partner grew more nervous.

“Sh, my precious kitten”, whispered Trend softly. “You know I'd never hurt you. I just... need you. I want you, my mate. My red riding hood. Mine. Let me make you mine. Will you?”

Sam looked over his shoulder, blushing a little, but nodding nonetheless. He wanted it too, after all. To be Trend's and to be with Trend again. He had missed being one with Trend. Taking a long, slow breath, he closed his eyes and tried to relax as he felt Trend's lubed cock sliding in. Sam stiffened a little as more and more of the large, thick cock entered him. One of Trend's hands was slowly running up and down Sam's thigh, soothing and arousing at the same time. The other hand was firmly wrapped around Sam's cock, tugging and jerking and caressing. Soon enough, Sam was moaning and thrusting back against the blonde. Encouraged by this, Trend picked up the pace steadily, until they were literally rutting like animals. The in and out was familiar, but in a way, it was also still new. Every time felt as wonderful as their first time and Sam loved it. He loved the feeling of a hard cock inside of him, of _Trend's_ hard cock inside of him. As Sam came closer to his orgasm, he felt Trend moving even faster, his thrusts harder. The teeth worrying his shoulder got more persistent and it felt... it felt as though something even thicker than Trend's cock was trying to slip into him. Sam whimpered slightly, he already felt so stretched. Trend hushed him softly, kissing his earlobe tenderly. The thick thing slipped into him, causing him to gasp, but after that, it got better. Trend bucked a couple of times inside of him, the thicker part seemed to grow even more. As much as the stretch hurt, it was also kind of arousing, so Sam came, hard. Trend hit Sam's prostate another couple of times before coming too, filling Sam up. But due to the hard, thick thing, not a drop could leave Sam again. They collapsed on the bed together.

“Uhm... So... What just happened there...?”, asked Sam, blushing furiously.

“I don't just have the ears and tail of a wolf. I just knotted you, kitten”, chuckled Trend, kissing Sam's cheek apologetically. “We'll be stuck like that for a little while. But I feel more at ease now that we mated, love. Give us half an hour of so of cuddling before we can part again.”

“That sounds okay by my standards”, yawned Sam, snuggling back against Trend's chest.

Trend caressed Sam's mohawk with one hand and patted his sixpack with the other, causing the catboy to purr pleased until the son of Ares was lulled into sleep. Trend growled contently. He had claimed and satisfied his mate. And his mate was such a pretty little kitten. His mate was _his_. No confusing future, no Derek. He still wasn't sure what to think about what his older self had told him, but the older one had sounded so desperate that he wanted things to turn out the way they seemed to have in the future. Future Trend _wanted_ Derek. Not that he couldn't relate to that, after all he had been dating Derek for months. But having a relationship with Derek was one thing, having a future where he was willing to share Sam with Derek, to be with both of them...? He still had trouble believing that anything that would happen in his time would ever make that possible. But he had seen the honesty in his future self, so for now, he decided not to work against Derek. He was also not going to work _with_ Derek, because Sam was _his_ , but he'd let things take their turns.

 

/break\

 

Donny was torn between moaning and giggling as Sander sat between his legs, lapping as his thighs and cock eagerly. He really licked like a puppy, which was why Donny was short of giggling, but that tongue also felt so darn good on his privates that Donny simply had to moan.

“Good boy”, moaned Donny, throwing his head back. “Take the bone I have for you, my puppy.”

“Would you stop it with the dog jokes finally?”, whined Sander embarrassed.

“Sorry”, grinned Donny sheepishly, patting Sander between the puppy-ears. “Too tempting...”

“Just like you”, chimed Sander happily, licking along Donny's length once.

Donny hummed contently and arched his back as Sander finally engulfed his boner with that warm mouth of his. Donny was sprawled all over the bed while Sander gave him the eagerest blowjob ever. It felt so good to have his fiance back, to have Sander paying such close and good attention to him. The cunning tongue circled the head of Donny's cock a couple of times before Donny came, whimpering, thrusting into Sander's mouth, coming down the brunette's throat. Donny was panting hard, pleasantly exhausted and relaxed after his orgasm, watching with a grin how Sander licked every last spilled drop of cum off Donny's now flaccid cock and his thighs.

“Who's my good boy?”, grinned Donny, patting Sander's head praising.

“You're not going to stop with that, are you?”, sighed Sander frustrated and curled together in Donny's lap, enjoying the patting. “You're mean, my Dark Sea. Stop teasing me.”

“I'm sorry, you're just so incredibly adorable”, cooed Donny and leaned down to kiss Sander.

 

/break\

 

Phylicia and Arielle took over watch, Phyl asking Arielle a million questions about the German camp – it seemed the girl did have some German ancestors and had not known there was a camp in Europe. While the gossiping girls went up into the crow's nest, Nico pushed her hands into her pockets. She had not yet told anyone about her dream, unsure what it even meant. And three of them were still supposed to rest. But Phyl had begged them to get useful too, she also wanted some fresh air, so putting her into the crow's nest couldn't hurt, Nico supposed. Marshall and Sara were taking over the steering, seeing as Sara did have some experience with the ship's mechanisms.

Nico would actually prefer a double-shift, because right now she was in the meeting cabin, eating. With Rika on one side and Joe on the other. And what they did could only be compared to besting each other. 'Oh, have some more eggs, I know they're your favorite', countered by Rika's 'You want some of my juice? I know you _love_ my juice'. And it went downhill from there. The vicious glare and the pushing only increased, making her feel uncomfortable. They were like two dogs with a bone. Or worse yet, they were like a cat and a dog, trying to chase each other, kill each other.

“Okay, I've had enough!”, grunted Nico, placing her hands loudly on the table. “I'm done.”

“But you haven't finished your breakfast-”, protested Joe confused.

“Yeah, I don't feel very hungry anymore”, huffed Nico and stormed out.

She made her way toward her cabin, but since it was also Joe's cabin, it was only a matter of time before the daughter of Vulcan would come in too and honestly, Nico didn't feel like seeing either of the two competing girls any time soon. On her way, she passed the infirmary where she saw the bird cage with Herc and Thea in it. She wasn't very well-informed about birds, but she was _pretty_ sure that wild hawks and barnowls normally didn't cozy up to each other like those two did. Which meant there was enough humanity left in them to recognize each other. Which gave her an idea. In the blink of an eye, Nico turned into a little sparrow and flew over to the cage, sitting down on one of the bars on the top. Better be a little safe considering birds of prey ate little things like sparrows.

“ _Nico! Finally. For being a shapeshifter you use that ability entirely too rarely. I've been waiting for you to shift so we can talk since I've been brought back two days ago_ ”, chided Herc annoyed.

“ _Sorry, sorry. I've had a lot of my mind. Didn't think of it earlier_ ”, yelped Nico, ruffling her feathers annoyed. “ _Why are you two birds? I mean, why did you turn into complete animals?_ ”

“ _I—I... There was Sam and... it was just a dream, I mean I would never be unfaithful to Thea, you know that, right? A—And I'd never try anything with Sam, because he's with Trend and I don't even know if I could picture a relationship with him, b—but it was just like... a wet-dream, right?_ ”

“ _Wow, you are a guilty-looking birdy_ ”, sighed Nico and shook her tiny, fluffy head. “ _And you?_ ”

“ _The temptation was just too great_ ”, shrugged Thea. “ _He offered me to be able to charmspeak and I got to charmspeak Sam and Herc into fucking hotly. It was nice. And just a dream._ ”

“ _You two are a match made in Olympus_ ”, snorted Nico, spreading her wings. “ _Now how do we turn you back? You're the brains girl, Thea. What can we do to turn you human again?_ ”

“ _Tell Trend to check Daedalus' laptop for shifter-magic and love-potions, in a way, this is love-magic, after all. I don't know it either_ ”, sighed Thea and shook her head. “ _But I feel... I feel my humanity slipping, so please, hurry, okay? Also, this cage is not that comfortable._ ”

“ _Okay. Gotta get the brains boy on the track_ ”, nodded Nico determined.

 

/break\

 

Derek was laying on his bed, brooding. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at the insects. Of course they felt more comfortable with the son of Demeter, especially now that two hungry birds were on board of the ship. He didn't understand the future he had seen. Well, partly he did. Sander and Donny seemed to be married, even though he had no idea how that had happened. But their off-spring was kind of cute and Sander had looked immensely happy, so he supposed it was okay. What got him so very confused however was Eli. He was the cutest thing Derek had ever seen, he looked so startling much like Sam had when they had first met – albeit Eli was quite younger. This boy was a hundred percent Sam's. But he had used the powers only children or legacies of either Demeter, Persephone or Antheia could do. So, what? To have a baby, Sam had used a surrogate mother, some daughter of Demeter, Persephone or Antheia? Derek didn't like the sound of that. Some stranger carrying Sam's baby. And then there was the question: Who was Sam raising the kid with? Because Derek had noticed the wedding ring on older Sam's finger.

But there was something else that bothered him immensely. When Eli had made the rose bloom, the little boy had looked up at Derek with those wide eyes, expecting praise. He looked nervous and as though he anticipated and looked forward to something. Derek knew that look, it was the look little boys got when they wanted to make their dads proud, he had looked up at his father the exact same way when he had first noticed what he could do with flowers.

So what if Eli was _his_? But... how was the boy possible then? And why did that leave kind of a bad taste in his mouth. Not that he felt horrible for being a dad, or being the dad to Sam's child, but he had seen the way Sam and Trend had kissed after they had brought Trend back. Marshall had warned him that Trend and Sam were dating, but he hadn't believed that and hadn't thought it was _that_ serious. He also didn't want to believe that something that big would happen in Sam's life and Sam just wouldn't tell him. Sam _always_ told him _everything_. That stung. A lot.

But what made it taste so bad was that after all the years, Trend seemingly finally got to Sam and the thought of being the one to take Sam away from Trend made him actually feel guilty and pained, which was not a usual feeling for the son of Demeter. But he knew that Sam was Trend's world. For too long, Trend had just been a rival to him, but when they had gotten together, he had gotten an insight into the blonde and he had to admit that he actually kind of cared about Trend, not that he would _ever_ admit that out loud to anyone. The truth was that by the time Derek and Trend had settled for each other, neither had thought they would ever really get a shot with Sam, so to know that it was possible he would have a child with Sam in the future, while right now, Sam was dating Trend, it was... unsettling. Especially due to that blasted guilt he felt toward Trend. Urgh.

 

/break\

 

Sam whimpered a little, meowing as he clawed at the headboard, holding onto it for dear life. One would think that after being knotted two times today, it would get easier. It didn't. But Trend kissed his shoulders and caressed him in a calming manner, trying to make him relax. When they had freed Trend yesterday afternoon, he had not pictured being knotted by his wolfboy of a boyfriend three times before sunrise. He also wouldn't have thought that he'd actually _enjoy_ it. Being tied to Trend was so intimate, it made him feel so close to his blonde. Sam moaned hoarsely, his throat sore from the last two rounds (also, he was _never_ going to give Trend a blowjob again while the blonde had that knot. His jaw was sore too), as he felt the knot slipping in once again. The feeling of the knot growing large inside of him made his cock twitch in need again and Trend was eager to oblige and bring Sam to absolution. Sam was too tired to even moan this time, just collapsing on the bed and waiting for his lover to finish too, filling him up with a third load of cum. He was feeling awfully full by now, because as soon as Trend's knot deflated, the blonde was already up for another round, not even giving Sam the chance to get rid of the remains of their last coupling. He also had at least five very prominent bite-marks/hickeys all over his shoulders and neck. It may be the animal taking over, but _something_ was making Trend want to make sure everybody could see that Sam was his. Not that Sam minded. The son of Ares heaved a relieved sigh as they collapsed on the bed together, Trend's arms around his waist, caressing his stomach. He was out like a candle.

“You finished in there? Can I come in?”, asked Nico from outside, knocking.

Trend growled displeased and pulled the blanket up to cover himself and his mate. The catboy was so exhausted, he hadn't even heard the voice, he was just snuggling up to Trend some more, his cat-tail wrapped around Trend's waist possessively. Trend pushed the sweaty hair out of Sam's face.

“Come in, but tune it down. Sammy is asleep”, replied the son of Athena lowly.

Nico entered and caught a little fire when she noticed their obviously under the sheets naked and with sweat glistering bodies. It was obvious what they had been doing. Averting her eyes, she thrust Daedalus' laptop out toward Trend. The blonde cocked one eyebrow.

“I talked to Thea and Herc – turned into a sparrow so I could talk to the two of them – and Thea said you're supposed to look up love potions and shifter-magic, check how we can turn them back. I guess I could look it up too, but you got the brains, you may make connections I can't...”

“Good thinking, Nico”, nodded Trend and took the laptop. “Okay, I'll look into it as soon as we're not tied anymore. Please don't ask, I don't particularly look forward to explaining this.”

“And I don't think I want to hear it”, grunted the Latina and rolled her eyes. “I'll leave you to it.”

 

/break\

 

Sara yawned as her shift for the night finally ended. She contemplated breakfast, but then she felt Marshall's strong arms around her waist and figured cuddles and a nap would be far more enjoyable. They could always eat later. Once they reached their cabin and Marshall was laying on the tiny bed – at least considering the broad guy – Sara giggled a little. It looked cute, kind of like Snow White in one of the dwarf's beds. If Snow White had been a hot, black guy. She shrugged out of her jeans, jumping enthusiastically onto the bed, only in her shirt and panties.

“You know how I told you that my big brother is dating Trend?”, asked Sara and snuggled up to the deliciously muscular and broad chest of her boyfriend. “I saw them kissing yesterday. So cute!”

“You weren't the first one to tell me”, confessed Marshall in a dark and guilty voice. “Trend _is_ my best friend. He called me, after they got together. What do you think about them?”

“You sound uncertain”, observed Sara confused, arms crossed over Marshall's chest, chin resting on them. “I think they're cute and Sam looks really happy. But he was also really... nervous... About if Trend would want to return to him and all. I've never seen my brother act like that. He seems so... vulnerable. Like something happened that tore down all his walls. That... makes me afraid...”

“Mh”, nodded Marshall, caressing her strawberry-blonde hair tenderly.

“Why did you sound unsure about Trend and Sam?”, asked the daughter of Mars softly.

“Trend's my best friend, don't get me wrong, but... I've actually always rooted for Sam and Sander.”

Sara gave him a weird look, but she dismissed it for now. She was too tired to think.


	66. Derek and the Apologies

66\. Derek and the Apologies

 

Sam laid curled together on top of Trend's chest, purring delighted while his blonde was caressing that spot between his cat-ears, nose buried in the laptop. He was so happy. He finally had his Trend back and Donny had brought him his Sara and his Derek. Basically, he had every person he cared about outside of his family right now on board of this ship. He was so content.

“How... disgustingly cute.”

Sam's eyes widened and he brought as much distance between himself and Trend as the bed would allow, his face a shameful, dark red as he stared over at Derek. The son of Demeter was leisurely leaning against the door-frame, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised.

“D—Derek...”, mumbled Sam, feeling guilty, ruffling his mohawk.

“You going to tell me on your own or should I also ask Marshall for how long you two have been dating or when and how you got together?”, asked Derek, sounding rather cold.

Sam bit his lips and averted his eyes. Trend was not pleased that his overly cuddly catboy of a boyfriend had been taken away from him. But it wasn't so hard to figure out what was going on. It seemed as though Sam had not told Derek about their relationship yet. Which was a surprise, because as far as Trend knew, Derek had always been the first person Sam went to whenever something interesting happened in his life. Trend got comfortable. This would take some time.

“I—I'm... sorry, Der”, whispered the son of Ares, feeling guilty. “I'm really sorry, Derek...”

“I don't want to hear that you're sorry”, snarled Derek and shook his head before closing the door. “I want to hear why I had to hear about your new relationship from _Marshall_. That hurts, Samuel.”

“I... didn't know how to tell you”, admitted Sam, his hands in his neck. “I mean, you had been dating Trend until not even two months ago and... I know I have been teasing you for months now that you're a slut for falling from one of my ex-boyfriends to the next... A—And now I'm dating your ex-boyfriend before things even really cooled off. I wanted to tell you in person... I'm sorry...”

“Aw, sweetheart”, sighed Derek defeated and sat down on Sam's other side. “It's okay, honey.”

“Really?”, asked Sam with the largest, most hopeful kitten-eyes possible (completed with the kitten-ears that were pressed against his head which made it even more impossible to resist him).

“Cutie pie, there's nothing you could do that I would ever hold against you”, huffed Derek offended, ruffling the patch of hair between Sam's cat-ears, which earned him an adorable purr. “But I expect to get all information from you from now on again. I feel out of the loop. Tell me about the quest.”

Sam craned his neck to look at Trend, feeling guilty for ruining their together-time after they had been apart for so long due to coma and all. But the son of Athena just smiled at him and nodded, he knew how important Derek was to Sam and he had promised his future self to give Derek the benefit of doubt. He also had to finish the research. He could let them talk, while secretly supervising. When Sam laid down with his arms crossed on Derek's lap, head on top of them, Trend maneuvered Sam's lower half to lay on his lap. There was still enough jealousy in him to ensure that Derek knew that this cute kitten was _his_. Sam's tail curled around Trend's waist possessively.

Sam started to tell Derek about Alaska, the jackalope, the fireflies and time-travel, his cold and their stay in New Rome where they got the Argo II, the giant squid and their stay at the Raser mansion. And Stonehenge. The son of Ares stumbled over his words when he reached Arthur and Merlin.

“T—They... made us admit our... darkest secrets, in front of everybody...”, whispered Sam, sitting up some. “T—They... I... We had to, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to... pass... A—And... I... I had to tell them a—about... Leroy...n—not just dating but a—about what h—he did...”

It was obvious that he couldn't say it. It had been hard enough for Sam to say it the first time around. Trend hugged him, he was concerned about what saying it again would do to his Sammy.

“Sweetheart?”, asked Derek concerned, cradling Sam closer. “It's alright. You don't have to say it.”

“B—But you said you want all information from me”, frowned Sam upset.

“Yes, but... I already know that. And I don't want to make you uncomfortable, I don't want you to have to say something like that”, whispered Derek, caressing Sam's hair. “You don't have to say it.”

“B—But...”, stammered Sam, looking up at Derek with wide, fearful eyes. “N—Not all of it...”

Derek frowned for a moment. He had wanted to keep this _his_ secret, because he had never wanted Sam to know that he knew, but that was back when Sam had been disgusted by himself and afraid of others knowing. Now that others knew, Sam had a right to know that Derek had taken care of this. If Sam had to confront that secret he had tried to bury so deep within, then those fears were back too. So he had to let Sam know that he was safe, that Leroy would never hurt him again.

“All of it”, nodded Derek, returning Sam's look with a concerned one of his own. “Sammy, when you returned early from New Rome, all bruised and crying, it really wasn't that far a guess to figure out it was your boyfriend. So I went to New Rome to see for myself, to meet Leroy and make up my own mind. He admitted it when I confronted him. And don't worry, sweetheart, he will never hurt you again. He will never hurt anyone like he hurt you. I took care of that.”

Sam stared at Derek for a long moment, before chocking out. “W—What did you do?”

“Just some herbs to take his manhood away, but that doesn't matter”, said Derek, cupping Sam's face. “He'll never come near you again. I'd never let anyone go unpunished for hurting you, cutie.”

The son of Ares stared at Derek a little longer. He should have known. Derek had been the only one who had known about his relationship with Leroy and he had – aside from Sara – been the only one to see his bruises and broken bones. He knew Derek better than that, Derek was like a dog with a bone. He didn't let go. He would never let anything go when it concerned Sam. The mohawked brunette smiled slightly, even though his cheeks were tear-stained as thinking of Leroy made him feel vulnerable and weak again. He wrapped his arms around Derek to hug him tightly.

“You are the best friend ever”, mumbled Sam against Derek's neck, sobbing slightly.

Derek had his arms around Sam's waist, smiling strained against Sam's neck. “Best friend. Yeah.”

Sam was grateful that he didn't have to bare his soul to his best friend, that he wouldn't be forced to repeat the most horrible thing he had ever been through to another person once again. He was also grateful that Derek had taken care of him, just the way he was used to. Sam smiled slightly as he resumed his place on Derek's lap once more. Of course Derek would do everything to help him. Derek had always done that. When he had thought he had lost his ma on a mission, when he had been concerned about being gay, it had been Derek who had counseled him, when he had been confused by Leroy asking him out, Derek had helped him, when he had returned from New Rome heartbroken, Derek had helped him figuring his life out once again. Derek had always been there when he had needed him the most. Of course it would have been Derek who took Leroy out. Though Sam wasn't quite sure about this whole taking-away-the-manhood thing, but he didn't care at the moment, at the moment he just cared about having Derek here, with him.

“Okay, now tell me something happier, mh?”, suggested Derek softly, patting Sam's head.

Sam smiled while continuing the story of their quest. Trend only felt slightly forgotten, but he knew how important that friendship was to Sam. And reconnecting with Derek was important to Sam too. Though Trend was curious to get the full story about Derek knowing of Sam's relationship and learning about what Leroy had done. Also; taking away his manhood? Trend would investigate, but not right now. Right now, Sam looked content and happy as he told Derek about how awesome him and Donny got along and how they had fought along side and what the Erotes had done. He wouldn't let that be ruined by an interrogation. He'd wait until Sam was asleep to do so.

Which didn't take very long, because Sam was still pretty exhausted after the last five rounds of sex. The son of Ares laid contently curled together square over Derek's and Trend's laps. Derek was smiling while caressing the soft mohawk, causing the catboy to purr and curl together some more.

“How do you know about Leroy?”, asked Trend softly, wolf-ears alert. “And what did you do?”

“When Leroy asked Sam out, Sam freaked out and called me, asked for my advise”, shrugged Derek, still staring down at Sam. “And when Sammy cut his visit short and was back, I checked on him and saw him all bruised and crying. It wasn't that hard to make the connection that him crying and leaving New Rome early had something to do with Leroy. And the way he shied away made me assume something had happened. So I brewed a potion up in preparations. And when I confronted Leroy and got the truth out of him, well, I used it on him. I'm a son of Demeter and nature has lots of poisonous plants. This bastard raped the only person I cared about. I had to made sure he'd never use that dick of his ever again. And I threatened to take more from him if he ever comes close to my Sammy again. So tell me, did he dare to come close to him while you were in New Rome?”

“First, he is _my_ Sammy”, growled Trend warningly. “And no, he stayed away from Sammy.”

“You have to earn that”, snorted Derek ridiculed. “Try keeping him safe, mh?”

“Don't be a jackass”, huffed Trend and rolled his eyes.

“What's di Angelo's deal?”, asked the son of Demeter, ignoring Trend. “I mean, he had the chance of dating Sam and then he chose friendship? Really? And still he spends all this time with Sammy?”

“They're best friends”, shrugged Trend, chuckling slightly. “And yes, I was jealous too at first, but it seems that Donny was a big help for Sam to... well, deal with things. With Leroy. I don't think he would have been able to deal with having to tell us all if not for Donny.”

“You really _actually_ think that?”, questioned Derek with one cocked eyebrow.

As much as those two used to dislike each other, there had always been one thing they had agreed on. And that was the sleeping catboy laying between them. It was also the only topic they could ever talk about honestly, without trying to break each other's necks. Well, that and sex. Sex had actually always been the only thing that had worked perfectly in their relationship.

“Yes”, nodded Trend honestly. “Donny has been a great help and friend for Sammy.”

 

/break\

 

Donny was happily grinning as he patted Sander's head. His boyfriend looked way too adorable with that wagging puppy-tail and those floppy ears. The most adorable thing ever. Of course, this moment of solitude was interrupted by a knocking on the door. Not even one day to relax, damn it. Donny was surprised and displeased as Derek entered. About the last person he had expected.

“What do _you_ want here?”, growled Donny, arms stubbornly crossed over his chest.

“I want to talk to you, di Angelo. Alone”, replied Derek with a pointed look at Sander.

“I... don't like that idea”, frowned Sander. “No offense, Der, but you haven't been exactly... nice to my Donny in the past. And I'm not going to leave you alone with him if you're being mean.”

“I'm not going to be mean to your spoiled little princess”, sighed Derek annoyed, hands on his hips. “I have to do something I only ever did twice in my life and I don't need any witnesses.”

“You're going to kill me!”, exclaimed Donny wide-eyed.

“Really? You think I already killed two people?”, asked Derek with a deadpan, which at least made Donny blush embarrassed. “No. Something I only ever did to Sam and Sander.”

“Oh. You're going to apologize to him”, nodded Sander with a broad grin. “Okay.”

“You know me too well”, muttered Derek and glared at his ex-boyfriend.

But Sander was still broadly grinning as he kissed Donny and stood. On his way out, he ruffled Derek's hair and gave him a last warning glare to convey the message that no, it would not be okay for Derek to be anything but polite with Donny. Derek rolled his eyes as the door closed behind Sander. Donny was still staring wearily at him. Not that Derek cared. He just collapsed on Donny's bed as though he owned the place, staring stubbornly at the door.

“I am _not_ going to apologize for calling you useless”, started the son of Demeter stubbornly. “Because you were the most useless camper in all of camp.”

“Do you even know how an apology works?”, asked Donny, not very amused.

“You were the most useless camper, _but_ it appears that you aren't anymore”, continued Derek and heaved a sigh. “Look, you were good for nothing. You didn't participate in any games of Capture the Flag, which had made me lose a lot of times. And I don't do losing. You didn't even participate in practice, as though you're worth more than us others who actually did train. And you were being mean to my Sammy, which is the one thing I do not tolerate.”

“Wait up”, interrupted Donny with a frown. “I know that I was... not really being a good camp-mate and I know that I had made many people angry with just standing there instead of actually playing in the games even though I hold pretty much the most power in all of camp. A—And I even get that I may have looked arrogant to others when I was being a coward and didn't train, but I have _never_ been mean. I'm not a mean person and I've never been mean to Sam!”

“Yes, you were”, nodded Derek with a chastising glare. “It was in '26, the year Sander admitted to us that he was having a crush on you, so Sam, as Sander's best friend, was determined to befriend you. And when he finally gathered the courage to talk to you, you just... glared at him and ran off.”

Donny frowned thoughtful, crossing his eyes in concentration. 2026, that had been six years ago. So before Sam had his mohawk. There had been a son of Ares with brown hair and green eyes, but the way Donny remembered it, that boy had asked about his parents.

“That can't be right”, declared Donny determined, crossing his arms. “I mean, there was a son of Ares who may have been Sam, I guess, but he had been asking about my parents and _that_ is normally one of all of my bullies favorite topic. Me being a freak for being the son of two men.”

“That may be the case, but Sammy didn't mean it like that!”, huffed Derek, still glaring. “He was nervously rambling and he's naturally curious. Ever thought that maybe he was just asking because he honestly wanted to know? But he thought you were being the arrogant, high-and-mighty little princess you appeared to be and were being rude by storming off. No one is rude to my Sammy.”

Donny remained silent for a moment, replaying the encounter in his head over and over again and the more he thought about it, the more it did seem like a misunderstanding. And _that_ had been what had caused Sam and Derek to be so mean to him for all those years, because they had thought _he_ was the rude one? Good lords, sometimes he really wished people would _talk_ more instead of assuming! Trend and Sam could have been dating for years, him and Sander could have been dating for year, him and Sam could have been friends for years, damn it all!

“So, to get to the point, I'm sorry for assuming”, pressed Derek out between clenched teeth. “You behaved like a spoiled, useless, little princess. But as it turns out, you may not be as spoiled. Or as useless. You're still a little princess though. But you're important to Sam and Sander. I mean, the way I gathered it, you're _engaged_ to Sander. And I suppose you're also good friends with Sam. If you're that important to the only two people I really care about, I guess you can't be that bad. So I'm willing to give you a second chance. Prove me and my assumptions wrong, princess.”

“Okay, first of all”, grunted Donny, glaring pointedly at Derek. “You need to learn how apologies really work. Secondly, whether or not you're giving me a second chance, you should try asking _me_ for a second chance. You've been tormenting me for years, Rhys. And thirdly, why is _my_ Sander one of the two people you care about? I mean, Sam, I get that. You're madly in love with him.”

“Which seems to be obvious to everyone aside from Sam”, muttered Derek, sliding down on the headboard, brooding. “And Sander is important to me because he was my boyfriend and he was wonderful. He's kind, sweet and loyal. No one was ever nicer to me. Besides, I was his first and being someone's first does kind of form a connection. I mean, I wasn't just his first kiss, I was his first boyfriend, his first blowjob, his first time. Both his first times, actually.”

“Way more information than I needed!”, interrupted Donny and made a disgusted face.

“Anyway”, continued Derek, chuckling slightly at the face Donny made. “He's a bit naive, but he has such a kind and tender heart. When he broke up with me, it was because he wanted true love, since he had been so good to me, I swore to protect him from anyone who'd try to abuse his naive loyalty, because he deserves true love. So yes, Sander is important to me. But don't tell him.”

“Don't worry”, snorted Donny, his eyes dancing with mirth. “I won't tell anyone that you have a heart. It may destroy your reputation, after all. And we can't have that, can we?”

“Exactly”, agreed Derek with one cocked eyebrow, before both boys laughed.

“Okay, seriously though”, smiled Donny amused. “If you want for me to give you a second chance, I want a _proper_ apology from you. Not some constipated thing with more 'buts' than possible.”

Derek heaved a long-suffering, overly dramatic sigh and sat up again, looking honestly at Donny. “I'm sorry for assuming that you think you're better than others, but I'm not ever going to apologize for calling you useless. You used to be useless and I _always_ speak my mind. I'm not going to apologize for being how I am. Besides, I firmly believe that if not for all the name-calling, you would have never realized that you're useless and you wouldn't have started to train to begin with. If everybody had coddled you like your parents and friends did, you would still just sit around and do nothing. You would have never started training. But I'm sorry for calling you arrogant, okay?”

“I'm not going to get anything better, am I?”, sighed Donny, earning himself a head-shake. “Okay.”

“Okay?”, repeated Derek surprised and ridiculed, blinking a couple of times.

“My fatal flaw is holding grudges, so I'm trying very hard not to”, muttered Donny, gritting his teeth. “If I'm not going to accept your apology, I'll never get over this and if I'm forever stuck in the past, I can never look forward to the future. So whatever. I forgave Sam, when he had asked me on that date. So it would be arrogant from me not to accept your apology. _But_ it's only a second chance. If you're ever going to screw me over, I will kick your ass. And you know that by now, I can.”

“Ew”, muttered Derek and shook his head. “The things I do for my boys. Befriending a princess.”

“Asshole”, snorted Donny with a small grin. “Besides, _I_ am the one making sacrifices here. Befriending the flower girl, really now. I thought I had some standards.”

The son of Demeter stared at him wide-eyed for a second, before he started laughing, hitting Donny's shoulder playfully. “There you go, not a prissy little princess anymore. Someone grew some wits. I still think you need someone to call you out on your bullshit though.”

Donny frowned thoughtful, but in the end, he nodded. “I actually think you're right. Mom and dad always supported all of my decisions. Not training, not going outside much, not making friends. But maybe sometimes, it would have been better if they had told me to do something, even if I didn't like it. Maybe that would have helped me on the long run... But if I need someone to call me out on my bullshit, you need someone to do the same for you too. Because you are way too full of yourself and that shows by you being a complete jerk and asshole.”

“So what, you want to be my Jiminy Cricket, show me how to be a real boy?”, snorted Derek.

“Yeah, sure, works for me”, snickered Donny amused. “You need a conscience.”

“Okay, okay, I give up, stubborn, little princess”, chuckled Derek and shook his head. “Now, tell me how Sander managed to, after over six years of staring longingly at you, admit his feelings for you? And how in the world did you two end up _engaged_? You've only been gone for three weeks now and when you left, you weren't even a couple, for mother's sake! He didn't knock you up, did he?”

“N—No!”, stuttered Donny embarrassed and flushed brightly.

“Oh gods, it's worse”, groaned Derek, spreading his arms before dramatically falling onto the bed. “You two had a Disney-moment and sang a song of true love under the moonlight before sharing true love's first kiss and then getting engaged. You need an Elsa to tell you you're crazy, Anna.”

“First of all, Sander is not Hans in this”, huffed Donny with a glare. “If he's _any_ Disney prince at all, he's Flynn Ryder, because that guy is the handsomest prince. And a thief. And awesome.”

“I suppose I could agree to that”, nodded Derek and rolled onto his stomach. “Still, tell me.”

They fell into surprisingly light conversation about how Sander and Donny had gotten together and how they had gotten engaged and just maybe, Derek wasn't that bad after all.


	67. Theseus Paul's Concerns (Di Angelos Part I)

67\. Theseus Paul's Concerns (Di Angelos Part I)

 

Thess sat at his vanity with all the beautiful pictures of his friends and family and his Luke glued to the frame, combing his hair with the large, silver brush with the sapphires on top. It was a total princess-brush and a total princess-vanity, but he liked it that way. His hair went past his shoulders about two inches by now. Humming a soft tune, he continued brushing his hair until he felt a tugging on his pajama pants. Turning some, he looked down at his youngest brother.

“Buongiorno, tesorino”, smiled Thess and put the brush aside. “Did you sleep well?” [trans: _Good morning, little darling_ ]

“Uhu”, nodded Jack, staring intensely up at his big brother. “Why do you always do that?”

“Do what?”, asked Thess confused and grabbed Jack under the arms.

He lifted the younger di Angelo up to sit on his lap, facing Thess with a confused expression on his face. “The thing with your hair and the weird thingy. You always brush them so, so, so long! Percy never-ever brushes her hair and Jimmy doesn't either and Donny just combs them. And Silly's always-always-always look different anyway. But why do you always brush them so much?”

“Because they get softer that way and I don't like that bird's nest you and mamma are sprouting, so I try to tame my hair and for that, I need to brush it a lot”, replied Thess amused.

Jack tilted his head intrigued and reached out to run his fingers through his brother's hair. “Oh! Soft. Feels like Po's fur! All soft and fluffy. You have nice hair, big brother!”

Jack remained on Thess' lap and continued to watch his brother as Thess returned to brushing his hair. After a little while, watching Thess grew boring and Thess could see out of the corner of his eyes how Jack's grabby little hands went through his stuff on the vanity.

“Why do you have all this stuff? Isn't that girly stuff?”, asked Jack confused.

“Well, a little mascara never hurt anyone”, replied Thess nonchalantly. “And those are lotions – those are for the hands, this one is for the face, that one for the feet – to keep the skin soft. And the pretty bottles here are perfume. Want to smell it, tesorino?”

Jack nodded eagerly. Thess had noticed the curious way those sea-green eyes had stared at the colorful bottles with the curious shapes. Of course the little boy would love those. Thess laughed as Jack wiggled his nose at a very intense smell. But another one made him hum interested.

“This is nice! Can I have?”, asked Jack and turned curious eyes on his brother.

Laughing again, Thess applied a little of the rose-scented perfume on his baby brother. “And do you want me to brush your hair too, Jack? Maybe we'll manage to tame that beast of a mane of yours.”

Jack nodded eagerly. Thess grabbed Jack and turned him around so both of them were facing the mirror. Smiling softly, Thess took his brush once more and started tenderly brushing Jack's hair. To say it was a fight would be the understatement of the decade. Those hair had a life of their own. Mostly so because Jack normally never combed them anyway. At all.

“So... Who are you prettying up for, Jackie?”, asked Thess teasingly.

“Eh?”, questioned Jack confused and frowned at the mirror-image of his brother.

“You want to know why mamma and Donny and me and Silly always do that?”, asked Thess, motioning to his vanity and earning an eager nod from Jack. “Mamma does it because he wants to look pretty for papà. Donny does it to get Sander's attention – the prettier he looks, the more likely Sander will only focus on him. Silly does it because she generally wants to look pretty because she spends too much time with Aphrodite's cabin. And I do it because I want to look good for Luke.”

“I don't understand...”, confessed Jack, scrunching his nose and crossing his eyes – an expression he always adopted when he was utterly confused and thought very hard to try and figure it out. “Daddy already loves-loves-loves mommy more than anything, why should mommy need to look pretty for daddy? Daddy already thinks that mommy is the prettiest on the whole world.”

Laughing softly, Thess shook his head. “Yes, mamma is the prettiest in the world for papà, because papà loves mamma more than anything and mamma keeps himself pretty for papà because he loves papà just as much. But I think that's something you'll understand once you're older...”

“No! I want to understand _now_!”, exclaimed Jack with a pout.

“Okay, okay, okay”, chuckled Thess and nodded. “So... Luke knows that I'm pretty, even without make-up and with bed-hair, but I still want to look good for him because I care about him _very_ much. I want him to feel special, to know that I care a lot about him, so I want to look especially good for him. It's the same for mamma and papà. I could just go and see him with the clothes from last week and messy hair and all like I just don't care, but I do. I want him to see my best side because I want to be my very best for him, because he's very, very special to me.”

“So it's like you make yourself pretty to show him that he's important?”, asked Jack thoughtful.

It was something Thess admired about Jack. The youngest di Angelo never backed down. When he didn't understand something, he kept asking until it was explained to him in terms that he understood. And in the end, he always did, because he was a clever boy.

“Exactly”, nodded Thess and kissed the top of Jack's head.

“Then I wanna look pretty for my Hoods!”, exclaimed Jack determined.

“Really now?”, asked Thess surprised, blinking a couple of times.

“Yes. They're very, very important, but they never believe that they are because so-so-so many stupid people just gave them away again like a broken toy, even though they're amazing”, replied Jack with an upset frown. “I want them to know that they're very important and special!”

“You are the cutest thing on this planet”, smiled Thess, his arms around Jack's waist as he kissed Jack's cheek. “Wanna show mamma how pretty you look, tesorino?”

“Yes!”, exclaimed Jack eagerly and jumped off Thess' lap.

Getting up, Thess followed his baby brother over to their parents' bedroom. Their father wasn't home, he was at work, but since camp was over but school hadn't started yet, Clarisse and Percy had agreed to keep the dojo closed until noon so both could stay with their children.

“Mommy, look how pretty Thess made me!”, called Jack out as they burst into the room.

Thess frowned suspiciously as their mother jumped startled and hastily hid something under the pillow. But Jack was distraction enough, because he waved his arms wildly and jumped up and down in front of their mother until Percy laughed and lifted him up.

“What in the world happened to your hair...? It's so... neat...”, pointed Percy out.

“Thess brushed my hair and made me look pretty!”, replied Jack proudly. “He made me smell nice too! Do you like it? I like it! Thess likes it too! Do you think my Hoods will like it?”

“I... I'm sure your Hoods will like it”, nodded Percy slowly, a little unsure. “They like you, after all. And yes, you do look lovely, sweetie. Now, when will your Hoods pick you up?”

Thess grinned a little as he remembered that the Stolls had agreed to pick Matt Chase and Jack up and go with them and the Hoods to the park, with the whole hyperactive bunch. At the mention of that, Jack's eyes widened and he ran off, rambling something about packing. He did not want to know what Jack needed to pack for a day at the park, but knowing the three mischievous kids, it most likely involved pranks. And knowing Connor and Travis, Thess was about a hundred percent sure that their mom would have to go and see the major again because of the ruckus. Once Jack was out of the room, Thess slowly closed the door and walked up to his mother. Percy still looked distracted and had a distant look in his eyes, just as he had while holding Jack, which was unusual. Normally, Percy's full attention and focus was on his kids whenever those entered the room.

“What's wrong, mamma?”, asked Thess softly and sat down next to Percy.

“Mh? Nothing. Nothing is wrong, prezioso”, smiled Percy strained, shaking his head.

“Mamma”, grunted Thess with a serious glare. “Look, I know it was ridiculous to believe that nothing ever gets to you, I realized that when I saw you cry on your birthday. You're our mamma and you're the best mamma possible, but you're only human too. You have stuff troubling you too. But I don't want you troubled, mamma. So, please, tell me. I don't want you crying again.”

“You're so sweet, Thess”, whispered Percy and leaned over to kiss Thess' forehead.

“Now, are you going to tell me or do I have to call papà?”, threatened Thess with a smile.

Biting his lips, the son of Poseidon grabbed the thing he had previously hit under the pillow, presenting it to his son, who stared wide-eyed at the pregnancy test. “I'm... pregnant.”

“That's wonderful! That's awesome! I'll get another baby sibling!”, exclaimed Thess excitedly, hugging his mother tightly. “Wait. Why do you look troubled? I thought you _want_ another baby.”

Taking a deep breath, Percy stared intensely at his son. Thess grew more nervous at that. The way he had understood the situation, their mother had wanted another baby, which was why Nico and Percy were trying. And now that it worked, shouldn't his mother be overjoyed?

“Between Bia and Donny is roughly a year, between Donny and you and Percy are nearly two years. But between you and Percy and Jimmy and Silly are more than five years. And between Jimmy and Silly and Jack are nearly four years. And since Jack, it had been over five years now, even though we always wanted more children. Did you ever wonder why?”, asked Percy softly.

“Well, I figured what with Bia and Donny and then having twins for the first time, you kinda... needed a break?”, shrugged Thess confused. “Like, enough time for us to become a little older?”

“No. I love babies, I was fine with having toddlers and babies around me”, whispered Percy and shook his head, pulling his legs up against his chest. “Two years after your birth, Nico and me tried to... to have a—another baby. I was a little over a month pregnant when I lost the baby...”

Thess stared surprised and gulped hard. He hadn't known that. Then again, he was fourteen and when would be an appropriate time to tell such a thing, if at all? Frowning upset, Thess threw himself at his mother, hugging the air out of Percy and burying his face in Percy's neck.

“I'm sorry, mamma”, whispered Thess hoarsely. “I didn't know.”

“I just... I couldn't... help it. When I got pregnant with Jimmy and Silly, even when Nico and me just talked about trying to have another baby, I—I panicked. I was so afraid I'd lose another baby”, confessed Percy with a silent sob. “B—But they were twins, were complicated and I didn't... I—I thought I'd lose them. I—It's why we waited so long between them and Jack too... A—And then Jack was... Jack was a _complicated_ pregnancy. I nearly lost him. I couldn't... I couldn't live with that fear anymore, that's why we decided not to have another baby after Jack, even though we always wanted, well, we've always wanted more than seven kids that much had always been certain for us. B—But it _destroyed_ me. Losing the baby and the fear when I was pregnant with your younger siblings, every time again, it just... I didn't think I could do it again. But I wanted. I wanted another baby, I want this baby. I—I just... I thought five years would have been enough to calm me down again, b—but when I saw the positive pregnancy test I couldn't help but think of... when I lost the baby... W—What if I'm too old now? What if this was a mistake? What if I do something wrong?”

For the first time in his life did Thess feel too young. He had always been eager to be more, to be older, to be responsible. But seeing his mamma so heartbroken? He didn't like it, not at all. But he felt honored that his mamma shared this with him and didn't bottle it up. Thess knew that bottling feelings up was not good and their mother wasn't Superman, he couldn't hold the world on his own.

“You're not going to do anything wrong, mamma”, assured Thess, kissing his mother's forehead. “You're the best mamma on the entire planet and this baby can be glad to become a di Angelo and everything will be fine, I just know it. You're the best and I love you and all my siblings do too because you've always been the best for us a—and you'll be the best for this baby too.”

“You're wonderful, bambino”, whispered Percy, pressing a kiss on Thess' temple. “You're right. If I had given up when I was first afraid, I would have never had Jimmy, Silly or Jack and I don't want to picture life without them, even if I was afraid to lose them at first. You're right, honeybee.”

“Good”, nodded Thess relieved. “So... Have you told papà yet?”

“I only got the confirmation this morning”, replied Percy and shook his head.

“Percy's here, she can watch over Jimmy and Silly, Jack is going to be out with the Stolls later on and I have a date with Luke, so why don't you go and surprise papà for lunch?”, suggested Thess.

“Not a bad idea”, nodded Percy with a smile, mirth dancing in his eyes. “Now, Luke...”

The two of them got more comfortable on the bed, Percy nudging his son. Thess blushed a little.

“What about him? He invited me over, he had taken cooking lessons over summer for Italian cuisine a—and he wanted to cook... for me...”, replied Thess, his blush intensifying.

“Mh”, nodded Percy curiously. “Annie is out on business in New Rome and she took Fred with her since Fred's best friend JP lives in New Rome, Piper is working too, Thea is on that quest with Donny and the others and the Stolls are going to pick Matt up for the kids' play-date... That means you and Luke would be _all alone_ at his house... Unsupervised. Without a chaperone.”

“Really? We would? I had absolutely no idea”, gasped Thess with fake surprise.

“Are you two having sex? No, don't answer that. I just... I just want you to... be sure”, started Percy, looking uncomfortable about this topic. “Okay, this is awkward. Urgh. Bia took the eternal virgin deal, Donny decided to wait until marriage, I had hoped you'd give me some more time to figure a speech out. I just – I'm going to assume that you hadn't had sex yet – I want you to be sure that Luke is the right one to share your first time with, because you're special and the boy you're with should make you feel that way and, honestly, I didn't really have a chance to meet Luke yet. As my best friend's son, yes. As my son's boyfriend, no. So, I think where I'm going with this is... I want you to invite Luke over for family dinner next Friday, I want to properly meet him.”

“As long as you don't throw some embarrassing stuff like _that_ at him and as long as you keep papà on the short leash so he won't try to strangle my boyfriend again!”, sighed Thess in defeat.

“Mh, your papà is not easily restrained when it comes to protecting his babies' virtue”, grinned Percy mischievously and nudged Thess. “But I promise to do my best. Now you better get ready or you'll keep him waiting. But be back home before it's getting too dark, mh?”

“So... You know that Luke's having the house all to himself and you're still going to let me go over, even though you know we're going to be... unsupervised...?”, asked Thess skeptical.

“You're fourteen, you don't need a babysitter anymore”, snorted Percy and rolled his eyes. “Besides, I won't be able to keep you from having sex. That's why I gave you the tea, because if anything, I want you to be safe. And I'd prefer it if you two have to have sex, then at least have your first time in a bed and not in the back of a car, sneaking around to keep it a secret from your parents. I want you to be able to trust us and I want to be able to trust you. I don't want to be a parent who never talks about anything important with his children because they can't trust each other. I just want you to talk to me, if anything happens or goes wrong, or I don't know, okay?”

“Promise”, nodded Thess and bit his lips. “And... thanks, for being awesome.”

“Thanks, for calling me awesome”, grinned Percy and ruffled his son's hair. “Now get going.”

 

/break\

 

Thess sneaked into the house without knocking, knowing that if Luke was cooking, he was most likely listening to music and wouldn't hear him anyway. A grin sneaked onto his lips as he found his boyfriend standing at the hearth, cooking something that smelt utterly delicious.

“Ciao, mio tesoro”, grinned Thess and sneaked his arms around Luke's waist.

“Damn, don't startle me like that”, gasped Luke surprised and turned around a little to face the other. “Hey, love. You look amazing. I'm glad you could came. Kiss please. Now.”

His hands were busy cooking and he couldn't crane his neck enough to kiss Thess. Laughing amused, the di Angelo stood on his toes to kiss Luke, his fingers playing with the blonde hair.

“I missed you, Lucas”, whispered Thess and licked his lips. “What are you cooking?”

“Nothing fancy, just spaghetti with, uhm, frutti di mare?”, grinned Luke sheepishly.

Thess had to laugh a little at his boyfriend's mumbled Italian. Shaking his head, Thess went for the plates and cutlery to set the table while his lover finished up their food. Once the things were set down and Thess got to the glasses, Luke stopped him, pointing to another cabinet.

“Get the wine glasses. I stole one of mom's wines, figured we should celebrate that for once, we get some actual alone-time, without any cabin mates or siblings interrupting”, smirked Luke.

“Stole? Really now, sometimes you don't particularly act like a legacy of Aphrodite, but more like a child of Hermes”, snorted Thess and shook his head, still rather taking regular glasses.

“Well, maybe I was a thief in my past life?”, suggested Luke and laughed, waving his spoon around wildly. “And a hero, of course. A heroic thief. Hah. What are you doing? I said wine, Thess.”

“Yeah, but... you're fifteen, I'm fourteen...”, drawled Thess with a frown. “My mamma knows that the two of us are here alone and he still let me come over, because he trusts me. I'm not going to abuse that trust to drink _alcohol_ , Luke. Mamma trusts me, I want to deserve that trust.”

“Gah, you're way too virtuous”, groaned Luke with a playful grin. “Okay, fine. I take a coke.”

“Good boy”, grinned Thess and leaned over to kiss his boyfriend's cheek.

Sitting down, Thess watched how Luke served their food and then walked over to join him. “So wait, your mom knows you're here? He knows we're alone and he gave you the tea and he still let you come over? He just needs to put a bow on your virginity next, you know?”

“My mamma knows that, in the end, it's my decision who I have sex with. He just doesn't want me to sneak around and have my first time in a parking lot or something like that. He trusts me to make the right decision and have sex with the right person, and not... waste it”, shrugged Thess honestly as they dug into their food. “Mh, this is really amazing, tesoro. See, that's why mamma let me come over. Because he trusts me to make the right decisions and I'm not going to disappoint him.”

“Yeah, I get it, no alcohol, nothing illegal”, sighed Luke and nodded. “I get it. It's fine.”

“And my parents are kind of, well, mamma invited you over for family dinner on Friday, because he wants to get to know you, my-boyfriend-you and not the Annabeth's-son-you”, added Thess.

“Your father is going to kill me”, groaned Luke and leaned back exhausted.

“He won't. Mamma promised to keep him in check”, chuckled Thess amused.

They finished their food talking about family stuff, like how Luke's mother and his baby brother had left for New Rome and how worried they were about their older siblings. It had been what had brought them together in the first place. The Chases and the di Angelos had always been close families, spend much time together. Their bigger siblings were best friends, their mothers were best friends. It was actually one of the main topics they talked about, their families.

“So.. we've finished lunch...”, drawled Luke slowly as they put the dishes away. “I know, I know, we're not going to have sex, but... what do you say? You and me, heatedly making out in my room?”

“What do you say, you and me, heatedly making out in the living room?”, suggested Thess amused. “We could watch a movie and not pay attention at all while groping each other? We have to use this opportunity of having the house to ourselves, what use is that if we're just going to hole up in your room like we always do? Naw. Let's do something naughty on the couch.”

“I'm totally in for that”, nodded Luke, grabbing Thess around the waist to carry him to the living room, where they both collapsed on the couch. “So, I get to grope you some now?”

Thess grinned teasingly, pulling on Luke's shirt. “Only if you lose that. I miss your abs.”

Luke sat up and slowly peeled the shirt off, earning him a wolf-whistle from his boyfriend, who immediately wrapped his arms around Luke's neck to pull him down into a tight embrace. The legacy of Aphrodite rolled them over so Thess was laying on top of the blonde. Luke hummed delighted as he slipped his hands into the back pockets of Thess' jeans. Thess lazily grabbed the remote control to check if _anything_ was on. Not that it really mattered. They were going to focus solemnly on each other anyway. Smiling brightly, Thess snuggled up to his boyfriend, lips dragging along Luke's collarbone. He was damn lucky his mamma trusted him that much.


	68. Jackson Tyson's Adventures (Di Angelos Part II)

68\. Jackson Tyson's Adventures (Di Angelos Part II)

 

Jack was utterly excited, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he stood in front of the door, waiting for his Hoods to come. He was so excited, his awesome big brother had prettied him all up and that would show his Hoods how important they were. _Finally_ the doorbell rang and he opened hastily, just to find two nearly identical brunettes grinning at him. Only nearly though, because Hunt's hair was a little longer and far more messy than Heist's and Heist had more freckles than Hunt.

“You're here!”, exclaimed Jack and jumped the twins, hugging them tightly.

But they pushed him away after only a way too short hug, Heist wiggling his nose in an adorable way while Hunt kept glaring at Jack. Frowning confused, Jack tilted his head.

“Why do you smell so weird?”, asked Heist, rubbing his nose.

“And why does your hair look so weird?”, asked Hunt, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I—I... I got pretty for you”, mumbled Jack, pushing his lower lip forward in a pout.

“Well, I don't like it!”, huffed Hunt and turned around.

“I... uhm... I don't like it too”, mumbled Heist, a little unsure, looking at Jack.

Jack frowned even more confused now and watched as his Hoods just walked away. He hiccuped upset, lower lip quivering. He saw the Stolls exchanging a confused and worried look.

“I'll go after them. I'll meet you two at the park?”, asked Travis and went away.

“Sure “, nodded Connor before kneeling down in front of Jack. “Why don't we go inside, Jack?”

“B—But... Aren't you going to leave me here because I upset my Hoods?”, asked Jack concerned.

“Aw, come here, sweetling”, cooed Connor, lifting Jack up into his arms.

Jack clung to uncle Connor as he was carried into the bathroom. He didn't like when his Hoods were upset. Why were they upset? He was just trying to look pretty for his Hoods so they would know that they were special! Connor placed him on the toilet seat and knelt down in front of him.

“Why did they walk away? I just wanted to be pretty for them!”, sobbed Jack. “Thess said he gets pretty for Luke and that mommy gets pretty for daddy to show them that they're special! And I want my Hoods to know that they are special, because they are!”

“Sweetling”, chuckled Connor and shook his head. “Hunter and Hayden were probably just scared. They don't like new things, whenever something is new and changes, then things often became worse for them. They like you the way you normally are, when you smell like chocolate because you _steal_ your big brother's secret chocolate stash. They like your messy hair and clothes because you like messes and crawling through mud to break into the zoo or whatever it is you did last week when you all came home smelly, muddy and with a lion cub. They like you that way and not all pretty like a porcelain doll, because porcelain dolls don't break and enter or play pranks.”

“So... they think I don't wanna play with them because I look pretty?”, asked Jack confused.

“No, no, sweetling”, whispered Connor and shook his head. “You _always_ look very pretty to them. But when you look like this, you don't look yourself, but they like you as yourself.”

“So they don't want me to change?”, asked Jack, tilting his head. “Because they like me-me.”

“Exactly”, nodded Connor, ruffling Jack's hair. “Now get that smell off, mh?”

Jack watched uncle Connor leave the bathroom before he went to the sink and started scrubbing where Thess had put the smelly stuff. When Connor returned, he was holding a bottle of daddy's chocolate sauce (Jack had no idea why it was daddy's because he never put it on ice or anything, but they weren't allowed to eat it because it was daddy's). Ruffling Jack's hair again for good measure, he put some of the chocolate-sauce – not much, just the tiniest bit – and rubbed it behind Jack's ears and onto his wrists. Jack giggled and smelt it. Connor ruffled his hair once more and started unbuttoning the button-up-shirt and grabbed one of the used shirts from the hamper instead, one with Jack's favorite pony from _My Little Pony_ on it and still some grass-stains from yesterday.

“There, that's better”, smiled Connor. “Now let's go and pick up Matt Chase, mh?”

“Yay!”, exclaimed Jack excitedly and jumped off the toilet-seat.

They made their way out of the house and down the street to the pretty pink house in Victorian style where the Chases lived. Jack ran off as soon as the creamy-pink house came into sight. Standing in front of the door, he knocked as hard and long and loud as he could.

“Good morning to you too, Jack”, chuckled Luke as he opened the door. “How are you, squirt?”

“I want Mattie! Hand him over!”, demanded Jack and poked Luke's stomach. “Gimme!”

He could see Matt behind his big brother, but Luke was blocking the entrance, grinning impishly. Laughing softly, Luke finally got out of the way and let the younger blonde walk past him. The curly-haired blonde grinned broadly as he hugged Jack tightly and whirled him around.

“I missed you, Jackie!”, exclaimed Matt, his dark gray eyes sparkling in excitement.

“Thanks for taking him, Mister Stoll”, grinned Luke broadly.

“Yeah, yeah, I know how nice it is to have the house all to yourself and to your lover boy”, grinned Connor mischievously and winked. “But watch out for the big, bad Ghost King.”

“Daddy isn't bad!”, exclaimed Jack with large eyes. “Daddy is the best!”

“Of course he is, sweetling”, snorted Connor, taking both little boys by the hands. “Come along.”

Jack smiled brightly as he and Matt followed Connor like little ducklings toward the Demeter Park. Jack loved the park, there was a lake so he could swim in fresh, wild water. He loved lakes. And he loved them even more when he could have Matt and his Hoods with him, because they were his favorite not-family-people. Travis, Hunt and Heist were sitting on a large, blue blanket with lots and lots of food and toys scattered all around them. And then there was Bella. Jack frowned a little upset. He didn't like the daughter of Ares, she was mean and he hated to share his Hoods with her.

“Oh! The mascot! And the pretty boy!”, called Bella and waved her arms wildly.

“What is she doing here?”, asked Jack with a whine in his voice, tugging on Connor's hand.

“When you invited your other best friend to come along, they invited their other best friend too”, replied Connor amused. “Besides, we probably have food enough for ten. Now get going.”

The two children dashed off to crash into the picnic place. Jack stared up at his Hoods from beneath his long lashes, nervous that they would still be angry. But Hunt just grinned at him and grabbed him to pull him into a hug, resting his head on Jack's messy hair.

“I like you when you're you and not mini-Thess”, mumbled Hunt. “Don't try to be mini-Thess.”

“Okay”, nodded Jack and hugged the son of Hermes back.

“Mh, you smell like chocolate”, hummed Heist delighted, rubbing his nose against Jack's neck. “Do we have chocolate cake, daddy? I wanna have chocolate cake now.”

“Of course you want chocolate cake, sweetheart”, nodded Connor and kissed his head. “Do you want chocolate cake too, darling? And you three? Any special wishes?”

Hunter nodded excitedly and grabbed a stash of paper plates while Connor took the cake out. The five children sat in a circle, happily munching the chocolate cake. Jack loved chocolate cake and his Hoods and his Mattie, so you could say that right now, Jack was quite happy. Well, at least until he had his third piece of cake down, because weirdly enough his belly started hurting. Whining some, he curled together, while holding his stomach. Connor pulled him up into his lap and started to caress Jack's hair soothingly while Travis tried to animate the other four into a little soccer game. After all, Jack's stomach-ache won't go away with four little kids poking and asking.

“How are you feeling, little one?”, asked Connor softly, caressing Jack's cheek.

“Hurts”, whined Jack. “Like when mommy made cookies and daddy told me not to eat all but I do anyway because mommy's cookies are the best and then my belly hurts!”

“One would think you children learn it after the first, let's say, ten times”, sighed Connor and shook his head. “Greedy little monsters. How about you tell me something nice? It may distract you. Did anything exciting happen in the last few days? Any big adventures?”

“I'll be a big brother!”, exclaimed Jack and nodded widely, his sea-green eyes large and excited.

“Really now?”, asked Connor amused. “How do you know?”

“We heard mommy and daddy talk about it on mommy's birthday! It's what daddy got mommy for his birthday and this morning, I heard mommy and Thess talk and mommy said he's pregnant. Pregnant means I'll get a baby sibling, I know that!”, exclaimed Jack eagerly.

“Percy di Angel's pregnant again”, muttered Connor and shook his head. “Now those are some news... And are you excited, Jack? About having another sibling?”

“Yes! I wanna be a big brother too!”, nodded Jack wildly, sitting up and waving his arms around. “I can teach them all the fun things I know and I'll be as cuddly as Donny and protective like Thess!”

“I'm sure you'll be a great big brother”, agreed Connor with a soft smile.

Jack nodded again, smiling brightly. He sure hoped he'd be a good and responsible big brother and could teach the newest di Angelo all the awesome things he knew. Hopefully, mommy would give the baby out soon. He knew that mommies always kept the babies all to themselves for a _looong_ time before giving them to the daddies and siblings too. Because mommies always want to protect their babies. But Jack wanted to meet his new sibling and soon! His eyes swept over to his friends. Wiggling his nose, Jack got up to run over to them.

“I wanna play too!”, declared Jack.

“I don't wanna play with the pet”, complained Bella, making a face. “The twins will only get angry if I break it. I wanna spar! Pretty boy, you'll spar with me now. I demand.”

Matt looked a little torn. On the one hand, he did _not_ want to leave Jack alone with the Hoods, but on the other, he kind of wanted to spar with Bella, because Jack wasn't allowed to spar (Percy said that five was too young to get any kind of weapon). And Bella was _good_.

“Okay”, nodded Matt and the two of them ran back to Connor.

Jack frowned. But he had wanted to play too. Before he could get too upset however, his Hoods took his hands and pulled him toward the lake. The eight-years-old twins were rather fast swimmers and Jack, well, he had been able to swim before he could walk. Travis called after them in protest as they walked straight into the water, with their clothes. Not that the trio listened to any word he was saying. Jack's mood became utterly light and happy as he was surrounded by the fresh water. His mommy used to do that when he was upset, just sitting him into a bathtub to calm him. And he was completely happy when he got a squeaky duck too. Holding tightly onto his Hoods' hands, he walked deeper and deeper into the water. Heist looked a little worried, but he trusted Jack.

“Where are we going, Jackie?”, asked Heist, his free hand holding onto Jack's shoulder.

“Something Silly showed me! She build it herself!”, exclaimed Jack excitedly.

Hunt grunted, trying to always stand half a step ahead of Jack and Heist, set on protecting them if anything dared to approach them. But the only things approaching were fishes and they made Jack giggle, so Hunt supposed that was okay. Still, if one of those fishes upset Jack, they'd regret it!

“ _Tiny Prince! What are you doing here, Tiny Prince?_ ”, asked the fishes excited.

“I wanna see my sister's castle!”, declared Jack. “I wanna show it to my Hoods! Those are my Hoods! Don't worry, they're nice. They don't eat fishies.”

“ _What's a Hood, Tiny Prince?_ ”, asked a pretty little blue fish.

“ _Are they your knights, Tiny Prince?_ ”, asked another fish, noticing the weary look on Hunt's face.

Jack screwed his face up in thought. His mommy told him all those nice fairy tales when it was time to go to bed and knights were protecting the princes and princesses and his Hoods protected him, right? So did that make his Hoods his knights, if he was a prince?

“Uhu, I think so”, nodded Jack with a grin. “Oh, oh, oh! There it is!”

The castle was made of large stones, building some kind of igloo that was decorated with gems and pearls and shells. Jack tugged his Hoods inside where luminescent stones adored the walls, lighting up the little room. There were some toys stashed in the igloo and fluffy-looking seaweed pillows.

“This is awesome”, declared Heist excited.

The three of them stayed in Silly's igloo for about half an hour before they went to resurface. But as they did so, they exited the lake on the other side, where thick branches were and the forest looked wild. It was more interesting there. It looked like adventure.

“We play hide and seek” , declared Jack after he willed himself and the twins dry. “I start!” He closed his eyes and started to count (since he didn't know his numbers well, he always counted in family members, starting with the oldest and going backwards). “Grandpa Hades, grandpa Poseidon, grandma Persephone, grandpa Paul, grandma Sally, daddy, auntie Hazel, mommy...”

His voice faded as the twins got farther and farther away from the legacy of Poseidon. Once Jack said loudly 'me', he hastily opened his eyes again and looked around. Now he needed to find his Hoods again. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried a trick Thess had taught him. Thess always did that with Luke too, to track him down. Thess had taught him that everybody had a different water and because they were legacies of Poseidon, they could feel that and if he memorized who felt like what, then he could find them even if he couldn't see them. Scrunching up his nose, he concentrated very hard on his Hoods, he knew exactly what his Hoods felt like. There were some squirrels and bunnies he could feel close by, but no Hood. Hold on. There was _something_. Two somethings. And they kind of felt like his Hoods, but also kind of not. Huh. That was weird. Opening his eyes wide, he ran off to try and find the two not-Hoods. When he did, he was stunned and yelped surprised. There were two kids that looked exactly like him. Well, one did and the other was a girl. But they still looked just like him. The boy stepped up to Jack, equal shock written all over his face. It was like looking into a mirror, but the not-Jack (Jack decided on calling the other one that for now) had freckles on his face, which looked kind of funny.

“Hello. I'm Jack”, said Jack politely, just like his mommy had taught him.

“Ja—ackie! You're supposed to find us!”, called Hunt, sounding a little irritated. “Why are you playing with someone else now? Who are they? What do they want?”

“Why do they look like you?”, asked Heist worried as the two emerged from the underwood.

“Is not true!”, objected not-Jack. “We don't look like him, he looks like us!”

“Who are you?!”, growled Hunt, pushing Jack and Heist behind him.

Jack frowned displeased and reached one hand out. He wanted to see if the not-Jack would copy his movement or something like that. They always did in movies and such! But it was the girl-Jack that copied his movement, which was a little weird. Jack cocked his head. So did girl-Jack.

“I'm Helene, that's Harper. We're the Trickster Twins”, replied girl-Jack, puffing her chest out.

Jack giggled lightly, when she stood like that, she kind of looked like Hunt. She was holding Harper's hand, who was half hiding behind his sister, just like Heist hid behind Hunt. They looked like Jack, but they acted like his Hoods. He liked them. He decided they would be his friends.

“Liar!”, exclaimed Hunt and huffed. “We're the Trickster Twins! You can't be the Trickster Twins!”

“No fighting!”, interrupted Jack and Harper with quivering lower lips. “I don't like fighting!”

Jack and Harper stared at each other surprised and then they giggled. Hunt and Helene huffed.

“We could play together?”, suggested Heist softly. “All of us, yes?”

Hunter and Helene were still fiercely glaring at one another, but Harper and Jack nodded eagerly. When faced with the other three eager children, Hunt and Helene caved in and agreed too.

“I'll start! Again! You go and hide!”, declared Jack and giggled before closing his eyes again.

 

/break\

 

After about half an hour of playing, all five children were exhausted, but they also had lots of fun. Jack smiled brightly when Heist tugged on his sleeve and suggested for them to return before Connor and Travis would worry about them. Also, he was kind of hungry.

“Do you wanna come and eat with us?”, asked Jack, tilting his head. “We have cake.”

Harper was already nodding eagerly, but Helene tugged on his hand, pointing at something in a tree. The Hoods and Jack too turned to look at it. Jack gasped surprised as he recognized the fairy. His mommy had told him about them, sparkly, pink fairies. They were from his mommy's fairy tales!

“This brought us here”, stated Helene. “I think it wants to bring us back. Mommy will worry.”

“Uhu, don't wanna worry mommy”, agreed Harper upset and got up. “This was fun!”

“Yeah!”, agreed Jack and hugged the strange twins. “Bye, bye! We'll play again!”

Hunt and Heist waved them too as Helene and Harper ran deeper into the woods, following the pink glowing fairy. Jack was a little sad that his new friends had to leave, but he knew he would play with Helene and Harper again, lots of times. Now he was hungry. Together with his Hoods, he returned to the picnic side where Connor, Travis, Bella and Matt were playing cards.

“See, Matt, I told you they'd come back”, chuckled Travis amused as the trio approached. “They always come back. They just like sneaking away, but they know when to return. Right, boys?”

“Uhu”, agreed the three obediently and sat down.

Connor put his cards aside and unpacked enough sandwiches to feed them all. Matt glared.

“Where have you been? You can't just run off like that!”, chided the legacy of Aphrodite annoyed.

“Can too”, huffed Hunt and stuck his tongue out at the blonde. “Daddy and paps know we wouldn't run away-away! But we need adventure, so we explore! Is nothing wrong with that!”

“Now, what kind of adventure did you have, boys?”, asked Connor softly.

Jack, Hunt and Heist started – all at once – to tell them about the underwater igloo and the weird twins and the games they had played and the fairy. Jack could see it in the adults eyes that they didn't believe them – he had gotten those looks before, from mortals whenever they visited grandma Sally and grandpa Paul in New York – but that was okay, because he knew it was real.

 

/break\

 

Jack blinked sleepily. He wasn't sure how he had gotten there, but he was in his daddy's arms. He could hear the door close behind them. They had decided to go back home and at one point, he must have fallen asleep. His dad cradled him close and kissed his head softly.

“Did you have an exciting day, tesorino?”, asked Nico softly when he noticed the boy was awake.

“Uhu”, nodded Jack and yawned, rubbing his eyes. “I wanna tell my baby sister about it. Tell mommy to give her back soon, I don't wanna wait. I wanna meet her and show her awesome places under the water and play hide and seek with her. Can you tell mommy to give her to us soon?”

“Your baby sister, bambino?”, asked the son of Hades confused as they reached Jack's bed.

Nico helped Jack out of his clothes and into his baby-blue pajamas. The boy yawned widely and nodded before collapsing on the bed face-first and with his butt sticking up. Nico laughed softly at that and adjusted his son to lay properly in the bed, handing him his favorite stuffed bunny to hug.

“Mommy said to Thess this morning that we'll get a baby sibling”, nodded Jack.

“Oh”, stammered Nico out, a little stunned. “Well... then... I'll talk to your mamma about it, mh?”

“Okay, daddy... Love you daddy, nighty daddy”, mumbled Jack, already half asleep again.

Nico leaned down to kiss Jack's forehead. “I love you too, my precious little baby boy.”

Jack smiled softly, nose buried deep in the soft fur of his stuffed bunny. He could hear the faint shuffling of Poker's feet as the real bunny was jumping around in his cage. His daddy hadn't thought it a good idea to keep the animal in Jack's bedroom, but Po was _his_ , so Jack wanted him there and Jack wanted to be responsible for him, because he could be that too. And when he had a baby sibling, he would prove just how very responsible he could be.

That night, Jackson dreamed of playing with his Hoods and Poker, of seeing Helene and Harper again and playing with them again and of meeting his baby sibling for the first time.


	69. My Uncle's Secret's Keeper

69\. My Uncle's Secret's Keeper

 

“Hello, ex.”

Trend cocked one eyebrow and lifted his head to see who was bothering him. Well, he knew the voice and there weren't many of his exes on board of the ship. Derek was leaning in the doorway. Heaving a sigh, he closed Daedalus' laptop. There wasn't any lead on that anyway and he was getting frustrated after hours of reading. Sam had ditched him two spankings ago (after noticing that this was not the kind of 'If I bother him, I get a spanking and sex'-kind of situation).

“Derek. What's up?”, asked Trend and leaned back against the headboard of the bed.

“Wanted to talk to you”, shrugged Derek, hands in his pockets. “Much happened, huh?”

“You could say that. Sam's... mine now”, stated the blonde, pausing for a second. “Much happened in the past few weeks, mh? It all started when we broke up... Why did we break up? I mean, we got together because Sam and Chuck were going steady, but then they broke up... If we had stayed together, I wouldn't be with Sam now... You know, to date, you're my longest lasting relationship.”

“I know, slut”, grinned Derek cheekily. “We broke up because Sam was single again and the competition was back on. And you won. So... Congrats, again. How though? How exactly?”

“After he admitted to what Leroy had done to him... He was devastated, he cried and he was... afraid that we'd reject him. He needed to hear that he was still loved, so I told him. And then we kissed. He's been... cuddly ever since”, replied Trend. “He's amazing. And even more cuddly than ever anticipated. I mean, he was always affectionate before, but in a relationship... even more.”

“How's the sex?”, asked Derek and snuggled up to Trend, looking up at Trend with the dark eyes.

“No”, snorted Trend and glared down at the pouting brunette who was batting his eyelashes.

“Come on!”, whined Derek, nudging Trend. “We always talked about it! You got there first, so tell me how it is! We've always been talking and speculating. Now that you _know_ , can't you just tell me? Don't you think you owe me that much? We've spend months fantasizing about him... You get to have sex with him, at least give me some material to jerk off to!”

Trend snorted amused and laid one arm around Derek's shoulders. “What do you want to know?”

“How _tight_ is he?”, asked Derek with eager eyes. “What sounds does he make? What's he into?”

“You're such a little...”, muttered Trend and shook his head. “He was very nervous when I took him for the first time. Donny and I managed to convince him that what Leroy did to him doesn't count. And he... never bottomed again because he was afraid, thought it was some punishment from the fates, that he got raped because he was a war kid and those shouldn't submit...”

“That's horrible!”, exclaimed Derek, looking close to tears. “Why would he think that...? He's wonderful, the fates wouldn't dare punish him, not like that. No... My poor little sweetheart...”

“I always liked that nickname”, mused Trend, his voice soft. “He really has a sweet heart...”

Both laughed softly at that, neither noticing the mohawked boy standing in the doorway.

 

/break\

 

Donny moaned softly around the cock in his mouth. The knot was kind of bothersome, but he regretted not being able to put it to good use elsewhere. The sex would be amazing. Well, sex with Sander in general would probably already be totally mind-blowing. His puppy-boyfriend whimpered and then, with a howl, came hard. Donny hummed softly and licked his lover clean.

“Uhm... bad time?”

Sander gave a high-pitched yelp and covered both of them with a sheet. Donny laughed softly as he poked his head out of the heap of sheets, turning his head enough to look at his best friend. Frowning confused, Donny sat up, the sheets around his body like a toga. Sander was hiding under the pillows, extremely flustered. It was adorable. Donny leaned in to kiss Sander and ruffle his hair.

“What's wrong, Sam? You look kind of upset?”, asked Donny confused.

He patted the spot next to him on the bed so the upset catboy could sit with them. “It's weird.”

“What is?”, asked Donny, snuggling up to his Sander-pillow, playing with one of the dog-ears.

Sander hummed contently and sniffed Donny's neck. “Was Trend mean to you, Sam?”

“What? No. Trend's not capable of being mean to me anymore”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes before sitting down and folding himself small. “It's just... Trend kinda kicked me out of our bedroom because I kept teasing him while he tried to get research done and I hung out with Sara for a while and when I returned because I thought Trend could use a break and a fuck. But when I got in, Trend and Derek were all laughing and snuggled up and talking and I got this weird feeling. You know, like I have a hole in my stomach, like a giant pit and my throat feels tight and I'm upset...”

“It's called jealousy, dude”, grunted Sander with one cocked eyebrow. “And seriously? Derek and Trend are over and they weren't really head over heels in love to begin with. Der wouldn't try to take your man away and Trend's not the type of guy to stray, so don't worry.”

“It's not that”, huffed Sam annoyed and embarrassed. “It's like... I didn't like them _together_. Not just Trend with Der. It's the together that bothered me. Bothered me when they were dating too, but now kind of even more, because it feels like Der is taking my Trend away and Trend is taking my Der away, you know? Like, I don't really know how to deal with the situation. I always had Trend to rely on and Derek to rely on and when they were dating, well, I could just go over and had both of them to talk to at once, but now I'm with Trend and that kinda throws things off-balance, right?”

“You're confusing, Sam”, commented Sander and tilted his head. “Then it's good that Derek and Trend are friends, right? So you can hang out with your best friend while your boyfriend is around, even without them fighting and not getting along. Sounds good to me...”

“Sander is right”, agreed Donny with a grin. “It's good that Derek makes an effort at actually being a decent human being. But I get why you're jealous. Normally, when you were with Derek, judging by what you've told me, you're like the sole center of his attention. Same goes for Trend. So it's weird for you to see them both focused on someone else, because you're not used to that. But you will get used to it, I mean, you do want your boyfriend and one of your best friends getting along.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you're really smart, princess?”, asked Sam with large kitten eyes.

He nudged Donny's head with his own and purred softly while the half-Italian patted his head and Sander's head. Donny grinned a little. This made him proud. He always had a best friend, in Thea, but Thea was the kind of girl he went to when he had problems, she had always been a problem-solver, she never came around to him with her problems. So having a best friend he could actually help through a rough time, that made Donny proud. He still found it kind of adorable that Sam was feeling guilty for feeling jealous. He also understood it though. If his best friend and his boyfriend would have had a past, he would feel a little weird too, he guessed. But then again, he was talking about Sam and Sander, so... Sander was such a loyal puppy and Sam was Sam, who was completely in love with Trend and all of that was kind of ridiculous anyway since those never dated.

 

/break\

 

After a power-patting from Donny (Sam seriously hoped those urges to get pat would stop once that curse-thing was broken), Sam felt better about everything. It had been stupid, being jealous because the two got along. But what Donny said was right, Sam was used to being the center of both their worlds and it was kind of weird to see them so cozy with each other. Had always been weird, even when they had been a couple, but now that Trend was _his_ , it was even stranger.

“Aw, if it isn't our favorite stray kitten”, grinned Derek and scratched Sam's chin.

“I'd claw you if that wouldn't feel _so_ good”, purred Sam and closed his eyes, leaning in.

“Hello, Sammy”, smiled Trend and kissed Sam's cheek. “We need to gather the crew, talk about our options. Can you run and get them, my pretty kitten? You too, Derek. Be useful.”

“Asshole”, muttered Derek and stuck his tongue out.

“Why? Did you find something?”, asked Sam eagerly, cocking his head.

“More or less. Let's talk about it with the others”, replied the son of Athena, slapping Sam's ass once in encouragement. “Now get going before I'm tempted to ravish you.”

His wolf-ears were alert and his pupils dilated. What in the world had those two been talking about while Sam was gone? Trend hadn't been that horny when Sam had left and that had been right after a spanking! Still, he returned to Donny's and Sander's cabin to fetch them.

“Oh, really now? I left not five minutes ago!”, grunted Sam and shook his head. “Spank him later.”

“You're such a cockblock”, muttered Sander with a pout, one hand on Donny's ass.

“Get moving. Trend wants to meet with us all upstairs, talk plans and stuff”, ordered Sam.

Donny huffed with a small pout of his own and pulled his jeans back on. First they got interrupted before Donny got his return-blowjob from Sander and now he didn't even get the spanking he had wanted. This day was not compatible with his dick. Not at all. But when he arrived at the control panel where all others were already gathering, he feared the day would get worse than just blue balls. Trend looked somewhere between frustrated, grumpy and horny (the latter directed at Sam, who right away got pulled onto Trend's lap once they were close enough). Nico looked as frustrated where she stood between Rika and Joe, trying to control the ship and stop them from ripping each other apart. Sara and Marshall were on Joe's other side, Arielle and Phyl on Rika's.

“We need magic. There's no way around this. We need a child of Hecate. Or Trivia, whichever aspect we can find worse. Judging by what I found, the effect will get stronger. If we wait too long, all that will be left of Thea and Herc will be simple, regular birds. While our transformation may even progress, we could still turn into full animals if we don't find magic soon”, stated Trend.

“So I should get us to Heldenheim, right?”, asked Nico before heaving a sigh at the confused faces of her crew-mates. “It's like New Athens or New Rome, just... German, you know.”

“It's actually New Athens, the European version. We got a version of New Rome in Enland”, grunted Rika. “But it won't be of any use to go to either. There hadn't been any children of Hecate or Trivia in Europe in a long time. There are none.”

“We only got like... Kara in New Rome too”, frowned Nico thoughtful. “Greeks?”

“Lila, Kitty and Basty. That's all we have to offer at the moment too, I think. But going back all the way to Europe would be way too... time consuming, wouldn't it?”, stated Sander.

“Shadow-travel? Donny goes, snatches a child of Hecate, comes back?”, offered Sara.

“Can't”, sighed Donny and shook his head. “This dream-traveling was an energy-consuming power to use and I'm... drained. I've never used that before. I was too exhausted to will myself dry after the shower this morning. I still need time to recharge and shadow-traveling is exhausting too.”

“So the only option we have, would be to turn back and travel all the way to the US?”, asked Joe.

“That would be humiliating”, groaned Sam annoyed, burying his head in Trend's chest. “Biggest quest in years and we come back with our literal tails between our legs, asking for help...?”

“What else is there to do?”, asked Phyl concerned. “And what do we do if the journey is too long?”

Derek bit his lips and looked around. If they traveled back, it would be like admitting defeat, it would lose _a lot_ of time and they'd definitely lose Thea and Hercules for good. He had been sitting next to Trend when the son of Athena had done his calculations. The two wouldn't last for the journey back home and Trend wasn't even sure he, Sander and Sam would either.

“I know two sons of Hecate in Germany”, stated the son of Demeter softly.

“I just told you, there aren't any”, grunted Rika and rolled her eyes. “Mayor Black keeps track of those things and there are no children of Hecate registered. Even if they don't live in Heldenheim, they have to register there as demigods living in Europe. We keep our people safe.”

“They aren't your people. They're Americans. And... technically speaking, they aren't even our people either”, muttered Derek, uncomfortable under the piercing glares of the others.

“What's that even supposed to mean?”, asked Sander confused.

“They're... part of the rebels who lived through the Titan War”, replied Derek.

“What the fuck kind of people do you associate with, Der?”, grunted Sam confused. “Traitors? Really? How and where did you even meet them?”

“You know we're not supposed to associate with traitors of the wars”, added Marshall concerned.

“You introduced me to one of them, Sam”, mumbled Derek, one hand in his neck.

The attention shifted to Sam, who looked completely thrown off-guard. “What? No. Who?”

“Your uncle Liam. He had always been looking for his lost brother, right? Lost half-brother. Another son of Hecate by the name of Alabaster”, stated Derek.

“Don't fuck with me”, growled Sam angered, ears flat against his skull, pupils small slits, tail whipping on the ground, his claws digging into Derek's arms. “Why would you say shit like that?!”

He had Derek by the collar, lifted him up into the air, but Derek still looked calm. “He told me. How he had left for Ireland, where his mortal father was from, after the Titan War was lost for them and how he met your aunt and fell in love with her and married her, but always kept searching-”

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!”, exclaimed Sam and pressed Derek against the wall, not too kindly. “I'd fucking know if my uncle was a demigod! He would have told _me_ , not _you_! And even if, he's not a traitor! He's the best man I know, he would have never fought for the titans!”

Sam shoved Derek off, tears in his eyes as he stormed back below deck. Derek heaved a sigh. That went considerably better than he had anticipated. He had no broken bones, after all. The others were still staring at him demandingly, wanting an explanation. He sighed again.

“They _are_ demigods. They live in Munich. Take course there, I'll give you the exact address when we're closer”, muttered Derek. “Look, I know 'traitors' are all bad and we're not supposed to associate with them, but I think that it's better than letting Chase and Grace _die_ , right?”

“Munich it is”, declared Nico and changed directions.

While Phyl was all up in Derek's personal space, asking about traitors and what that meant, Trend decided to check on Sam. Sneaking away from the muttering group of antsy demigods and legacies was easy. He entered their cabin without knocking, finding the chairs and the table flipped and a crying Sam on the bed. Closing the door, he walked up to his boyfriend to sit with him.

“Uncle Liam is... is... like my dad. My ma's sister never really liked having me around, but her husband always defended me. Liam was always there for me. He would have _told_ me if he was a demigod and he would have... have... never... he's not a traitor, no...”, sobbed Sam and buried his face in Trend's lap. “A—And why should he have told Derek and not me...? Doesn't he love me...? A—And what about _Der_?! Why would he keep something like that from me?! But then again, why should he _lie_ about it now? That makes even less sense! Argh!”

He groaned frustrated and hit the mattress repeatedly. Trend just sat there and caressed Sam's mohawk while the boy repeated the same words over and over again and kept hitting the bed. Once Sam fell asleep, as he always did after crying, Trend peeled the catboy off his lap and headed toward Derek's room, where a brooding and upset son of Demeter sat on a bed and glared.

“What. The. Actual. Fuck?”, asked Trend slowly, punctuating the 'fuck'.

“I like hearing you cuss, it makes me feel special”, muttered Derek sarcastically.

“Get up, you're going to explain this to me. And Sam. Sammy even more than me. He's _upset_ with you. I've never seen him cry _because_ of you. In your lap, yes, but not as you as the cause. I don't like seeing Sammy upset. So you're going to fix this now”, declared the son of Athena.

“Right”, snorted Derek. “I think he's going to rip my head off if he sees me now.”

“I'll stand between you two and protect you”, snorted Trend and rolled his eyes.

“Why do you care?”, asked the son of Demeter with a glare.

“Because I love Sammy and he's upset and confused. And you're probably feeling even worse about upsetting him”, replied Trend. “Because you love him and I know it would make me feel horrible to be the one to cause Sam's tears. So come with me so we can fix this again.”

Derek heaved a sigh and followed Trend back to the room where their favorite kitten was sleeping. Trend sat down beside Sam and pulled the catboy into his lap, teasing his cat-ears until the son of Ares woke up and growled at him. The growl got louder when Sam spotted Derek.

“Give him a chance to explain”, stated Trend and kissed Sam's sleeve. “ _He_ has the answers to the questions you threw at me earlier. You can still beat him up afterward? I'd help?”

“Thanks, asshole”, grunted Derek with a glare directed at Trend.

“Why do you know all of that? Why has he never told me, but you? _W—Why_?”, asked Sam.

“Why he joined the rebels?”, questioned Derek, earning himself a slow nod. “That's what _he_ should tell you once we land. But... he told me when you brought me over for Christmas and I met him. He told me so I could explain it to you, in case something happens to him, because he's a loner and a lone demigod, well, he never knew how long he may still have before a monster snatched him up so he wanted to make sure you'd know the truth if that happens. And I was the first and only demigod friend of yours that he met, so... I was just there at the right time.”

“But why would he keep it from me?”, asked Sam with a frown.

“Two reasons. Because he fought for the _other_ side and he knows how much you hero-worship Percy Jackson and how they only teach us _one_ side of the war. He was afraid you'd resent him. Other reason, we are not allowed to contact the rebels. They're banished, no contact to the gods and campers. As long as you didn't know that you were talking to a banished demigod, _you_ couldn't be punished for it. By the rules, anyone working with the banished demigods qualifies as another traitor and may end up banished too and Liam knows that you _love_ New Athens. He didn't want to be the one taking that from you, so he... lied”, explained Derek softly. “He loves you a lot and he didn't want you to despise him. And I didn't mean to tell you either, but... this is to save your life and the lives of four others. I think... he won't be too upset when I tell him it was for you...”

Sam was still glaring, at least until he noticed the crusted blood on Derek's upper arm. “Shit.”

“Yeah. You have claws, kitten”, nodded Derek. “It's alright, sweetheart.”

“No, it's not. I'm sorry”, sighed Sam and nudged him. “My uncle is a demigod... But that explains _so many things_. Like how the mansion has always been a safe place for me. Protected. Like camp. He probably put magical borders on it, like Lady Hecate did with camp, right? And that he always defended me and my 'fantasy'. Because he knew the monsters were real. And that brother my aunt has never ever heard of before. Because that was another demigod. Urgh.”

 

/break\

 

Sander was frowning upset as he stared at his fiance's ass. He wanted to tap that. Or at least to finish the spanking they had started earlier. But Donny was leaning over Daedalus' laptop, googling something. Whining softly, he licked Donny's cheek and laid down on his back. Donny hummed and started caressing Sander's belly. The dogboy howled, his one leg kicking the air.

“There's a good boy”, muttered Donny absentmindedly.

“What are you doing there, love?”, complained Sander with a pout.

“Looking up Sam's uncle. Saw the names on the card that Derek gave to Joe, with the address and everything”, replied Donny. “Look. Liam O'Riley, that's Sam's uncle, and Alabaster Torrington. Private investigators and... relic hunters. I just... I feel weird about this. I mean, I'm Percy Jackson's son. Pretty sure one of the last people two former rebels would help, right?”

Sander huffed and kissed Donny's hand. “Of course they'll help you. You're too cute to refuse.”

“You're so sweet, mio eroe”, smiled Donny and leaned down for a proper kiss.


	70. The Weakness in Our Hearts

70\. The Weakness in Our Hearts

"Ich will zurück nach Hause, Ulrika." [trans: _I want to go home, Ulrika._ ]

Phyl looked up and blinked a couple of times at the foreign language. She had no idea what Arielle had said, but the redhead looked displeased and grumpy. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she stared over at her best friend. Phyl was in the mess hall together with the two Germans. She was feeling a little out of place with the big group of already established friendships and in a way, the two Germans didn't belong either, so for Phyl, it was more comfortable being with them than being with the overly muscular big heroes she didn't know.

"Das ist nicht unsere Mission, das geht uns doch alles nichts an und um ehrlich zu sein, es interessiert mich auch nicht sonderlich. Das ist ihr Problem. Sie wurden von Persephone gesendet, also sollen sie's auch richten", declared Arielle with a glare. "Ulrika. Ehrlich jetzt."[trans: _This isn't our quest, that's none of our business and to be honest, it doesn't really interest me either. It's their problem. They've been send by Persephone to fix it, so they should be the one doing so. Ulrika. Really now._ ]

"Ich weiß, ich weiß", grunted Rika and waved one dismissive hand. "Noch ein bisschen."  
[trans: _I know, I knwo. Just a little bit longer._ ]

"Wenn wir München erreichen, nehm ich den nächsten Zug nach Hause", said Arielle finally. "Und du wirst mit mir mitkommen. Dem Mädel nachzujagen ist totaler bullshit, sie hat'ne _Freundin_."  
[trans: _When we reach Munich, I'll take the next train home. And you will come with me. Chasing after that chick is total bullshit, she got a girlfriend._]

Phyl frowned concerned. Whatever was going on, she wasn't sure she liked the sound of it.

/break\

Sara was just laying on the deck, her arms crossed behind her head. This was so boring. They were just traveling, just waiting to reach their destination. She started to understand why they used to have so much sex during this quest, if most their time was spend waiting.

"Shally, can we do something fun?", asked Sara, looking up at her boyfriend with large eyes.

"What are you thinking about?", retorted Marshall, caressing her ginger hair.

"I want to train! Those horny boys spend way too much of their time with sex. I mean, I get it, they only recently got together, they have a lot of UST to solve, but still", huffed Sara.

"Training it is, love", nodded Marshall and stood slowly.

Sara grinned as she watched him go to fetch the others. Getting up herself, she joined Joe and Nico who were discussing which route would be the best to take. Patting both on the backs, she got their attention. Nico looked horrible. It was tearing on her, the whole jealousy-fight between Rika and Joe. And Joe looked just generally annoyed. Somehow understandable too, since the daughter of Vulcan had spend years yearning for Nico and now suddenly, the Latina was hooking up with that German chick? No, really not. Sara hadn't listened to hours of whining for nothing.

"What are you two up to?", asked Sara curiously, one arm around each.

"Nothing", grunted Nico with a glare, shrugging her off.

Sara frowned concerned. She knew that Nico and Herc were very close, so his pending near-death was probably eating her up a lot. It would probably be the best to leave her alone for a little. And besides, Marshall was back with the guys. A large grin spread over her lips.

"We are not participating in whatever craziness you Amis came up with", declared Arielle, her hands lifted up. "Rika and I volunteer for watch-duty in the crow's nest."

"What is going on this time? I was just in the middle of... oh... uhm... n—nothing", said Sander.

The brunette blushed furiously and shifted some while Donny giggled delighted and linked their fingers. The rest of the crew rolled their eyes affectionately while Sara clapped her hands.

"Okay. Training. You guys spend enough time holed up in your cabins, fucking. We're going to train. You seem under the impression that this is some kind of vacation, getting drunk on the middle of the day and getting abducted by the enemy. That stops now. You need some Roman discipline", announced Sara seriously, showing some Mars-side for once. "Training. Now. One on one."

She rolled her eyes annoyed as they paired up – Sam and Trend, Sander and Donny, Derek and Phyl. She grunted and walked over to them, tugging on hands and shoving them around until they were mixed up some. Sam stood with Derek, Trend with Donny, Sander with Marshall and Sara stood next to Phyl, resting one hand on the nervous girl's shoulder.

"Sam told me that Trend took to training Donny. How about you continue with that? As much as you'd enjoy the foreplay with your respective partners, you're going to take training serious again", declared the daughter of Mars. "So Sam, teach Derek some tricks. I'm pretty sure after this morning, you got some steam to blow off and it's always better to do so in a fair fight. Marshall, Sander could use someone to take him on again. Pretty sure with Donny around, he got pampered. Now _fight_."

As she dismissed the boys, she turned toward Phyl. Daughter of Persephone, if Sara remembered that right. A flower girl. And new at camp, or so she had heard.

"How long have you been to camp?", asked Sara softly.

"T—Two weeks, but then summer was over... uhm... I didn't have much training", admitted Phyl.

"Okay. Crash-course it is", grinned Sara and went to fetch an Imperial-gold sword for her. "Catch."

Trend cocked one eyebrow as he observed Sara. Whenever he had met her, she was mostly just hanging off Marshall's arm. But she did have a lot of Mars in her too, it appeared. Turning back to Donny, he realized that he had made a promise, but was too distracted by Sam.

"I'm sorry I neglected you, di Angelo. Now let's get back to your training", smirked Trend.

He pressed the moonstone on his amulet and turned it into his beloved Imperial-gold sword. Donny gulped and turned his silver skull-ring once on his finger to turn it into his own sword. Skotha felt heavy, but also somehow good in his hand. Donny lifted in and took a deep breath.

"Okay. I'm ready", nodded Donny nervously, watching Trend with hard eyes.

Their swords clashed, just at the same moment as Marshall's and Sander's did. Those two were already in their own world, years of training together making it easy for them to fall into their usual rhythm. Sara and Phyl were mostly talking, Sara correcting Phyl's position and teaching her some basic steps and moves. The only ones who hadn't started yet were Sam and Derek.

"You... should get a sword, Der", suggested Sam, balancing the Heart of War on his hand.

"If you say so", sighed Derek and grabbed one of the regular spare-weapons they had.

Sam cocked one eyebrow. Even Trend's half attention was on them (Donny wasn't that hard of a sparing-partner to need his whole concentration). Derek and Sam had _never_ faced each other during training. They knew that Sam's morals were too high to face someone who wasn't on his training level. And Derek would never point a weapon at Sam. He didn't now either. He was holding the sword, but the tip was pointing down at the ground. Sam huffed annoyed.

"Fight. Now, Der", ordered Sam and lunged.

But Derek blocked it. Sam went after Derek, but Derek just dodged him. It was as though Derek knew exactly where Sam would go next. It was freaking annoying. Sam groaned frustrated. And he wasn't the only one getting frustrated. Marshall and Sander were already a sweating mess, not paying them any mind. Sam kept going at Derek, but Derek dodged him and blocked him. By the time Sander and Marshall shook hands and sat down next to the control panel to drink water and watch their friends, Sam was a sweating and panting mess himself. Derek grinned. He'd know a few different ways he'd prefer to make Sam sweat and pant. Trend noted how exhausted Donny was by now, so he allowed Donny to collapse in his fiance's lap and empty a bottle of sparkling water.

"Derek! Stop playing games. This is a farce, not a fight", called Trend out as he too sat down.

Derek snickered and turned his sword around so the handle was pointing at Sam. The son of Ares was short of growling, but then the handle hit him in the ribs, knocking the air out of Sam. The sudden pain made his knees wobbly, but then Derek kicked his left ankle, which effectively threw him onto the ground. His vision was blurry from the pain for just long enough so Derek could straddle his waist and press the blade against Sam's throat in a victory.

"What... just happened...?", asked Sander confused and stunned.

"I think that Derek just beat Sam in a sword fight", replied Donny. "I just don't know how."

"I spend years watching Sam fight and train. I know his every step. And his every weakness", explained Derek with a dirty grin and stood, offering Sam his hand. "I know that your right fifth and sixth ribs got broken before your mother send you to New Athens and since you didn't have ambrosia back then, it never really healed. They're sensitive so if hit with enough force, they'd easily re-break. With less force, it can knock you unconscious. Your ankle got broken when you were small and it healed the wrong way, it's kind of your Achilles spot. Makes you swoon. It's cute. Look, sweetheart, I may not be a good sword-fighter, but I _know_ how to fight. I just fight differently. I scratch, bite and pull hair. I do everything to win. I don't play by rules, not if I may lose when I do so. I fight the way I learned in the orphanages as a kid."

"But... you just... beat me...", whispered Sam, looking like a kicked kitten (literally).

"Because he spend years studying you. He has a stalker-advantage", pointed Trend out and walked over to them, caressing Sam's cat-ears. "Are you alright, Sammy? Are you hurting?"

"My ribs hurt like a fucking bitch", moaned Sam softly and leaned against Trend. "And my pride hurts even more. Derek beat me in a sword-fight! It doesn't matter that he cheated. He won."

Trend chuckled softly and helped Sam up, but when the son of Ares put his weight onto his left ankle, he swayed and crashed against the blonde's chest. Trend frowned concerned and held his lover tightly, securely. Derek mirrored Trend's expression (in a way that made Donny tilt his head curiously). The son of Demeter leaned in some and placed a soft kiss on Sam's lips.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I didn't mean to hurt you", whispered Derek tenderly.

"I told you not to do _that_ ", grunted Sam annoyed, fingers on his lips. "Like a million times, fucker."

"I guess you'll have to tell me another million times then", grinned Derek wickedly.

"Enough now", interrupted Trend and placed his right hand under Sam's knees, lifting him up bridal-style. "You'll come to our cabin and rest and eat nectar and ambrosia. Training is over."

"I hate you. I hate you so much. I'm not a chick", groaned Sam annoyed, hitting Trend's chest.

"Yes, yes. And you hate feeling like a victim. But Sammy, your ankle hurts. So let me carry you because you're hurt and I want you to get help as soon as possible", stated Trend stubbornly.

Sara watched how Trend carried her big brother away, with a fussing and apologizing Derek next to them, who kept caressing Sam's mohawk and cat-ears. She then turned to the other boys.

"You heard him. Dismissed. Do whatever you want", stated Sara, making shunning motions.

"I'll hit the shower", stated Sander and stood. "You coming with me, my beloved Dark Sea?"

"Nope! I want to talk to Arielle. She's a daughter of Triton. I never met someone related to the sea who wasn't a member of my immediate family!", exclaimed Donny and stood eagerly. "Besides, I could polish my German a little when talking to her and Rika. Have fun, love."

Sara cocked one amused eyebrow as she watched Donny climbing up into the crow's nest like an adorable little monkey. Sander was a sad puppy, with his tail between his legs, as he returned below deck without his boyfriend. Wow, she had never seen Sander _that_ attached.

"Sander, Phyl. You two take over watch-duty after your shower. I don't need the girls distracted by Donny's babbling. Besides they could need a break from sitting up there too", ordered Sara.

"Yes, ma'am", sighed Sander and continued his way to the showers.

"I love when you're so bossy, strawberry-shortcake", whispered Marshall amused.

Sara was still frowning though when she leaned against them. "This is weird. All of it. They turned into animals because the Erotes stole their energy? Who _is_ our enemy? And now Sam has a sudden case of demigod uncle? I don't like this. This is all too much Wonderland for my taste. Everything is upside-down. And I still don't know what to think about all those relationships."

"Why? What do you think?", asked Marshall lowly.

"Donny is sixteen", stated Sara seriously. "He's sixteen and him and Sander had only been dating for like less than three weeks, but they're engaged? That's just ridiculous, Shally. You and me, we've been dating for four years and you don't see us announcing our marriage."

"Does that mean you want a ring?", questioned Marshall.

"No! That means I think they're too young and too headless!", exclaimed Sara and waved her arms around. "And I still don't know what to think of Trend and Sam. I mean, sure, Derek and Trend had been all over Sam ever since they met him, but... how did Trend actually... happen?"

"There is something you should... probably know", interrupted Nico in a dark voice.

She stared at her two fellow Romans and Sara and Joe just exchanged a confused look.

/break\

Donny was sitting perched on the table in the mess-hall as he was talking to Rika and Arielle.

"Hast du... jemals deinen Vater getroffen?", asked the legacy boldly.  
[trans: _Did you... ever meet your father?_ ]

"Ein-, zweimal", shrugged Arielle. "Es ist wirklich nicht so dramatisch. Er ist nur eine Fußnote auf den Seiten meiner Lebensgeschichte. Er zeugte mich und gab mir meine Kräfte, das war's."  
[trans: _Once or twice. It's really not that dramatic. He's just a footnote on the pages of the story of my life. He conceived me and gave me my powers, that's it._ ]

"Das ist... irgendwie traurig", frowned Donny.  
[trans: _That's... kinda sad._ ]

"Das ist der einzige Weg, wie du mit dem Scheiß leben kannst", replied Rika nonchalantly and shrugged. "Du bist ein Erbe, du hast keine Ahnung wie es ist nur einen Elternteil zu haben, der andere zeigt sich vielleicht einmal in deinem Leben wenn du Glück hast."  
[trans: _It's the only way to deal with this shit. You're a legacy, you have no idea what it's like to only have one parent, the other showing themselves maybe once in your life, if you're lucky._ ]

Donny shrugged. He had never thought about it like that. Arielle gave him a smile.

"Es ist nicht alles schlecht. Die Gesellschaft, die wir haben, ist unglaublich. Ich bin glücklich all diese Halbgötter kennengelernt zu haben. Und die Abenteuer. Es ist unglaublich."  
[trans: _It's not all bad. The society we have, it's incredible. I'm happy that I got to know all those demigods. And the adventures. It is incredible._ ]

"Yeah", agreed Donny with a small smile of his own. "Das ist es wirklich."  
[trans: _Yeah, it really is._ ]

"Wir werden euch verlassen wenn wir München erreichen", stated Rika emotionless. "Wir haben unsere eigenen Leben, zu denen wir zurückkehren wollen. Mit den Römern ist's hier ganz schön voll. Ihr kommt auch ohne uns klar. Außerdem nervt mich diese Joe."  
[trans: _We'll leave you once we reach Munich. We have our own lives to return to. With the Romans, it's getting pretty crowded here. You'll manage without us. Besides, that Joe is annoying me._ ]

"Interessierst du dich denn überhaupt wirklich für Nico?", asked Donny with a frown.  
[trans: _Are you even truly interested in Nico?_ ]

"Sie war'n guter Fick", shrugged Rika indifferently. "Aber ich hab jetzt keine Hochzeitspläne oder so. Es war Spaß, aber sie scheint ja was mit der Joe zu haben. Ich hab kein Interesse an Drama."  
[trans: _She was a good fuck, but I don't plan on marrying her. It was just fun, but she seems to be involved with that Joe. I'm not interested in drama._ ]

"Lüge. Tochter der Eris, liebt Zank jeder Art, besonders Drama", interrupted Arielle with a grin. "Aber ja, will zurück nach Hause. Als wir Nico halfen, haben wir uns nicht freiwllig für eine lebensgefährliche Mission gemeldet. Das ist alles ein bisschen zu... schwer für mich. Tut mir Leid. Ich war noch nie auf so einer Mission, ich..."  
[trans: _Lie. Daughter of Eris, loves discord of all kinds, especially drama. But yes, we want to go back home. When we helped Nico, we didn't sign up for a potentially deathly quest. This is all a little too... heavy for me. I'm sorry. I've never been on such a quest before, I..._ ]

"Ich versteh's ja", nodded Donny and rested one hand on her shoulder. "Es ist okay."  
[trans: _I get it. It's fine._ ]

/break\

Sam heaved an annoyed sigh from where he was laying on the bed. His head was propped up on pillows, his foot was even on a whole pile of pillows, one cooling pack on the aching ankle, the other on his ribs while Trend was force-feeding him ambrosia.

"I'm fine, you assholes", grunted Sam annoyed. "It's just a little bruising!"

"You _swooned_ and collapsed against me", deadpanned Trend. "Eat your ambrosia, Sammy."

"I'm _so_ sorry", sighed Derek upset, pacing the room. "I didn't mean to hurt you. It's all _his_ fault! He said I had to take the fight more serious! Stupid, stupid Trend!"

Trend's deadpan expression took an even more ridiculed turn as he ignored the son of Demeter.

"Don't blame Khan!", objected Sam with a glare. "I wanted you to take the fight more serious too. Look, moron, I'm fine, really. I've taken proper beatings already and Trend can kick my ass far worse than that. My pride's the only thing that really got scratched here. I'm okay, especially after all the ambrosia Trend just stuffed me with. Stop beating yourself up and come here, you idiot."

Derek looked up like a bunny looking down the flint of the hunter, but he obeyed and walked over to Sam, so the son of Ares could pull him down into a hug, ruffling his hair. Trend shook his head at them, still glaring concerned. He would have never thought that Derek was actually memorizing those things, he had always assumed Derek was just watching for the sake of sweaty Sammy.

"You still need to fight. You won't be facing an enemy you have studied as well as Sammy", pointed Trend out. "You should join Phylicia the next time Sara gives her lessons. No objections, Der."

"Okay, okay", grunted Derek and rolled his eyes before getting up. "I could also just borrow Sam's jacket, which I brought because you forgot to pack it, sweetheart."

"I didn't expect that we'd be going to fucking Alaska, or that Europe would be that chilly", protested Sam weakly and glared. "It was nice and hot when we left camp!"

Derek rolled his eyes. He had taken the red leather jacket with him when he had noticed it hanging in Sam's apartment. It wasn't just a regular leather jacket, the leather had been made from the Nemean lion's skin – the indestructible skin of the golden lion. Since pelts weren't that fashionable for a guy, Derek and Trend had gotten Sam a leather jacket made of the skin for his sixteenth birthday. Sam had loved it. It had been the very first time that Derek and Trend had worked together, actually. Also the first time that Derek had noticed that Trend wasn't all that bad.

"Can I have cuddles now? If you have to mother-hen me like that, at least cuddle me", sighed Sam.

He turned his kitten-eyes on Trend and Derek. Trend was practically on the bed already anyway, but Derek looked a little stunned. Well, he used to cuddle with Sam a lot. Since he was living just opposite Sam, Sam usually always knocked at his door when he had a nightmare and the son of Ares would be sleeping in Derek's bed. But now that Sam was dating Trend, shouldn't their dynamic change? Then again, it also hadn't changed when Derek had been dating Trend. The blonde was the one to lift the covers for Derek and Derek found himself grinning broadly as he climbed in.

/break\

Nico was sitting on her bed, with her knees drawn up against her chest. Joe hadn't spoken a single word since they had gone below deck. Trend and Derek had taken over the control panel half an hour ago, as the sun was slowly setting. Only because Sam was sound asleep, it appeared, and both of them had gotten enough nap-time. The son of Athena knew how to handle the ship.

"Say something, please", whispered Nico softly.

"What?", snorted Joe nearly viciously. "My big brother is a _rapist_?! That sound good? H—How did I not know that?! All the projects I shares with him, e—everything! I always knew he isn't the best person on the planet, but many of us Vulcan-kids are socially awkward, I never thought..."

Nico knew that especially Sara and Joe deserved to know of the secret that Sam had shared with them. Joe was Leroy's sister, after all. And right now, she looked disgusted by herself for not knowing. Nico knew that feeling, she had felt the exact same way. She stood up and walked over to the dark-skinned girl, wrapping her arms tightly around Joe in a comforting hug.

"I know. I mean, I did the same, after all. I even entrusted him with the bunker", muttered Nico. "But you're not him and it's not your fault one of your half-brothers turned out to be a pig."

Joe just sobbed into Nico's chest and laid her arms around Nico's neck, pressing herself closer to the Latina and for once, not out of sexual intentions. She just relished in the feeling of being held by the only person who could even remotely understand what Joe was feeling right now.

"B—But still, shouldn't we have noticed it?", asked Joe upset and looked at Nico.

"He is damn good at covering up what he is", whispered Nico and shook her head, pulling Joe back in again. "But I promise you, we'll take care of him once this quest is over. We others already agreed on that, he will _never_ hurt someone again and he won't continue ruining our reputation."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this, we're officially caught up! No daily updates anymore. Next update will follow once I get the next chapter written!


	71. One More di Angelo (Parental Life Part IX)

71\. One More di Angelo (Parental Life Part IX)

 

It was a lazy Saturday morning in the di Angelo household. Or so Nico hoped, from where he stood on the balcony of their hotel room in Venice, overseeing the beautiful city he had been born in.

His birthday-present for Percy, even though Nico had been feeling a little awkward about the trip after Jack's little slip. Two days ago, Nico had learned about Percy's pregnancy at the chatter-mouth of their youngest child. Percy had yet to tell Nico himself.

Nico had waited, had spend the whole day yesterday waiting for Percy to spill the beans. When he had gone to bed on Thursday, without Percy saying a word about the pregnancy, he had thought that maybe Percy wanted to surprise Nico and tell him in Venice. But Friday came around and they traveled to Venice via shadow-traveling. They checked into their hotel, ate lunch together. Nothing.

They had toured the city together, Percy hanging off his arm, giddy and curious and excited like a little puppy. There was no indication that anything was different, that Percy was _pregnant_. No word left those rosy, delicious lips, not when they had sex that night, not when they were cuddled up afterward, nothing. Nico hadn't slept at all that night, just stared at Percy's sleeping form and resting a hand on the flat belly of his husband. Had he done something wrong? Had he broken Percy's trust, or why didn't the gorgeous son of Poseidon want to tell _him_ about the pregnancy?

Now it was Saturday morning and Nico stood on the balcony of their suit, drinking a coffee. He had ordered them breakfast. Room-service. Because today, they would _talk_. Even if it may ruin their little weekend-getaway, they were not going to leave this room before Percy had explained himself.

“Morning, handsome”, murmured a hoarse, tired voice from behind him.

He could feel Percy pressing up against his back, arms around Nico's waist. Nico grunted in reply.

“How long have you been awake? I saw breakfast standing on the table, but I didn't see you anywhere”, mumbled Percy sleepily, rubbing his nose against Nico's shoulder-blades. “Why didn't you stay in bed? You know how much I love waking up in your strong arms, husband mine. We don't get to do that often enough, what with our work-schedules... You can't take my Nico- cuddles away from me, amato marito. I demand for you to come back to bed now.”

Nico turned, he wanted to be hurt and angry because Percy was keeping this baby a secret from him so far, but how could he, really? Not when Percy had his cheek planted against Nico's chest, his sea-green eyes half-lid as he looked up at Nico, rosy lips pushed forward in an adorable pout, black hair still messy from last night's sleep (and intercourse) and the rest of Percy's body only wrapped into one of Nico's old t-shirts. It was impossible to stay mad at all of _that_. Combing one hand through the unruly mess of his husband's hair, he rested the other hand on Percy's lower back, pulling the older demigod closer. The hand on Percy's lower back pushed the shirt up a little and Nico put some pressure onto it, caressing the overly sensitive spot with his thumb, making Percy moan.

“Even after twenty years...”, mused Nico softly, grinning a little. “So sensitive...”

“What can I say?”, huffed Percy embarrassed, his cheeks flushing a little. “It _was_ my mortal spot. The only place on my body able to be penetrated to kill me. Of course there's be some left-over sensitivity. Besides, _you_ 're the one who enjoys it oh-so much.”

“It's my third most favorite part of your body...”, shrugged Nico nonchalantly.

“Third?”, inquired Percy intrigued and leaned up some, on the tips of his toes.

“Your lower back is nice for teasing you and leaving beautiful hickeys on the sensitive flesh, yes, but I can hardly fuck your lower back, can I?”, retorted Nico with a grin, squeezing Percy's butt.

“Figures that my ass wins”, snorted Percy and rolled his eyes.

“Actually, no”, hummed Nico, his voice soft and tender as he leaned down some. “Because as much as I enjoy fucking you, your ass wasn't what made me fall in love with you. As many hours as I could spend inside of you, I could spend days and days without rest just staring into your gorgeous eyes, watching how they change color, more dark blue when you're angry, like the raging sea, a brighter green whenever you're happy. Those perfect bluish-green gems you call eyes, showing all the love and passion and especially even your compassion and tenderness.”

“You're such a perv, but you're even more of a sap”, whispered Percy fondly, bridging the last inch.

Their lips met in a tender kiss while Nico's hands squeezed Percy's butt and lifted him up on it. Percy giggled into their kiss and he wrapped his legs around Nico's waist. The son of Hades carried his husband back inside and laid him out on the bed. Percy had his hands above his head, staring longingly and invitingly over at his husband. But the Ghost King turned his back on him to get the trays with breakfast and arrange them around his beloved. Percy looked grateful for that.

“Mh, breakfast in bed”, purred Percy delighted, while tugging on Nico's hand.

The son of Hades obeyed and sat down next to Percy, snuggling up against the form of his lover that fit so perfectly against his own body. One arm found its way around Percy's waist as the two of them started eating in content silence. It were those serene, tender moments that made Nico fall in love with Percy all over again. Because it made Nico feel as though he was the only one capable of taming that hyperactive bundle of ADHD demigod that was his beloved husband.

“I love you”, whispered Nico, his lips against Percy's temple. “Sometimes, I love you so much that it hurts. And sometimes, even after all these years, I still can't believe that you're mine.”

“Wow”, grunted Percy and pushed the plate with the last crumbs of his meal away. “Okay, what brought that on? Sudden declarations of love, that I'm used to, but the whole seriousness?”

“We... We need to talk, Perseus”, stated Nico in a neutral voice.

“Uhm... Not sure if I like that tone?”, mumbled Percy nervously and sat up. “What's wrong?”

“I love you more than life and death itself”, started Nico slowly. “But... when you keep secrets from me, it makes me feel as though you don't trust me, as though you don't love me enough to trust me.”

“What... What are you talking about, Nick?”, asked the son of Poseidon softly.

“When the Stolls returned Jackie the other day and I tugged him into bed, he asked me to tell you that he wants to meet his baby sister and that you should give her to him soon”, replied Nico. “He overheard your conversation with Thess, when you told _Thess_ that you're pregnant. H—How could you tell our _son_ before you tell _me_? I just... Why wouldn't you tell me? Do you think I may not be as excited, since you kind of sprang this pregnancy on me? Or have _you_ changed your mind, was the whole wanting-another-kid just a midlife-crisis because you turned the big four-o? Or are you just... I have no idea. Which is why I would have appreciated to hear about this from _you_.”

Percy remained silent, but he turned away from Nico, drawing his legs up against his chest. This defensive side of Percy hurt Nico more than it should. The son of Hades stood and heaved a sigh, taking the trays of food off the bed and placing them on the table.

“I'm sorry”, whispered the son of Poseidon sullen.

“I don't want to hear that you're sorry, I want to know why our five-years-old had to tell me that I'll be a father instead of my husband!”, exclaimed Nico furiously, his hands above his head. “I just... I still remember when you first learned that you were pregnant with Bianca Maria. I was in the middle of a meeting with Annabeth, Chiron, Piper, Lou and Grover, when all of a sudden, you came barging in, jumping over the table, right into my lap, the stupid pregnancy test clutched to your chest like it was the most precious thing on this planet. Ten minutes. It took you ten minutes to run from our bathroom to my office and tell me that we'll have a baby. It's been two days now, Percy.”

But the lowly whispered answer was so heart-breaking that any disappointment or anger vanished into thin air. “I—I don't want to disappoint you, I just wanted to wait until after the first trimester...”

“What in the world are you talking about, Percy?”, asked Nico confused and sat down next to his husband, pulling the son of Poseidon close. “Why would you say that? Or think it?”

“Because you took it even worse than I did when we lost the baby. And I just... it's been so fast, that I got pregnant. The last time we had such a fast confirmation was with Donny and I don't know... what if that's a bad omen? I just don't... want to disappoint you...”, mumbled Percy.

“You don't want to disappoint me by losing the baby...”, concluded Nico stunned. “You idiot. H—How could you _say_ that?! That would be like _blaming_ you for losing the baby. Of course it hurt when we lost the baby, it hurt immensely, more than anything ever had. But I'd never blame you for it. The baby was... was weak and not... ready... It was just... natural, it happens, sometimes. It was nothing you did, you... You still blame yourself for it, don't you? Even after twelve years.”

“Twelve years and two months”, whispered Percy, barely audible. “He, or she, would be eleven now. Maybe have your powers, be a little underworldly bad-ass, or love the ocean like I do... Maybe an athlete? Or perhaps a little wise-ass? A boy, or a girl? Your eyes, or mine...?”

Percy sobbed into his chest and went practically boneless. Nico closed his eyes tightly as he hugged his husband closer, cradling the son of Poseidon against his chest. Caressing the messy hair soothingly, Nico placed a kiss on top of Percy's head. Percy may have been saying that it hit Nico harder, but it hadn't. Nico understood the circle of life in a way no one else aside from a child of Hades could and unlike Percy, Nico already knew how the loss of a family member felt – his mother, his sister, now his unborn child. But Percy, the one blessed to give life, he had not been able to keep the baby inside of him alive. It had crushed Nico, yes, but it had _broken_ Percy.

“I thought... I thought you got better. That the sessions with Austin helped you?”, asked Nico concerned. “I... I mean, of course you didn't get over it, but... Still?”

“It was _my_ baby and I couldn't protect it. No therapist will fix that”, mumbled Percy. “What if I'll fail this baby too? What if I'm not strong enough for the both of us? I—I... just wanted to make sure that we're safe before I'd tell you, really. I wanted to tell you, but... but I didn't want to...”

“My beautiful, beautiful moron”, sighed Nico and shook his head. “You should have _told_ me. Not about the pregnancy – well, that too – but that you still feel that way. That you're still blaming yourself. You're supposed to share those worries with me, Percy. I don't want you to suffer so much on your own. I'm hurting too about the baby whose life we missed out on, but... Silly and Jimmy and Jack, they're _here_. Even after you lost the baby, you _survived_ and you gave me those three incredible, wonderful little darlings. You stayed strong through two pregnancies afterward. You are not just the strongest hero Olympus knows, you're the strongest person I know. And you're an amazing mother. Our children love you and this one will love you too, once it joins us.”

He placed a tender hand on Percy's stomach, getting a little space between them. Both of them stared down at the hand, before Percy laid his own hands on top of Nico's. Slowly, the son of Poseidon lifted his head to lock eyes with his husband. Sea-green eyes were red-rimmed.

“We're having a baby, Nico”, whispered Percy softly, offering his husband a small smile.

“We're having a baby”, nodded the son of Hades and kissed his lover.

They kissed, tenderly and slow, Percy leaning against his husband until the son of Hades was sprawled out on the bed, with Percy curled on top of his chest. They remained that way for a moment, until Percy was calmed down some, with Nico caressing him.

“We'll put Will on speed-dial. We'll take weekly check-ups, we'll call him and Katie and consult them on the best balanced diet there is for someone pregnant. I'll cut my shifts shorter so I can watch the kids more often, to take some stress off you. You'll stop doing any dangerous kind of training at the dojo. We'll... do this. Together. This baby _will_ survive and it will be beautiful and amazing, just like its mother”, whispered Nico softly, lips against Percy's forehead.

“You're right”, nodded Percy, giving Nico the best guilty-puppy eyes possible, perfected by the quivering lower lip. “I'm sorry. I should have told you. Everything. I just... I'm not good with feeling guilty and you already lost so much family and because of me, you lost another member of your family. I mean, when I told you about Bianca's death...”

Nico winced. Percy was sensitive, emotional. He had taken Nico's reaction back then bad. Very bad. Nico knew that Percy had spend a lot of time beating himself up about Bianca's death.

“And neither was your fault, Percy”, stated Nico calmly, honestly. “You're the best person I know. And I _know_ you would have rather given your own life if it could have saved either of them. _Please_ believe me that I _never_ blamed you for Orion Grover's, or Andromeda Clarisse's, death. It wasn't... meant to be. That... happens. Without anyone being at fault. I never, not even for a second, blamed you for losing the baby. Do you want to know what I truly thought back then?”

“I... don't know?”, asked Percy unsure, looking worried.

“I was _grateful_ ”, replied Nico, which first of all earned him a shocked look from Percy. “I was grateful that you survived. I nearly lost you, alongside with the baby. And the very first thing I could think when Will came back out of that ER, telling me that he managed to save your life, but lost the baby, the very first thing I could think was _Thank you, thank you for not taking my Percy_.”

Percy stared at him with large eyes, tears running freely down his cheeks. “But...”

“No. No buts. I didn't think, not for a second, that I'd rather have the baby alive and you gone. You're my _life_ , Percy. You're my world, my everything. I could never lose you and all I could think was just how lucky I was that the baby didn't take you with it”, admitted Nico, his voice hoarse. “You nearly died and I... I nearly lost you. And I can never lose you. I'm stronger than you give me credit for, Percy. I've lived through losing my mother, my sister, our baby, but I could never live with losing you, Percy. Whatever happens, I will always be at your side.”

“I love you”, mumbled Percy and kissed Nico tenderly, snuggling up to Nico.

“Let's nap some more, amore”, suggested Nico and adjusted Percy to lay on his lap, all sprawled out. “And when we wake up again, everything will be alright and we'll go and eat gelato.”

“Mh... ice-cream...”, purred Percy and closed his eyes, snuggling even more into his husband's embrace. “And pizza, please? And a walk at the beach... mh...”

“Everything you want, amore”, promised Nico tenderly.

 

/break\

 

This time around, when Percy woke up, he found himself in the secure hold of his beloved husband. Smiling slightly, he rubbed his nose along Nico's collarbone. He wasn't always feeling so insecure and depressed, but whenever he held a pregnancy-test in his hands, the fear came rushing in again. And this time even worse, since Jack had been a complicated pregnancy and he had nearly lost the little bugger. So what if this time around, he won't be so lucky to keep the baby alive? What if he'd lose it again? He wouldn't be able to live through this. Getting up, he took a calming shower. Nico was right. He should have shared this with Nico, because Nico made him feel better. He could handle _everything_ , as long as he had Nico at his side. After the shower, he felt his spirits very much lifted. This baby would live, this baby would join them and be as wonderful and happy as all of their other children. Smiling brightly, he got dressed in white shorts and a blue shirt.

“Nico! Nico, Nico, Nico!”, exclaimed Percy and jumped onto the bed again.

The son of Hades grunted and cracked one eye open. “Percy...? This mood is concerning.”

“I just have the best husband on the entire planet”, grinned Percy and kissed Nico. “I'm sorry I scared you like that. I was just very... worried. I guess I was panicking. But... I have you and as long as I have you, everything will, one way or the other, turn out well.”

“That's the Percy I know”, smiled Nico and pulled Percy into another kiss.

He could still see the lingering pain in Percy's eyes and he knew the doubts wouldn't go away until they'd be holding their little bundle of joy in their arms, but he was adamant on helping Percy and making him feel as good as possible. Standing up, he hastily got changed into a pair of black skinny-jeans (just to tease his husband) and a black tank-top.

“Let's get out of here. We have to take a lot of photos and buy tons of souvenirs before the end of the day, or else our children will be pouting a lot”, grinned Nico, offering his arm for Percy.

“A tour through the city. Maybe a gondola drive when the sun is setting?”, asked Percy with a grin.

“Anything for you, amore”, nodded Nico amused, pulling his husband closer.

 

/break\

 

They had walked _a lot_ , even though they had already done nearly the same the other day, but Venice was just too beautiful to be covered in one day. They had bought souvenirs at every store they saw. A mermaid figurine for Silly, a leather cord with a pirate skull for Jimmy, a teddy bear with a Venetian mask for Jack, a real, black and blue Venetian mask for Donny, a hair pin with shells and pearls for Thess, a black leather wrist-band for Percy. Their kids should be happy.

“How is your pizza, amato marito?”, asked Nico tentatively.

They were sitting in a little restaurant, a really cozy place, with dimmed light, candles, romantic music. Percy was a goner. Especially once the waiter had brought him the pizza that was practically being inhaled by the son of Poseidon. Their bags were standing under the table, four filled with clothes, souvenirs and lots of other stuff. Nico wasn't even sure what exactly, he had just always gotten his wallet out when Percy's eyes started to sparkle and zoomed in on a window. Today had been all about lifting Percy's mood and making him happy. Nico knew that a depressed mother wasn't exactly good for the baby, so Nico had to ensure that Percy knew how much Nico loved and supported him. That Nico didn't blame Percy for anything that had happened.

“Oh! You have to see what I bought!”, exclaimed Percy as he was through with his pizza.

Nico cocked one eyebrow and continued eating his tortellini. Percy smiled brightly at Nico as he held up a blue babygrow with _I <3 Venezia_ on the chest. There were also bunny-ears attached to a hood and a bobble at the butt. It was a bunny-babygrow-costume that loved Venice.

“Are you... for real?”, asked Nico amused.

“It's _adorable_!”, exclaimed Percy, waving the babygrow around. “Our bambino, or bambina, will look completely worship-worthy! Besides, I think Jackie is already the family-member that's looking forward to this baby the most and you know how much he loves bunnies!”

“Were you... serious about the names? The suggestions?”, asked Nico slowly, unsure.

“Uhm... Yes? Unless you don't like them, of course”, added Percy hastily.

“I was just a little surprised. Hazel Pandora. You want to name the baby after my sister and, well, _Pandora_ ”, grunted Nico amused, cocking one eyebrow. “But what about Richard Achilles?”

“Richard was the name of my mother's uncle, the one that raised her after her parents died in that plane-crash. He is the one who raised my mother to be the wonderful person she is. And since we already named one of our children respectively after my mother, my stepfather, my father, my brother, my grandmother and my grandmother, I also wanted to honor uncle Rich...”

All their children had a namesake from Percy's family, all aside from Bianca Maria. Their firstborn to honor the family Nico had already lost. The second two children they had united both Percy's family and Nico's family – Hades Poseidon and Sally Persephone. After them, their next three children had been named after a member of Percy's family and a great hero. Theseus Paul, James Charles and Laura Silena. Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf, two great heroes that had been a great loss for Percy. And James and Laura Jackson were Percy's grandparents. Jackson Tyson had been supposed to be their last child, because Percy had nearly lost the baby and Nico had decided he wouldn't put Percy through another pregnancy if that was what it did to him.

“But Achilles and Pandora?”, continued Nico stubbornly.

“Achilles' curse is what saved me _a lot_ in the past, so I'm grateful to him. And Pandora is the guard of Hope. Many may not view her as a hero or such, but... she protects Hope”, replied Percy.

“I think they're perfect”, nodded Nico with a small smile and leaned over the table to kiss Percy.

Percy smiled brilliantly at Nico and they finished their dinner, surrounded by a happy glow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this thing that I do on FFNet, teasing about the next chapter at the end of the current chapter. And now that I'm caught up, I'll start that tradition here too.
> 
> The next chapter will focus more on Sam, since we DO get to see his uncle Liam and the confrontaction between them is the key here. Also, the German girls will leave and Donny will be an awesome leader!


	72. Four Greeks not Allied

72\. Four Greeks not Allied

 

“So... this is good bye then?”, asked Nico a little upset, shifting some.

Arielle and Ulrika were facing her, nodding slowly. They had reached Munich and the two Germans would take the next train to the Black Forest. Arielle stumbled forward and hugged Phyl and Donny tightly for a second, while Rika pulled Nico in for a kiss, hot and fierce. Joe was gritting her teeth as she watched them, but Sara kept her best friend at bay, because this _was_ good bye. She didn't want a fight now that they would part ways. Marshall was carrying the birdcage with Herc and Thea to the door of the villa where Sam, Derek, Sander and Trend were already standing.

“I'll miss you”, whispered Arielle, ruffling Donny's hair. “You're the first water-bender I met.”

“You should come and visit New Athens sometime”, grinned Donny. “Mom would love to meet you and I'm sure my siblings would be eager too. It'd be great!”

“I'll make sure to drop by some time”, nodded Arielle with a small grin of her own.

“It was nice to meet you”, smiled Phylicia softly.

Rika was all the while holding Nico's neck with one hand, their lips half an inch apart. “Stay safe and make sure the girl who gets you is worthy. And call if your bed is too... cold.”

She winked and grinned as Nico caught a little fire around the ears. Nico, Joe, Sara, Phyl and Donny stayed at the sidewalk and watched until Rika and Arielle disappeared around the corner. Only then did they turn toward their other friends standing in front of the villa. Sam stood in front of the doorbell, his hand hovering two inches from the button, shaking a little with nerves. Derek and Trend were flanking him on one side. Sara looked concerned at her big brother, but she didn't dare to approach him. Marshall noticed that concerned and reached out to take her hand. She hadn't dared to even look Sam in the eyes since yesterday. Then again, she had spend the whole night bailing her eyes out in Marshall's lap, repeating over and over again that she couldn't believe her big brother wouldn't trust her enough to tell her the truth, denying that something that horrible could have happened to her amazing, awesome and lovable big brother. Marshall had just held her in silence and caressed her back until she had cried herself to sleep.

“We're kind of a lot of demigods. Joe and me will stay on the ship, keep it protected, you guys can handle this yourselves, right?”, suggested Nico as she stared at the house and its label.

_O'Riley/Torrington Investigations – Privatdetektive und Schatzjäger_

“Good idea”, nodded Donny as he read the plate. “Private investigators and relic hunters?”

“Uhu. They're hunting for old stuff”, nodded Sam and finally pressed the button.

Donny stood farther in the back, trying to hide behind his friends, being held by his fiance. Those were demigods and the eyes of the sea were hard to deny. He really didn't want to know what the former traitors – shouldn't call them that probably, maybe rather rebels – would think of the son of Percy Jackson. Sander noticed his discomfort and leaned in to kiss his temple. Nico and Joe left.

“Lily! Mach die Türe auf, es hat geklingelt! Ich bin am Kochen!”, was screamed inside. [trans: _Open the door, the bell rang! I'm cooking!_ ]

“Ich bin mitten in'nem Spiel, Ally! Kannst du nicht gehen? Bitte, bitte, bitte?”, called someone else. [trans: _I'm in the middle of a game, Ally! Can't you go? Pretty, pretty please?_ ]

There was grumbling and then there were footsteps. Moments later and the door opened. A brunette man around forty stood there, with freckles and green eyes, staring surprised at the lot of them.

“Sam”, stated Alabaster numbly after a moment, staring dead into Sam's eyes.

“How do you know me?”, asked the son of Ares surprised.

Alabaster snorted and rolled his eyes, motioning for them to follow him. Sam's eyes were large as he tried to take everything in. It was a pretty house and the walls in the hall were practically wallpapered in photos of his family. Uncle Liam, of course. Him with aunt Malene and with their four daughters. Malene with her sister – Sam's mother. And Sam. Lots of pictures of Sam, with his cousins, his uncle and aunt, his mother. Sam blushed a little, hiding in Trend's side.

“Lily basically never shuts up about you. You're the son he never got”, grunted Alabaster, half annoyed, half amused. “And I'm assuming it's your fault the brat's here now, right Derek?”

“Uhm... Yeah. Please don't hex me?”, tried the son of Demeter nervously.

“We'll see about that”, muttered Alabaster beneath his breath, glaring at Derek.

Derek did as Sam and hid in Trend's side. The blonde cocked an amused eyebrow as he laid one arm around each of them. Donny would have giggled at it if he wouldn't have been too afraid to be discovered and turned into a toad or something. But Sander's arm around his waist calmed him.

“Ally! Ich hab gewonnen! Dein Rekord ist im Arsch!”, chimed a teasing voice nearby. [trans: _Ally! I won! Your record is broken!_ ]

They entered what appeared to be the living room. Alabaster walked over to the couch, where a black-haired man sat, a game controller in his hand, eyes fixed on the big flat-screen on the wall.

“Lily, we have guests”, stated Alabaster, laying one arm around Liam's shoulders, his mouth next to Liam's ear as he whispered. “To be more exact, _you_ have guests. Take care of them.”

The man looked up and turned to the demigods. He had messy, black hair, pale skin and the brightest blue eyes, which were currently staring at Sam in total shock. The man stood so hastily, he stumbled over his own feet and if not for Alabaster who caught him around the waist, he would have hit the floor face-first. Blushing in embarrassment, he looked up again.

“Sam!”, exclaimed Liam and rushed over, just to pause half-way. “Sam...”

He stopped completely, his face morphing from happiness to something akin to horror. He took slow steps back until he bumped into Alabaster's chest. The older son of Hecate did not look amused as he stared down at Liam critically and pushed him off toward the teens.

“Yes, Sam. Now tell me why your nephew is bothering us here with a whole army of demigods.”

“I have no idea, honestly, Ally!”, exclaimed Liam and turned from Alabaster to Sam. “What...?”

“Derek told me”, blurted Sam out, a hurt expression on his face. “Der told me you're a demigod. That you're both sons of Hecate. Look, I... we wouldn't be here if it weren't important, okay? We kind of got ourselves cursed and my friends may die. We need magic. Please.”

“Give me one good reason why I should help someone who's been send from Camp Half-Blood”, snarled Alabaster viciously. “And stop hiding, son of Poseidon. Don't think I haven't spotted you. You have the same eyes as the one who took my boyfriend away from me during the war.”

“T—That's...”, stammered Donny nervously before taking a deep breath and stepping forward, head held high. “That's because I'm his son and not Poseidon's. I'm Donny di Angelo, I'm the son of Percy Jackson. And if your brother cares even the slightest bit about his nephew, he'll help us, because it's also Sam's life at stake. _I_ don't care what you did during the Titan War and _we_ weren't even born back then. Don't blame us for whatever differences you had with our parents.”

“Of course we'll help!”, blurted Liam out, still staring at Sam. “Shut up, Alabaster, and behave!”

Alabaster threw him a glare that clearly said 'Don't test me, Liam O'Riley!', not that Liam was really caring, he was too busy reaching out and patting Sam's cat-ears. The catboy hissed annoyed.

“Yeah, that's the curse. We had a... fall-out with the Erotes and they cursed us. Some worse than others. Those are our friends Herc and Thea”, explained Sam, pointing at the birds.

There was a very long stretch of silence, one where Liam was still busy patting Sam's head. Sam wanted to protest, but patting really had become a weakness since he was turned into a catboy, so instead, he leaned into the touch and purred loudly. Sara and Marshall were holding the cage with the two birds, Phyl was standing behind Trend and Derek who were at either side of Sam still. Donny stood straight and proud, eyes narrowed as he had a staring contest with Alabaster. Sander was mildly turned on by the way his fiance held his ground against an adult son of Hecate who had magic and fought in the Titan War – and survived. He knew that Donny half a year ago, would have just ran away and hidden in a corner, avoiding any kind of confrontation.

“As long as it will get you out of my house again”, sighed Alabaster and averted his eyes first.

Donny grinned proudly, feeling like a victor. He knew the only reason Alabaster agreed to help them was Liam, but that was okay. As long as there was someone helping him, because as adorable as puppy!Sander was, his behavior became more and more puppy-like and less and less human.

“Thank you”, said Donny softly. “Uhm... How does it work?”

Alabaster pulled a knife out, which got the crew into a fighting stance (aside from Sam, who was still busy with Liam), but that only made Alabaster cock his head. “What? You expect me to say abracadabra and bahm, you're healed? I need the blood of those cursed. Also some fur, or feathers. Liam, stop patting the kitten and get some bowls, will you?”

Liam nodded and tore himself away from his nephew to go and fetch five bowls and a non-waterproof pen to mark the bowls. He wrote _Sam_ on one and handed it, together with the knife, to Sam. The son of Ares hissed a little as he cut his hand, squeezing a bit of blood into the bowl. He growled when Alabaster plunged a bunch of hair off his tail – and the wicked grin on Alabaster's lips told them that he enjoyed this part of 'helping'.

“Now hand it over to the next one, repeat”, ordered Alabaster annoyed. “Liam, you bother with the demigods and halflings, I'll see if we have everything we need.”

He left, most likely because he felt uncomfortable with all the demigods. Trend was growling dangerously, which could also be part of the reason why Alabaster left. The blonde was lapping at the cut on Sam's hand as though that was making anything better. But his instincts were kicking in again full-force when he smelt his mate's blood. Derek all the while wrote the missing names on the other bowls – Sander, Trend, Herc, Thea. Sander cut himself next and Donny kissed his fiance to distract him while ripping some fur out of the puppy-tail, causing Sander to whine pitifully. Sara took the knife next and – getting picked and scratched – got the samples from Herc and Thea.

“Khan”, whispered Sam worried, nudging his boyfriend. “Hey, your turn. Come on, stop it.”

“I think it's getting worse with him too”, commented Donny concerned.

“All the reason more to hurry”, noted Alabaster as he returned. “The potion will take a couple of hours and I do _not_ want you lot lingering here, asking 'Is it done yet?' every ten minutes. Get out of my house. Come back by sunset. I'm serious, I'm not playing host to you lot, you're already getting the nice treatment here because of Liam, be grateful I haven't turned you all into toads yet.”

“Ally is probably right. You should leave. Distract yourself some, take a look around the city. Munich is quite beautiful”, suggested Liam with a short nod, putting the bowls onto the table.

“I'm not leaving”, declared Sam steadily. “I want an explanation and I want it from you, uncle Liam. I don't care if your brother turns me into a toad, I want to know the truth.”

Liam turned to Alabaster with wide, begging eyes, his lower lip pushed forward. The expression lasted until Alabaster groaned in defeat and glared at Sam like he was the bane of his existence.

“Fine, this one can stay. All others, _get out_ ”, growled the son of Hecate fiercely.

Donny thought it wise to listen to the command, but Trend was still holding Sam's hand. The animal inside the blonde, coupled with Trend's natural protectiveness, were making it hard for Trend to leave his lover alone with two strangers. Derek grunted annoyed and hit the blonde hard.

“Move your ass”, demanded the son of Demeter bossily. “He's fine. Liam is his uncle, for Elysium's sake. Hush now, get out of here. I'll show you around Munich, or something. Just let them do their work so they can brew up a potion that returns you all to human.”

Sam grinned amused by his best friend's attitude before pecking Trend's lips for a last time, telling the blonde that he was fine. Donny led his friends outside, feeling extremely relieved that they were out of the witch-house again. They had left Herc, Thea and Sam behind, but he trusted Sam to keep the two birds safe and honestly, Donny didn't think the two sons of Hecate would hurt Thea and Herc, it was more a personal thing that he didn't feel happy or welcome.

“You're getting better at this whole leader-business”, stated Trend amused, before turning serious. “But if something happens to my mate, I will make you regret leaving him behind.”

Trend growled and showed his canines threateningly, which triggered Sander to do the exact same, standing proud and tall in front of Donny, ready to attack if the wolfboy would go after his Donny.

“Okay, boys, down. Both”, said Marshall evenly. “Now is not the time for that.”

“And for what is it the time, then? To sit on the ship and wait _more_?”, asked Sara annoyed.

“I liked their suggestion. Let's go and explore Munich”, offered Derek.

“Well... we do have until sunset and it's barely noon, so...”, drawled Donny thoughtful. “It would be nice to get off the ship and walk a bit. So yeah, that sounds like a nice idea.”

Marshall looked down at his girlfriend. She was still upset and exhausted after last night and he didn't like that. Sara was his cheerful chatter-mouth of a girlfriend.

“Sara and I won't come with you”, stated Marshall. “We'll go on a date.”

“Aw, that's sweet”, grinned Donny softly and turned to the others. “What about you?”

“There's safety in numbers. I wouldn't mind if we'd go and... explore together”, replied Trend.

“I'll sit this one out. I can _feel_ the puppy inside of me”, muttered Sander, scratching himself behind his ear. “I think it'd be safer if I'm staying at the ship, I don't want to chase cars or something.”

“It would be good if you'd stay and protect the ship while the tinkerers are busy”, nodded Donny in agreement. “So Trend, me and Phyl will go with Derek and we'll all meet again at sunset.”

 

/break\

 

Liam sat on the couch in his living room, shifting nervously, clinging to his cup of tea. He stared at Sam, waiting for the first question or request or accusation or _anything_. He gulped hard.

“Why did you join the Titans?”, whispered Sam, staring into his own cup of tea. “Derek wouldn't tell me, he said it was your story to tell. So tell me. Why did you decide to betray camp?”

“Things were different back then, Sam”, started Liam nervously, putting his tea aside before spilling it. “Children of the minor gods were... treated like something lesser, something unimportant. We were cramped into the Hermes Cabin like useless left-overs that no one wanted. My mother, Hecate, she was a goddess far before Zeus and his siblings had been born. My mother controls magic, she created the mist that protects all of the Olympian's children, but how was she repaid? By her siblings sleeping on the floor in Hermes' cabin. Yeah, that is respect, totally. My mother joined the Titans. She's a Titan Goddess, she is from the old-age. My siblings and I, we partly just followed mother's lead. But we were mostly following Luke's lead. Luke was our cabin-head, after all, we did live in his cabin. His brother Chris, our friend Ethan... Tell me, tell me honestly, if there was a war, if you and your siblings were being disrespected like that, if your father had turned the other side, if all your friends _and_ your siblings had chosen that side... would you have truly stuck up for the gods? After they brought you nothing but pain and everything that made camp bearable, everyone who made you feel loved and cherished, would leave, would you truly stick with the gods instead of going with those who you care for? I don't even want you to answer that, to be honest. I just want you to _think_ about it. If faced with the same decision, I would still do the same. And I know – I _know_ – that what we did was the right thing. The revolution was what opened their eyes. Without us fighting, Percy Jackson would have never made the gods claim their children, or build cabins for the minor gods. Without the Titan War, every child of a minor god that you know would still be cramped into the Hermes Cabin and there would still be dozens unclaimed demigods running around, wondering who they were and why their parent didn't even care enough to claim them. Without the Titan War, something like your New Athens and your DPS wouldn't have been possible. What _we_ did is what brought peace, not what those on your side did. Percy Jackson and his friends just blindly followed the gods and their every order. I regret... I regret those I lost, but I do not regret the war and I do not regret my choices, Samuel.”

Sam frowned and averted his eyes, trying to picture it. He knew that Percy Jackson had been the one to change the ways camp was and he guessed that Liam was right, without the Titan War, Percy would have just been a regular camper and would have never gotten to make such a demand toward the gods. Sam closed his eyes for a moment and tried to picture it. Phyl would probably be unclaimed. Jonas Meyer, the son of Enyalios, Erik Anderson, the son of Enyo, Lila Lovegood, the daughter of Hecate, and Rainbow Jordan, the daughter of Eris. They would all be staying in the Hermes Cabin. Marshall too. And they would be _living_ there. Sam too. There would be no DPS, maybe not even a New Athens. Those without parents would be 'year rounders', living in a summer camp, those in the Hermes Cabin sleeping on the floor _all year long_. It wasn't a nice picture to paint, if he was being honest. And if he kept thinking... Would Sander and Donny even exist? If demigods didn't have the safety of New Athens to grow up and have children. After all, before Percy's generation, it was rare for demigods to even reach the age of sixteen, much less have off-springs themselves. Or would they live in New Rome? Would Sam had simply not met Sander and Donny then, because they would be Romans? Argh, all the possibilities made his head ache.

“And why didn't you tell me?”, asked Sam instead, looking up at his uncle.

“The gods won the war and they were less than pleased with those of us who lived through the war. They didn't kill us, but they banished us. We are forbidden from contacting the gods or any of the 'upright' demigods. You _are_ one of those upright demigods. You became a hero to the gods and now that you know, you shouldn't even _talk_ to me, much less visit me. If the gods catch on with that, they may banish you too, for conspiring with traitors or whatever ridiculous thing they came up with. Every time we met after you moved to New Athens, you were... glowing with happiness. Those friends you made there, they meant a lot to you. Still mean a lot to you, obviously. And the fact that you didn't have to move around all the time, that you could find your roots and be with others who understood what no one aside from demigods can understand. I didn't want to be the one to take that away from you, Sammy. I still don't want to. I thought... as long as you didn't know the truth, the gods couldn't punish you for it. I was trying to protect you because I love you.”

Sam nodded numbly, trying to find something else to say. “So you don't have contact to other demigods at all? A—And... and other... former rebels?”

“Ally, I was looking for him for years before I finally found him. He's my older brother, well, older by barely a year but he likes to point it out anyway”, muttered Liam with an affectionate smile. “We used to be five children of Hecate during the Titan War. Our older brother Morgan died in the Battle of Manhattan, our younger sister Magenta died when the Princess Andromeda was sunken by Charles Beckendorf and Percy Jackson. She was twelve at the time. And then there was Lou Ellen. She hadn't... she hadn't followed us. She had friends, outside of our cabin. Nyssa and Shane from the Hephaestus Cabin, Austin and Kayla from Apollo Cabin, Lacy and Mitchell from Aphrodite Cabin. And Miranda, the daughter of Demeter. Her wife, now. We still have contact, Lou... insisted. She's risking everything, the pretty life she has now, because Ally and I, we're the only siblings of hers who are still alive. Sure, there have been other children of Hecate since then, but we are the last ones from her generation, the last ones she grew up with in the Hermes Cabin. She visits, sometimes. With her children Basty and Kitty. Keeps us up to date with what is going on...”

“Basty. Alabaster. Alabaster Ellen, he's... named after _your_ Alabaster”, stated Sam stunned.

“Back when Ally had still been lost and I was searching for him. She was hopeful, she prayed he'd still be alive. We knew Morgan and Maggie were dead, but we were... we didn't know about Alabaster”, whispered Liam softly and nodded.

“Liam. Less sob-stories, more helping!”, called Alabaster from the kitchen, obviously annoyed.

“Right”, nodded Liam embarrassed and stood. “Uhm, can I offer you something to eat while you wait? You could eat in the kitchen, we could... talk more. I'd love to hear all about your heroics. Hey, don't look at me like that. Just because I'm against the gods doesn't mean I don't appreciate a demigod who stands up for the safety and the rights of his fellow demigods. And I want to hear _all_ about the blonde boy with the wolf-tail that you kissed just there, Samuel. Details.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have the Marsara date, Sara gets to kick some monster's butt and Derek takes the others shopping!


	73. Bavarian Beauty and its Beasts

73\. Bavarian Beauty and its Beasts

"Okay, where do we start?", asked Donny eagerly, staring around wide-eyed.

He hadn't been in Germany in months and he had never been to Munich before, but it was a beautiful city. Sara and Marshall had split off their group to go on a date, leaving Donny alone with Derek, Phyl and Trend. He had the urge to go shopping, but he didn't know about the others. He had never spend any time with Derek before and Trend didn't exactly peck him as a shopper. And he didn't know Phyl at all, but maybe the shy girl would like it?

"Oh, I know exactly where we're going", hummed Derek with a mischievous grin.

He had his smartphone in one hand, checking an address, while he had his other arm hooked into Phyl's, pulling the daughter of Persephone along. The children of Hephaestus had long since developed phones that worked even for demigods without emitting their location to any monsters. Well, it had been Leo Valdez who had developed and invented them. Putting the phone back into his pocket, Derek looked quizzically over at Trend and Donny. Donny leaned over to throw a skeptical look at Trend, who just shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"What I learned in the six months of our relationship is: Never disobey him when he's set his mind on something", chuckled the son of Athena. "Just follow him. Let's see what he's thinking."

"Good boy", praised Derek mischievously and led the way.

Donny frowned confused when they reached a shop with a sign with neon-letters _Lorenzos Luxus Tierhandlung_ – Lorenzo's Luxury Pet-Shop. It looked fancy, but even so; why a pet-shop?

"What are we doing here, Derek? This is a pet-shop", pointed Donny out.

"You speak German", noted Derek curiously. "How handy. Come, come. We'll buy collars for the adorable pets. There are a puppy and a kitten in dire need of collars."

Trend grunted and straightened his Barrett that hid his wolf-ears. He was already grateful enough that Derek hadn't suggested a collar for him, because his inner wolf would have probably ripped Derek apart for that. The four of them headed over to an aisle filled with different collars.

"It's a luxury pet-shop, so this is quality-work, not just simple plastic that won't last", grinned Derek and strode through the aisle, taking everything in. "Now, what to pick, what to pick... Oh! This!"

Donny was too much in awe to even really take anything in but the sudden exclamation got his attention. He followed Trend over to Derek to see the collar Derek was holding. It was a red leather collar with a red ceramic rose at its center and a golden bell right beneath the rose.

"A rose?", chuckled Donny with one cocked eyebrow, nudging Derek. "That's awfully possessive of you, Flower Power. You know Sam is Trend's boyfriend, right?"

"It represents Trend. That's hardly my fault", shrugged Derek nonchalantly. "Just... convenient."

"How does a rose represent Trend? An owl, yeah, but... a rose?", questioned Donny.

"His name", said Derek, rolling his eyes. "Trendafil is Greek and means rose."

"Trend...afil?", repeated Donny and giggled, looking at Trend. "Trend's short for Trendafil?"

"We don't talk about it. Ever", grunted Trend with a glare. "And you won't tell _anyone_."

"Sure, Trendafil", grinned Donny and nudged Trend. "You delicate flower, you."

"I'll give you delicate flower if you don't stop it now, di Angelo", warned Trend. "And no collar."

"Why not?", whined Derek, holding the collar up. "Imagine the cute little kitten with the collar, how he tilts his head and the bell chimes at that, those large eyes looking at you..."

Phyl blushed a little as she imagined the cute mohawked boy with a collar. Those boys were _kinky_.Trend grunted and grabbed the collar, holding onto it and avoiding Derek's eyes. The son of Demeter snickered knowingly. And then Derek continued down the aisle, tugging Donny along.

"I'm not going to buy a collar for my Sander!", objected Donny with a frown. "That's mean."

"Why? He has already been your lap-dog even before he turned into a puppy", grinned Derek and stopped. "Oh. This is perfect. It's his favorite color and this shade resembles your eyes. The perfect fit for Sander. You could engrave it with something like _Donny's_. Very classy."

Donny frowned thoughtful and stared at the collar. It was turquoise leather, but a lighter shade that really did resemble Donny's eyes. There was a golden oval tag on it, blank for engraving. It was kind of cute and it would look totally adorable on Sander. Donny bit his lips hard.

"You could also engrave the name you always call him", suggested Trend softly.

"Eroe?", asked Donny, earning himself a nod from Trend. "Why are _you_ making suggestions?"

"Because if I give Sammy a collar, he'll think it's a bad joke and he'll probably kick me where it really hurts", stated Trend. "But if you give Sander a collar, Sander will love it, simply because it's from you. And once Sander would wear your collar, Sammy would feel more inclined to wearing mine. So you're going to buy that collar for Sander."

Donny frowned thoughtful and started at the pretty thing. It would look so great on Sander!

"He really would love it. He adores you so much", noted Phyl with a smile and a dreamy expression. "Yo two make such a great couple, it's incredibly adorable."

Donny grinned brightly at that. "Thank you! It really makes me happy to hear that."

"Such simple joy", snorted Trend and rolled his eyes.

/break\

Marshall was sitting at a table in front of a café, looking through the menu with one eye and watching Sara with the other. It most likely looked like she was chasing away pigeons or something when in reality, she was hacking away onto Myrmekes Indikoi – giant, Indian ants. They were about the size of a dalmatian or something. Sara was growling as she wielded her sword. She was surrounded by about two dozen of them, but Marshall didn't worry. After all, his girlfriend had told him to order cake and drinks for them. She needed to blow off some steam. Her brother, her beloved big brother who she adored more than anyone else, had been raped. And he hadn't trusted her enough to share this information with her. It hurt her a lot. Marshall understood that, he was a little miffed himself, but he also understood Sam. Those kind of things weren't exactly what anyone would like to share. Sam had probably been embarrassed or even felt like it was his fault.

"Excuse me, miss?", called Marshall out, waving a waitress over. "A black coffee, a strawberry milkshake with extra whipped cream and two pieces of this Black Forest Cherry Cake, please."

The waitress nodded and walked away again. Marshall turned his chair to watch Sara. She was so elegant when she whirled around with her sword held high. The fire burning in her eyes was enchanting. She was so beautiful when she was angry and furious like that.

"Did it all went well?", asked Marshall as she joined him again, panting hard. "You have some... uhm... monster dust on your cheek, strawberry shortcake?"

"Oh", grunted Sara and rubbed her cheeks. "Well, I could have used some more..."

The waitress returned and place the drinks and the delicious treats in front of them. Sara was leaning back in her chair, looking exhausted and satisfied. A fight was what she had needed. Grabbing her milkshake, she started to blow bubbles into her drink.

"I just don't understand... How did I not know? I mean... H—He beat Sam, how didn't I know that he did... m—more...?", asked Sara softly, staring at her cake and poking it with her fork. "I should have noticed. I could have helped him. A—All those years..."

"Sar-bear", whispered Marshall softly and reached out to caress her hand with his thumb. "You couldn't have done anything, Sara. He didn't want the help. He wasn't ready to talk about it. And look at him now. He opened up more, he's... happy. Right now, he's happy. Don't dwell on the past, on what had happened. Think of the now. Right now, he's happy. Isn't that good?"

"I... I... yeah", nodded Sara with a frown. "I guess so..."

"And if you want to kill more, we can always go to have Indian afterward", added Marshall.

"Mh?", grunted Sara around a mouth full of cake.

"The Giant Ants. They're Indian. I don't think it's a coincident that there's an Indian restaurant right on the other side of the street. Let's check it out", offered Marshall amused.

Sara's head whirled around and she noticed the Indian restaurant, with two Indian girls. Though the girls had hair that was set on fire. But it didn't bother them. Mh... She watched more intensely and saw how they hobbled outside to wipe the tables. Donkey-legs.

"Empusae", stated the daughter of Mars intrigued.

"What do you say? One for you, one for me?", smirked Marshall.

"But first the cake", grinned Sara broadly, licking her lips.

/break\

"Why in the world do you have puppy-ears?!"

"Don't tease, Carry", whined Sander and blushed, his ears twitching.

His little sister was too busy holding her stomach and laughing. "You look ridiculous!"

"Shut up", mumbled Sander, glaring at the IM image of his younger sister. "I'm right now regretting calling you, you brat! I just wanted to check in and see if you're doing fine, but obviously your big brother is only good for a joke, or what?"

"Oh, stop pouting, Sandy", huffed Carry and rolled her chocolate-brown eyes. "Okay. Tell me. How are you? Is your quest dangerous and adventurous and awesome?"

Her eyes sparkled in with greed only a child of War could muster when talking about danger. Sander laughed softly, scratching himself behind his ear and wiggling his nose.

"I'm a puppy. As you can see. But we found a solution for that so _please_ don't tell mom. I'd never live the teasing down!", whined Sander with begging eyes.

"Okay, okay", sighed Carry with a slight pout. "Now tell me, where are you?"

"Germany. At the moment. But I don't know where we're going next...", frowned Sander thoughtful.

"Cool!", yelped Carry and clapped loudly. "And what did you fight? What monsters?"

Sander grinned and leaned back. It had been a good idea to call Carry. He was starting to really miss his family, so getting to talk to Carry again was a nice feeling. He really couldn't wait to get back home again, also to get to be with Donny without a quest looming over them.

/break\

Joe grunted as she wiped the sweat off her forehead, glancing over at Nico. They had nearly fixed the Argo II back to her old beauty. Nico had told her about the squirt attack, how it had torn half the ship apart. But now with Joe, Sara, Marshall, Derek and Phyl on the ship, they needed the rooms in full function again. Besides, if they'd return the ship like this, Leo Zhang would probably faint.

"Do you... regret that the daughter of Eris left?", asked Joe slowly.

"Well, yeah. I mean, she and Arielle were a great help for me while the others were all gone", whispered Nico and shrugged. "They're good people. Good demigods."

"And the sex was good too?", grunted Joe, her back to Nico.

"Stop it!", exclaimed Nico and whirled around, glaring at Joe. "Just say whatever it is you have to say! Ever since you and the others joined us here, you've been getting at my case! All the hostility toward Rika, all the mean comments! That's so unlike you! Why are you behaving so weird?!"

Joe flinched and turned to look at Nico. She hadn't realized that her jealous behavior was upsetting the Latina that much. Biting her lips, she shrugged, burying her hands in her pockets.

"Sorry", mumbled the dark-skinned girl with a frown.

"No!", growled Nico with a fierce glare. "No. Say it. Whatever it is you have to say, just spit it out. I can't deal with this, whatever it is! Why were you being so mean to her?!"

"Because you slept with her!", exclaimed Joe, glaring just as fiercely. "You slept with her! You don't even fucking acknowledge that I'm a girl too, but here comes some total stranger and you just sleep with her like it's no big deal! If it really isn't, then why won't you give me the time of day?!"

Both girls stared wide-eyed at each other. After all the screaming, the room had fallen into total silence by now. Nico blushed a little, gaping, unsure what to say. And then she frowned upset.

"So this was all because of sex?", asked the Latina, sounding hurt. "Just because you want a fuck?"

Joe's eyes widened even more and she shook her head wildly. "No! No, it's not! I love you, you moron! That's what it's about! I love you, but you don't even notice me!"

Nico blinked a couple of times, suddenly feeling very numb. Joe... was in love with her? How did that happen? When did that happen? How could that happen? She couldn't comprehend it.

"What? But...?", mumbled Nico, completely overwhelmed.

"That's _exactly_ what I'm talking about!", yelled Joe, angry and frustrated. "You just-"

She interrupted herself by pulling Nico into a kiss. Nico grunted as their noses bumped. They adjusted their heads. Nico yelped a little as she felt Joe's breasts press against hers as the daughter of Vulcan pulled her closer. Nico tilted her head down some to make the kiss easier. Cautiously, she laid her arms around Joe's waist. Joe took the invitation and wrapped her arms around Nico's neck, clinging to the Latina. She pushed the caramel-skinned girl against the table, Nico bumping into it with her thighs. Joe pushed more and Nico found herself sitting on the table. Joe squirmed her way between Nico's thighs, her hands slowly wandering down Nico's sides to rest on top of Nico's thighs, playing with the seam of the red dress the Latina was wearing. Nico shuddered and wrapped her legs around Joe's waist, keeping her in place.

"So...", started Joe as they parted, both of them breathless and flushed.

"Uhm... I... like you?", tried Nico embarrassed. "I mean, of course I do. You're one of my best friends. And uh... you're... eh... attractive. But I'm not in love with you."

"But you like me", repeated Joe and grinned a little. "That's... that's enough for me, really. I can totally make you fall in love with me, purgatory. Please give me a chance?"

"You mean like... dating...?", asked Nico shyly, scratching her cheek.

"Uhu", nodded Joe wildly, her blue-dyed hair flying around her head.

It had been a while since Nico last had a proper girlfriend. "O... Okay. If you're _really_ fine with us not being on the same page, emotion-wise. I just really don't want you flipping on me in a week or so because I can't say the thing just yet. That okay?"

"That okay", confirmed Joe and leaned in for another kiss. "As long as it won't take you that long to be ready for... more than just kissing. If you catch my drift."

Her hands crept beneath Nico's skirt, feeling the smooth, soft skin until she got to trace the lace on Nico's panties teasingly. Joe laughed when Nico's ears caught fire in embarrassment.

"Y—Yes, but... not now", stated Nico firmly, grabbing Joe by the wrists. "That okay too?"

"I suppose", shrugged Joe with a slight pout. "Yeah. Yeah, it's fine. I'll wait. I'm just still upset that you just slept with that... that... _girl_!"

Nico huffed and glared. "Well, you gotta get over that if you want us to work, Joanna."

"Mh... maybe with more kissing...", grinned Joe teasingly and leaned in.

/break\

"I don't like this Trend-kid you're seeing."

"You barely even met him, uncle Liam!", exclaimed Sam and waved his arms around wildly.

"Well, I can't like him. I'm rooting for Derek", huffed Liam.

"What do you mean?", asked the son of Ares completely confused.

"Would you mind gossiping less and working more?", interrupted Alabaster annoyed.

Liam turned large, ice-blue eyes on Alabaster, batting his eyelashes at his big brother. Alabaster huffed annoyed and turned his back on Liam to get back to work. Sam was cutting herbs while Liam and Alabaster were doing their 'witch-stuff', as Sam called it.

"I just think that Derek is the best suitor for you, Samuel", continued Liam seriously.

"That's stupid, uncle Liam", huffed Sam and rolled his eyes. "Der's my best friend."

"Yeah, because that obstacle always stopped people from getting together", muttered Alabaster beneath his breath. "Like Percy Jackson and that Athena-brat bestie of his."

"They broke up. Percy Jackson got married to Nico, the son of Hades. Hence Donny's last name di Angelo", stated Sam, cocking one eyebrow. "And that's totally different. Der doesn't have feelings for me. I don't know where you get that stuff from, uncle Liam."

Even Alabaster threw him a disbelieving look at that. Not that Sam could see it since the son of Ares had his back toward them. Alabaster had met Derek multiple times. Often during the breaks, Derek had come to visit. After he had first met Liam on one of Sam's family gatherings on Christmas to which Sam had taken his orphaned best friend because he didn't want Derek to spend Christmas alone, Derek had grown a little obsessed. What Liam had told him about the wars, about the other side of the coin, it had made Derek curious. So Derek had come, after being invited by Liam. Had often visited. And every time Alabaster met Derek, all Derek could talk about was Sam. Mostly so because Liam kept asking about Sam, but even so Alabaster knew that tone of voice that Derek used when he talked about Sam. It was safe to say that Sam was Derek's life. Derek had no one else. No parent, siblings, grandparents. Sam had been his first friend. Sam had been his first love. Alabaster knew that, Liam knew that. How could Sam not know it?

"Gods, I feel like I'm back at Camp Half-Blood, gossiping about boys", snarled Alabaster.

"Is he always that grumpy?", whispered Sam wide-eyed.

"Only if he hasn't gotten laid in more than two days", replied Liam with a smirk.

"So is your girlfriend – or boyfriend – angry with you, or why aren't you getting laid?", asked Sam.

"You could say that", huffed Alabaster and carried a pot out of the kitchen and toward the garden.

Sam frowned curiously as he saw the large grin on his uncle's face. "Does aunt Maley know?"

Liam stiffened and turned to stare at his nephew. "W—What do you mean?"

"I'm not stupid, uncle Liam", huffed Sam and rolled his eyes. "The way he informed you about me being here. That hug, the tenderness, the way he keeps looking at you. He's watching out for you. Heck, you're more important to him than having the son of his arch nemesis in the house. That's more than just two lost brothers. So... does aunt Maley know?"

"Kind of... She doesn't know that I'm sleeping with my brother, but she knows I have an affair here in Germany. We have an arrangement. She always knew that I'm bisexual and having a woman is just... not enough for me. She said she doesn't care if I have a boyfriend, as long as I don't sleep around with women. She's the only woman in my life. And Ally is the only man in my life", replied Liam softly. "I don't sleep around, I'm faithful to them both. I love them both. Now tell me how you could have possibly noticed that but are at the same time oblivious to Derek's flirting?"

"Huh?", grunted Sam confused. "I know that he flirts with me all the time. But he flirts with everyone. It's just the way he is. It doesn't mean anything that he's flirting with me. Is that where you're coming from? Look, Der's a flirt. When he says inappropriate things or kisses me, that doesn't mean anything. It's just... well, what he does."

Liam nodded in slow-motion. So that was where the hatchet was buried. Sam didn't know that Derek loved him because Derek generally flirted a lot so Sam thought all advanced toward him were just Derek being Derek. Teenage boys, so complicated. He was really glad that he was in a grown-up relationship with two grown-up people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have how Trend and Sander give their collars to their 'adorable pets' (Derek will have a lot of fun with that), they get turned back to human and there will be some Herc/Thea, since they have been kind of... too birdy to have much to say in the past chapters. xD


	74. Back to Human

74\. Back to Human

"I don't like this", stated Derek and made a face.

"You said you want to try being friends with me, so you'll let me do this", declared Donny.

Phyl exchanged a grin with Trend as they followed Derek and Donny into the hair salon. Derek pouted as he sat down on one of the chairs, arms crossed over his chest. Donny had suggested to give Derek a make-over. Looking into the mirror, he thought that maybe Donny was right. His hair was reaching down over his shoulders and maybe he did dress a little girly. Donny had leaned in earlier and whispered that girly wasn't exactly Sam's type. Derek had thought so, what with Sam's record, but by now he knew that all the cute ones were just for Sam to hide and cover up. Obviously, Sam was into manly men. Biting his lips, Derek nodded a bit. Phyl frowned as the three of them stood by and watched the hair dresser do his work. She leaned in to Donny's ear.

"Why are you doing this? I mean, Sam is with Trend, isn't he?", whispered Phyl confused.

Maybe it was the hopeless romantic in Donny, but when he observed Trend and Derek, he saw that the spark between them hadn't died down just because they had broken up a month ago. And Sam, well, Donny didn't really know about Sam's feelings for Derek, but he was pretty sure that right after Trend, Derek was the fourth most important person in Sam's life (after Jolene and Liam, obviously). It was a little to try and see where Sam was _really_ standing with Derek.

Derek was shocked when he looked into the mirror after what felt like eternity. His hair was perhaps an inch or two long now, styled back. The tips, or rather half the current length of his hair, was dyed blonde. Not that blinding, nearly white bottle-blonde, but a dark, sandy blonde that blended in really well with his natural, dark hair. It honestly looked good on him, brought out the angles of his face better than the long hair that hung into his face all the time. Frowning surprised, he accepted his fate and followed Donny to the next shopping mall. They didn't exactly go on a shopping spree, but they got a couple of new clothes for Derek. Donny actually had to blush when he saw Derek in a sleeveless shirt. He had quite the impressive arms. Normally, he wore looser, long-sleeved shirts.

"Where did you get those arms?", blurted Donny out, staring wide-eyed.

"I'm a son of Demeter. I do _a lot_ of garden work", replied Derek and cocked one eyebrow.

"You're officially banned from shirts with sleeves!", declared Donny with a broad grin.

/break\

"You're back!", exclaimed Sam as he opened the door.

Trend blinked a couple of times, hand hovering where the door had just been. He hadn't even knocked. Donny grinned amused. Cats somehow always knew when their owners came home. Purring loudly, Sam pushed his head against Trend's raised hand. The wolfboy growled pleased and started to caress the spot between Sam's ears. The catboy wrapped his arms around Trend's neck, snuggling up to his boyfriend. The son of Athena leaned down to kiss Sam passionately. Grinning to himself, Trend rested one hand on Sam's lower back while nibbling on Sam's velvety cat-ear.

"Mine", murmured the blonde, licking Sam's cheek, his hand sliding lower. "Good kitten."

"If that hand comes to rest on my nephew's ass, I will cut it off", warned Liam.

Trend growled and bared his fangs at the son of Hecate, who took a surprised step back. Donny gulped, unsure where this was leading them. His friends acted more and more like animals.

"How about we go up onto the ship until Sara and Marshall return?", suggested Derek and reached out for Sam's head, massaging the mohawk. "Mh, kitten? Let's go up onto the ship, yes?"

"Good plan. Your remedy won't be ready for another hour or two and Alabaster would probably appreciate it not to have demigods around for that time", agreed Liam seriously.

Sam growled playfully and nudged the hand before leaning up to bite it. Not hard, more like a tender nibbling. Derek grinned amused as he watched Sam. Sam meowed and started grabbing for the hand like a kitten would swat at something. The kitten seemed in a playful mood. Trend grunted and grabbed his kitten around the waist to hoist him up bridal-style. Sam meowed again and wrapped his arms around Trend's neck, snuggling up to the blonde's chest. Phyl and Donny led the way to the ladder and climbed. Donny barely had time to get over the rail before being tackled to the ground. He grunted as all air left his lungs at the weight of his fiance on top of him.

"Donny, Donny, Donny! You're back!", exclaimed Sander with the most brilliant smile as he dove in and started licking Donny's face. "Donny! My Donny! My precious, pretty Donny is back!"

Donny smiled softly at that and started ruffling Sander's hair. "Yes, I'm back, mio cagnolino."

Sander stopped and looked at him literally like a confused puppy, floppy ears wiggling as Sander tilted his head. If possible, Donny fell even more in love with Sander at that. He kissed his nose.

"It means puppy", replied Donny with a small smile, giving Sander a proper kiss.

"He's turning more and more into a dog", observed Derek with a frown. "I mean, he's always over-enthusiastic when it comes to Donny, but this is getting ridiculous."

Trend, Sam and Phyl also climbed on deck. As they started chatting, Joe and Nico joined them too. They all settled down in a circle around the mast, Donny informing them that they'd have to wait another hour and that Sara and Marshall were currently on a date. Nico and Joe cooed at that. Donny was sitting comfortable, with Sander's head in his lap. The brunette was laying on his back, his right leg in the air, twitching whenever Donny caressed a certain spot on Sander's stomach. The patting was thoroughly enjoyed by both parties, because Donny got to trace Sander's delicious sixpack. Sam though wasn't as comfortable. He tried to curl together on Trend's lap, but he was a little too tall for that. One end continued to drop off Trend's lap. Growling annoyed, the catboy sat up, his eyes scanning the crowd. When he spotted Derek, he got up and crawled over to Derek and came to sit on all fours in front of Derek. He tilted his head intrigued and blushed.

"You're _blonde_ ", pointed Sam out and leaned up with one hand to caress the hair, cautious to stay on one hand and his knees like a cat afraid to fall over. "Why are you blonde?"

If possible, his blush darkened more as he leaned against Derek's shoulders with his hands holding onto them, head titled and nosing Derek's hair. The son of Demeter was blushing himself, but he also had to forcefully keep himself from laughing. Sam's behavior was too cute.

"I'm blonde because I can. Now be a good, little kitten and go back to your master. Hush."

Trend was already giving Derek the evil eye because of all the touching Sam did. The catboy looked confused and leaned in, licking Derek's cheek. He sat back down on all four and caught Derek's wrist between his teeth, pulling as he started to walk back to Trend. His cat-tail was raised high like a proud cat who had just caught its prey. Derek blinked a couple of times and decided to just follow the catboy. Sam pulled Derek over to sit thigh to thigh next to Trend, nudging Derek with his head until Derek was sitting the way Sam wanted him to. The son of Ares looked mighty pleased with himself as he crawled back onto Trend's lap and now with Derek's lap right next to it, Sam had enough space to lay comfortably on both of them, curled together like a happy kitten.

"They're getting worse and worse", whispered Joe with a frown. "I mean, come on!"

"Oh, oh you have to give them their presents!", interrupted Phyl and shoved a bag to Donny.

"Present?", asked Sander and looked up at Donny with adoring, dark eyes.

"Uhm... Well... Yes, mio cagnolino", whispered Donny embarrassed and blushed.

He took the turquoise collar out of the bag before pushing it toward Trend. Sander sat up and started to sniff the collar, staring intensely at the engraving. _AMATO_ _EROE_. Sander's face brightened up in a way it had only done twice before. When they had gotten together and when Donny had accepted Sander's proposal. The dogboy started licking Donny's face again.

"Mine, mine, mine! Look, look, look, Sam! I'm Donny's! Pretty collar!", exclaimed Sander.

His chest was pushed out in pride as Donny put the collar on – it was obvious Sander wanted that collar. Now Donny was actually grateful to Derek for suggesting it, he loved how happy Sander looked. Sam on the other hand looked rather upset, maybe even jealous as he stared at it.

"Do you want a collar too, little kitty?", asked Derek teasingly, caressing Sam's stomach.

Sam just huffed, too prideful to admit anything. Derek handed the bag to Trend. The blonde was still a little reluctant, but he figured trying wouldn't hurt. Sam sat up some, looking curious and eager. Taking a deep breath, Trend held the red leather-collar up for Sam to look at.

"Shiny", was the first thing Sam observed, nudging the bell with one hand. "Oh! Pretty sound!"

"Do you want the pretty shiny, little kitty?", asked Derek amused, cheek against Trend's shoulder.

Sam was biting his lips while nodding slowly. An amused grin tugged on Trend's lips as he put the beautiful collar onto his mate's neck. It looked gorgeous, the dark red brought Sam's green eyes out and the rose looked so innocent and cute on his tough kitten. The bell chimed as Sam tilted his head, which caused Sam to laugh in childish glee, so he tilted his head again. Then he suddenly curled together on Derek's and Trend's laps again, eyes closed and ears relaxed.

"Let the kitten nap a bit before we get the medicine", laughed Donny amused, still getting his face licked by a grateful Sander. "Come on, settle down a bit, mio cagnolino."

"No! Wanna say thank you for the pretty thing! Thank you, Donny!", exclaimed Sander.

/break\

Everyone was gathered in the Torrington-O'Riley house two hours later, much to Alabaster's misery. All those little demigods, the little sheep that went and followed their godly shepherds. Especially Donny irked him a lot. The boy looked so much like his mother. With the wide, innocent, sea-green eyes. Not exactly innocent like naive, but like trusting and believing in the good in everyone.

"Sander, Herc, Thea, Trend and Sam will stay here for the night", declared Liam as he handed the bowls from earlier, the ones with their names on, back to the teens. "You'll have to drink this, then you need to rest. You're staying here so Ally and I can watch out for anything going wrong."

Nico nodded hastily as she put the two bowls for Herc and Thea into their cage. She couldn't wait for her friends to be with less feathers. Thea turned her head curiously, which looked pretty awesome on an owl. Grinning a bit, Nico patted her head, just to have Herc bite her.

"Argh, son of a...", hissed Nico and pulled her hand back. "What did you do that for?!"

"The bird in him did it. He's more animal than human by now", observed Alabaster neutrally.

Donny bit his lips as he watched Sander lapping at the bowl like a puppy, his tail wagging. He patted Sander in a praising manner. At least Sander didn't put up a fight. Sam though was hissing and Trend was growling. Taking a deep, annoyed breath, Derek grabbed both of them by the necks and basically pushed their noses into the bowls. They both made whining sounds, but yeah, Derek did have a bit of force in his arms and he didn't look the least bit impressed by them.

"No. Bad boys. Eat up now", ordered the son of Demeter sternly.

"Where do you want to keep them?", asked Marshall seriously, looking around.

"The house has four bedrooms, three of which do belong to my daughters. Sam, Trend and Sander will stay in their bedrooms. It will be the safest to lock your little birdies into the basement, because I don't need bird poop all over our house", stated Liam. "You guys will sleep on your ship though, I don't want to put Ally through too many demigods in our home. Derek will stay though."

"What? Why?", asked Donny with a glare.

"Because we trust him", replied Alabaster and the look in his eyes actually caused Donny to step back. "I am not having the son of Percy Jackson in my house while Liam and I are asleep. I. Do. Not. Trust. You. Derek will stay and watch over them and that's the end of this discussion."

/break\

Liam had just closed the last bedroom-door as he made his way over to their own bedroom. Alabaster had already returned there after he had freed the two birds in their basement – he had gotten a few scratches that he wanted to take care of. Sam and Derek were in the twins' room, since that had a bunk-bed. Truth was, Liam just wanted Derek around to watch out so this Trend-kid didn't play Big, Bad Wolf with Liam's favorite little Red Riding Hood. No hanky-panky in his house. Stretching to work out the kinks in his back, he entered the bedroom. A cussing Alabaster was sitting on the bed, putting a band-aid onto the last of the scratches.

"Aw, poor baby", snorted Liam amused and closed the door before getting naked.

"Am I allowed to stay or do I have to sleep on the couch _again_?", asked Alabaster annoyed.

Liam grinned amused and sauntered over to his older brother, caressing the dark, brown hair. "I broke your record, so you're more than welcomed back in our bed, Ally."

"You're such a sour loser, I have no idea why I play with you anyway", muttered Alabaster.

"Because I'm a gloating winner and you _love_ when I win", whispered Liam teasingly.

He sat down to straddle Alabaster's lap, grinding down on Alabaster's crotch. The older son of Hecate grunted pleased, wrapping his arms around Liam's waist possessively. His lips found their way to the pale neck, placing butterfly-kisses along Liam's collarbone.

"We're not having sex with your nephew two rooms over", murmured Alabaster softly.

Liam heaved a long-suffering sigh and collapsed onto his side on the mattress. Alabaster grinned amused and laid down to face his brother. Liam was just so _beautiful_. Raven-black hair and pale skin, but the most brilliant blue eyes, like two aquamarines, or crystals of ice. Laying his arms around Liam's waist, he pulled the smaller man up against his chest, nose buried in the raven locks.

"Good night, Lily", whispered Alabaster tenderly. "I love you."

"Believe me, I know", murmured Liam back, grinning against Alabaster's chest. "Oíche mhaith."

/break\

Herc groaned, a dry and painful sound. His throat was sore. His everything was sore. Legs and arms, wow. He wouldn't have thought he'd miss those so much. He stared in utter fascination at his fingers, turning his hand. Jumping a feet high, he turned to glare at Thea who had just picked a single feather out of Herc's messy hair. Thea grinned and waved a little at him, still holding the feather. She was covered in grime and soot, had a few small cuts that were bleeding, crusted blood sticking to her skin together with some single feathers. Her normally neat, curly hair was a mess, greasy and messy like a crow's nest. She was the most beautiful girl Herc had ever seen.

"Hello", croaked Herc out, coughing heavily.

His throat was too dry. Large, storm-gray eyes looked around owlishly until Thea spotted two bottles of water. She struggled to stand, having to get used to her legs again, so instead she crawled over to get them. Handing one to Herc, she opened the other for herself. They emptied the bottles nearly instantly and then collapsed against each other. Herc buried his nose in in the hazel-brown curls, sniffing it a little. He smiled faintly as he pulled her closer.

"I'm glad you're alive", mumbled Thea, kissing his shoulder. "I love you."

"Love you too", replied Herc, his fingers clawed into her hair as he hugged her. "I missed you. I thought... I really thought I was going to lose you. Even to lose myself."

Thea just hummed in agreement. "I dreamed of you. In the dream, I could charmspeak, like my brothers and ma. I did a bad thing in my dream, it wasn't fair to Sam, not after everything he had been through, but I charmspoke the two of you to... you know, do naughty things..."

Herc laughed, a dark, hoarse sound. "At least I won't be the only one unable to look Sam in the eyes... I dreamed of him. Of having sex with him. _A lot_. It was just... I don't know, I feel relieved, like I had to get that stuff out of my system. I feel less, I don't know... I feel like he's..."

"Just another human being?", asked Thea teasingly, grinning a little.

Herc nodded, completely in awe. That was why Thea was the most perfect girl on the planet. She just understood him, sometimes even before he understood himself. That she was fine with him having fantasies about a guy, could even share them. She always was on his side, she always supported him. Fantasies were just that; in people's heads. Other girlfriends may have thrown a fit, but Thea just laughed and said that she didn't judge him for his thoughts. Heck, she even found the image of her boyfriend with another boy kind of hot. Totally perfect girlfriend.

"Love you, Thea", murmured Herc as he kissed her forehead. "So, so, so much..."

"You know, you were a handsome bird", teased Thea and pecked his lips.

They were chapped and dry, but both of them couldn't care less. In that moment, they just wanted to lay snuggled up together, regardless of how dirty and filthy both were from their last eleven days of coma, being birds and not showering. They both reeked, but it honestly didn't bother them as long as they had each other. Even though they'd appreciate it if someone would open the locked door and lead them to the next bathroom and maybe a full fridge with food other than corn.

/break\

Derek grunted when he woke up, because something tried to suffocate him. It felt like someone had laid a giant rock onto his chest, breathing was kind of heavy. Opening his eyes to start a bitch-rant, he instantly shut up when he saw a mohawk under his nose.

"Sweetheart?", whispered Derek, caressing his hair. "Come on, cutie, time to wake up."

"Mh... tired... pain... no...", mumbled Sam and curled together more in himself.

"Pain?", asked Derek sharply and sat up some. "Come on, talk to me, Sammy."

"It's alright", sighed Sam and sat up himself, looking at Derek. "It was just painful. Didn't know what to do. Crawled into your bed. Uhm, sorry about that. But I feel better now. Clearer."

"Yeah, you talk clearer too", agreed Derek with a short nod, caressing Sam's cheek.

"Sammy?! Sammy, are you alright? Did it work for you too?", asked Trend loudly as he burst in.

The blonde looked tense, but not feral anymore and he visibly slumped in relief when he saw Sam and Derek peacefully sitting together. He frowned confused that this didn't send the same jolt of jealousy through him that always occurred when Sam straddled someone's lap during training. He slowly walked over to the bunk bed, staring at them, his fingers treading through Sam's hair. No cat-ears. Such a shame, they had been so incredibly cute. Derek grinned down at Trend, his arms around Sam's waist in a teasingly possessive manner. Trend mustered a glare.

"Guys? Where am I and why am I wearing a collar and where's my Disney Princess?"

That broke the mood. Sam laughed and called out for Sander who then followed his voice into the girly bedroom. He looked like a lost puppy, just that by now he was missing the appendages.

"You haven't been yourself yesterday, I think the puppy inside of you had taken over too much of your brain already. I guess that's why you have no memories of yesterday. We're at Sam's uncle's and the collar was a present from Donny. Donny is on board of the Argo II", replied Trend.

"Aw, it's so nice to hear more from you than just 'mine' and 'good kitten'", teased Derek amused.

Sam flushed brightly at that and started to climb down from the bunk bed. The bell on his collar chimed at the movement and he automatically grabbed for it. He felt his pulse speed up, but not in the same way as it had yesterday. This time, it was more out of... arousal. The thought of wearing Trend's collar send a special kind of pleasure through his body, one that he hadn't experienced as of yet. It would probably be better to just leave and make breakfast for everyone now instead of contemplating what all of _that_ truly meant. Breakfast would be a good distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have the next di Angelo interlude, staring Sally Persephone! (Have to put them in at some point and I already got the next one for Jimmy too after all...) What happened at the di Angelo house while Percy and Nico are in Venice? Meet Percy Junior and her disasters.


	75. Sally Persephone's Misjudgment (Di Angelos Part III)

75\. Sally Persephone's Misjudgment (Di Angelos Part III)

It was a late and hot Sunday afternoon when Percy di Angelo slowly approached her home again, one hand deep in the pocket of her jeans, the other holding the last remains of a joint. She flicked the stump away as she rounded the corner and entered the Ocean Drive 13, passing the beautiful front yard her mom had put together. As she exhaled the last smoke, she froze.

There was a completely different kind of smoke coming out of their house and her siblings stood in front of the... burning building. The ocean-blue Victorian-styled family house was burning. She gulped hard as she stepped up to her siblings. James Charles stood there, glaring, holding one Hood-twin with each of his hands, a completely guilty looking Jack standing in front of him, clutching his bunny Poker to his chest. The three youngsters were singed, their clothes burned and their hair smoking. Laura Silena stood a little behind her twin-brother, holding Small Bob against her chest, the skeletal cat purring in delight as he got patted.

"Fuck", muttered Percy wide-eyed and approached her siblings. "What the fuck happened?"

"You happened!", exclaimed Silly annoyed, throwing her long hair over her shoulder. "You were supposed to watch out for us while mama and papa are gone! But you just left with your friends! Jimmy and me, we're _nine_ , we're no responsible adults, Percy! We can't watch out for Jack _and_ the Hoods! You were supposed to do that and if I wouldn't be holding Bobby, I'd bitch-slap you!"

"Silly, language", grunted Jimmy and rolled his eyes.

Percy winced and took a step back. The day had started _so good_ , how had it turned to this...?

/flashback\

The sun was barely rising when Percy woke up. Her half-head of dark curls was messy, tickling her nose. She contemplated a pixie cut to also get rid of that half of hair. The left side of her skull was already shaved short. Yawning widely, she ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face. She stretched some, before wrapping her legs back around her girlfriend. Kitty had stayed over last night and after a rough round of sex, the legacy of Hecate had just fallen asleep between Percy's legs. Grinning slightly, Percy ruffled the under-cut of dark brown hair, effectively waking Kitty.

"Morning, SP", yawned Kitty and sat up to kiss her girlfriend.

Their naked breasts were pressed together as Percy deepened the kiss. She could feel Kitty shudder as Percy's cold nipple-piercing poked Kitty's chest. Pushing herself off Percy, Kitty gave the offending, cold metal a tug, electing a moan from the legacy of Hades.

"I like waking up with you between my legs", grinned Percy teasingly.

"Ew. Ew, ew, ew. Naked girls. Two of them. One my twin. So much ew."

"Buongiorno, gemello", snorted Percy and threw her pillow at her twin brother.

Thess was holding both hands in front of his eyes, otherwise making a disgusted face. "Ew. Buongiorno. Uhm, I just wanted to ask if you could watch the kids today, Percy."

"Why?", groaned Percy and collapsed against the pillows.

"Because I did it _all the time_ this summer and Luke invited me to a picnic at the Tritonian Lake. I have a _date_ , so can you, just for one day, try and be a responsible adult?", grunted Thess annoyed.

He lifted his hands off his eyes long enough to throw an annoyed glare at Percy, who rolled her eyes at him. "Oh come on, I have a date too. Don't be a clam jam, Thessy. At least I'm getting laid."

"Just because Luke and I don't have sex doesn't make our relationship any less important. Besides, I spend all day yesterday playing games with Jack and his Hoods. Today is _your_ turn", stated Thess and turned around. "I really so don't care. I'll go to that date with Luke and _you_ stay here."

The door closed loudly behind the male twin and Percy rolled her eyes. There used to be a time when Thess and Percy could not be separated for the life of them. They were still pretty close and when they weren't bickering, they were the best damn team there was. But they were just too different. Their friends liked to joke that they were two sides of the same coin, which was what made them work together so perfectly because they completed each other, but it also made them fight so much since they didn't agree on a lot. Not just because she was a girl and he was a boy and those tended to develop different interests when they entered their teens. Not even because she was a legacy of Hades and he was a legacy of Poseidon. Mostly because Thess knew who he was.

He was gay, he defined himself as gay, even though most Greeks and Romans didn't particularly bother with labels. Percy herself hated labels, they were ridiculous. She was already down two boyfriends and Kitty was currently her first girlfriend. Heck, one of her boyfriends had been a satyr – even if just for the kicks it gave her to see her dad's face.

Thess was a little princess, always making sure he looked his best, taking more than half an hour in the bathroom to get ready, wearing his tight clothes and jewelry, prettying himself up like the girliest girl Percy had ever seen. She was more of a tomboy, it didn't matter to her if she was wearing her clothes for the third day in a row either. And the clothes she wore were baggy. Where Thess only wore bright colors – preferably pastel, in blue, pink or green and lots and lots of white – every little piece of clothing that Percy owned was black. Without exceptions.

The worst about her twin was his moral. He was doing everything to be the best and most responsible son there was. After Bianca Maria had left their family last year, Donny had been struggling with being the new leader of the siblings. Thess had done his best to help, to be responsible and support his siblings in any way possible. He was that responsible, virtuous boy that didn't even want to have sex with his boyfriend yet. Daddy's little angel. Percy had an rebellious streak. She didn't want to stay put and follow orders. She wanted adventure, she wanted to _disobey_. She had gotten her first tattoo when she was thirteen and the first three piercings followed soon after. Belly-button, nose and her right nipple. She drank, she smoked weed, she sneaked out at home during night. She had sex – lots and lots of sex (albeit she _was_ responsible enough not to whore around. She only had sex with her current partner). It was what irked Thess on so much. That sex was just a means of pleasure, relief and fun for her while it was something nearly sacred to him.

Percy moaned when Kitty traced her tattoo. It was the profile of a skull, right on her vagina, open mouthed, the teeth on either of her vulva so when she spread her legs like she did right now and her labia parted, it looked as though the skull was opening its mouth. She found it funny. Her last boyfriend had been terrified that her vagina would bite his dick off. Moron. Kitty on the other hand really had developed a kink for French kissing the skull. Percy didn't object.

"So you canceling on me then?", asked Kitty, her hands on either of Percy's thighs.

"Fuck no", snorted Percy and shook her head. "They won't burn down the house or shit like that."

"Mh, true that. Silly won't even notice probably, spending all day in front of the mirror. She's even worse than Thess", snickered Kitty and sat up some. "And Basty had plans with Jimmy anyway."

Basty – Alabaster Ellen, that is – was Kitty's younger brother, also a legacy of Hecate. He was mischievous and loved playing pranks. He often got in trouble together with Jimmy. And Kitty and Percy were secretly shipping them, rooting for their baby brothers to get together, because of the awesomeness of a Hades/Hecate duo – the most awesome gods there were. Magic and death. But the two nine-years old boys had nothing but pranks in their heads. Boys were idiots.

"Exactly. Jimmy will spend all day with Basty, Silly will be locked up in her room and Jack? The kid's too adorable to cause trouble. He'll probably sleep all day after the exciting day he had with Hunter and Hayden yesterday. They'll be fine for a couple of hours", stated Percy with a shrug.

"But before we go, how about a... third round...?", murmured Kitty with a wicked grin.

Percy leaned back and relaxed into her girlfriend's touch and caress.

/flashback|end\

Percy pulled Jack up against her chest, checking him for any serious burns or injuries. Nothing. He just looked very guilty and equally upset. She kissed his forehead and went to check Jimmy and Silly. Her sister looked angry. And Silly was probably right being so, after all, Percy had been sneaking out even though Thess had left her being responsible for the younger kids. Sometimes, with how mature Silly dressed and did her make-up, or with how clever Jimmy was, she forgot that they were only nine years old. And Jack was five. What had she been _thinking_ , leaving them on their own?! She groaned and tore at her hair. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"What do we do, sorellona?", asked Jack, staring at her with those incredibly large eyes.

Equally sea-green eyes locked with Jack's as Percy contemplated their options. She had no fucking idea what to do now. Their house was burning, her siblings were singed. Her parents were going to kill her. Or worse, her mom would give her The Look. The one with the sad, wet eyes and the quivering lower lip, the one that conveyed the message of _What did I do wrong?_ The Look of utter disappointment. Percy couldn't be on the receiving end of that look. Sure, she liked to act up and rebel a lot, but she didn't want to utterly disappoint her mom. She had just left because she didn't want to be a bad influence on her little siblings. She didn't drink and smoke in the house, not even when their parents weren't there. So she had met up with Kitty in the Persephone Park. They had smoked some weed, made out a lot and just lazed about. A perfect Sunday. But now everything was screwed-up. Her parents would throw a fit. Heck, _Thess_ would throw a fit.

"What in the world happened here?!"

Right on time. Percy groaned internally and turned around to face her twin. Thess looked beyond shocked, the Popsicle slipping out of his mouth and falling onto the ground, slowly melting into a blue puddle. Luke next to him looked equally stunned, blinking a couple of times slowly.

"Wow. That's a new record. Five hours and the house is burning", noted Luke amused.

"What. The. Fuck?!", growled Thess irritated and turned toward his twin. "Answer. _Now_."

"I—I was just gone for two hours or so, I thought they'd be fine...", whispered Percy guiltily.

Thess slapped her in the face. She didn't even flinch. She expected more. Another punch? A rant? Thess was good with rants. She'd deserve one. She'd deserve more. But he did something else. He straightened and tied his hair back, out of his face, before approaching the house.

"Jimmy, take the pets and the Hoods and keep them out of trouble. Silly, Jack, you'll help me, we'll play fire fighters, doesn't that sound fun, Jackie? Luke, call the others. We'll need help."

"W—What about me...?", asked Percy in a timid little voice.

"You're done enough, Sally Persephone", snapped Thess.

He entered the house, together with the other two legacies of Poseidon, using their water-powers to extinguish the flames and afterward will everything dry again. Percy sat down at the doorstep, looking guilty while Luke made a couple of phone-calls to their friends. Afterward, the blonde sat down next to Percy, nudging her slightly. She didn't look up.

"I burned our house down. Mom and dad will _never_ forgive me", whispered Percy sullenly.

"Technically speaking, Hunter, Hayden and Jack did", corrected Jimmy with a glare. "And they made the kitchen go boom. Not entirely sure what they were doing though."

"Blue firework for Jackie", admitted Hunter and Hayden guiltily, staring at the ground.

"See? Not your fault", grinned Luke amused and nudged her again. "Besides, it's not that bad. You have Thess, after all. He's good at fixing stuff. And the others will be here soon too."

Not all of them, of course. Thess' best friend Lizzy Mason was Roman, so were Thyl Grace and Sammy Marie Zhang. It kind of sucked to have half their friends on the other end of the continent. It made Percy feel bad for Thess, since he couldn't just shadow-travel to visit his best friend either.

Gladly enough, it didn't take Amy Cage and Kitty Ellen too long to get to the house. By the time the two brunettes rounded the corner, the trio of Jack, Silly and Thess had effectively extinguished every flame in the house and afterward dry-willed it. Amy cocked one calculating eyebrow.

"What did you do, Percy?", asked the legacy of Athena unimpressed, noting Percy's guilt.

"I left Jimmy and Silly in charge", shrugged Percy, not looking at her best friend.

Amy, the daughter of Malcolm and Katie, was a little genius. She was a true legacy of Athena and daddy's star student at school. She was also always there for Percy, especially with advise.

"Guys, come on inside. Let's check the damage. Amy, you'll manage to do a damage-report, right? Let's see what Kitty can fix with her magic, everything else we'll have to fix by hand. Luke, can you do me a favor and get the Hoods cleaned up and changed? If we return them like this, we're in trouble. If they're not willing to shower, use your charmspeak, amato. Percy, move your butt."

She nodded hastily and followed her twin's lead. She took it back, all of it. She loved how responsible and level-headed he was. She loved that he was so different from her, that he knew how to do those things. The damage was mainly in the kitchen and with Percy's and Jimmy's shadow-traveling, they soon got all the ingredients together that Kitty needed for some fix-up-magic. Silly was with Jack in the upstairs bathroom while Luke was in the downstairs bathroom with the Hoods, trying to get them all cleaned up. They worked two hours straight, but in the end, they all collapsed together on the couches. Kitty had one arm around Percy, caressing her upper arm with the thumb in a soothing manner. The sweet thing about Kitty was that she was _always_ on Percy's side, even when Percy was the one who had screwed up. The legacy of Hecate placed a tender kiss on Percy's temple before resting her forehead on Percy's shoulder. She was completely spend after all the magic she had to use to help. Percy wasn't any less exhausted, what with all the shadow-traveling to different shops to buy stuff to replace the things that couldn't be repaired. Percy was broke now. She cracked one eye open, looking down at Hunter, Hayden and Jack playing with Jimmy, all freshly washed and in fresh clothes. Silly had returned upstairs to her room to freshen up too – she was also still angry with Percy, so there was that. Thess was sitting square on Luke's lap, enjoying how the blonde caressed his hair. Amy was reading a book, throwing a glance at Percy every now and then, which made Percy shift uncomfortably. She knew her best friend disapproved of what she did.

"Buona notte, bambini", greeted Nico di Angelo as he descended the stairs with his husband.

Jack was the first one up, jumping his mommy giddily as Perseus entered the living room. Perseus grinned and hugged the youngest di Angelo, lifting him up and sniffing his hair surprised.

"You smell clean", noted Percy surprised and looked at the oldest twins. "You got him to shower? You really didn't have to do that. I know what an impossible task it is to add soap to this little monster. Did everything go well or were there any problems, kids?"

Percy Junior shifted nervously, her eyes darting over to Thess. He could spill the beans now, get her grounded for a life-time. Be the better kid of them both, get the praise and all.

"Everything went without a hitch, mamma", smiled Thess brightly and stood, hugging first his mom, then his dad. "I hope you had fun in Venezia, parental unit. Coffee is in the kitchen."

"My pride and joy", sighed Perseus relieved and kissed his son's head.

Percy Junior watched them wearily, but then her mother turned to her and kissed her head too. Still with Jack on his arm did the head of the di Angelo family head to the kitchen (because they all knew that dad was totally whipped and would do whatever his husband asked of him).

"Oh my father, you actually cleaned up the kitchen! You polished the fridge! My angels!"

"I'm proud of you, bambini", grunted Nico, head turned toward the kitchen where his husband was peeking out, looking happy, and ruffled both their hair. "And yes, we had a lot of fun in Venezia. Your mamma will be forcing you to sit through the videos and photos tonight."

"I think that's my queue", grinned Amy and stood. "I could bring the Hoods home."

"That would be very nice of you, Amy. Greet your parents from us", nodded Nico relieved.

"Daddy", chimed Jimmy softly and stood up. "Can I go with Kitty? _Please_."

Nico exchanged a critical look with Kitty, who shrugged in agreement. "Okay. Fine, you can spend dinner at the Ellens' place, but someone has to bring you back home before eight. You're not getting out of the family evening just because you want to play with Basty."

"I'll bring him back, promise, Mister di Angelo", nodded Kitty with a grin.

Kitty stole a last kiss from Percy before she led Jimmy outside. Luke, Amy, Hayden and Hunter followed soon after. Percy remained on the couch a little longer, just sitting there and staring.

"You look exhausted, bambina, why don't you go upstairs and rest while I'll fix up dinner?", asked Nico softly, caressing her hair. "I'm sure watching Jimmy, Silly, Jack and the Hoods on top of that, was quite exhausting. But you did it nonetheless. I'm proud of you. You know, your mother was very optimistic about leaving you on your own, but I was a little more reluctant. You're only fourteen yourselves, after all. But you proved me wrong. I'm really proud of you, bambina."

Percy just nodded stiffly and stood. She walked upstairs to the bathroom and splashed her face with water before going to her room. Slumping down, she collapsed on her bed. Well, Bia's bed. But Percy hadn't wanted her own after she had taken over Bia's room, because it was Bia's and she liked the reminder of her older sister. Curling together, she hugged the pillow close. Thess had saved her ass today, even though she had been a total cunt this morning and she would have deserved every preaching and punishment from their parents. It bugged her immensely, so she uncurled herself again and walked next door. To her old room. The room she had shared with Thess ever since their birth. That was when they had drifted apart, when Percy had moved into Bia's room after Bianca Maria had left for the hunt. Her leaving had changed a lot, it had thrown the whole family dynamic off-balance. And even though Percy knew her parents only had the best intentions when offering her Bia's room, because Thess and Percy were teenagers now and could use some privacy and also a little more space, it still sort of felt so... final. That Percy had taken over Bia's room, because it meant she wouldn't return home to them. Then there was the physical distance between Thess and Percy that this brought. They had always been close, literally. Not just emotionally, they used to be attached by the hips. But having her own room had made Percy question who _she_ was, as a person, an individual, not just the other half of the di Angelo twins, not just the daughter of Percy Jackson.

"Thess?", whispered Percy, head lowered in shame as she entered the room.

"Cossa posso fare per lei?", grunted her twin-brother, sitting at his vanity and combing his hair.

"Why did you do that? Why did you lie? I thought you're angry with me", whispered Percy.

"I'm still angry with you, yes. But you're also _my sister_ ", grunted Thess with one cocked eyebrow. "You screwed me over, but that doesn't mean I'll screw you over."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!", exclaimed Percy and threw herself at Thess, hugging him tightly.

Thess took a deep breath and grunted displeased. "You smell like weed and alcohol. Why? I mean, why did you screw me over to smoke and drink, damn it? Why are you like that?!"

"I'm just not as fucking perfect as you are!", exclaimed Percy with a glare, throwing her arms over her head. "When Bia left, _she_ _left me_. She was my hero and idol, like Donny is to you. That older sibling you can relate to, because same gender, same powers. And while you latched onto Donny and helped him adjusting to his new role as oldest, I felt left all on my own, because you spend so much time with Donny! It's already hard enough having Hades' powers, it's hard enough being a child of Percy Jackson! Oh, not for you, because you're so awesome and clever! When I screw up a history test, Mister Cage gives me that disappointed look, like I should know everything just because my mom lived through it! I'm just not good at this stuff, like you are! And all those fucking expectations! I'm just sick of everyone expecting me to be like _mom_!"

"So you try to be the opposite?", asked Thess and made a face, shaking his head, but still hugging her. "You don't care, you act irresponsible, you do forbidden stuff. You _endanger_ our siblings. Just get your act together before someone gets hurt, because that someone may be our mom."

"I know", sighed Percy, snuggling into her twin's embrace. "Thanks, for being my voice of reason."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will go back to our quest. And it'll include a bit of Alabaster/Liam smut at the beginning, so if that's not what you want, skip the first scene. After that, you get some bondage blowjob smut between Sander and Donny. Also, plans for how to continue their quest!


	76. Where Do We Go From Here?

76\. Where Do We Go From Here?

Alabaster was pleased with the outcome of it all. The annoying halflings were all still alive – and when had that become a positive thing, really? He told them that they could invite their other annoying friends over for breakfast, as long as they would cook. They also got to use the showers. As long as they would not bother Alabaster and Liam for another hour. He had told them that Liam was still asleep and that the magic they had used had been exhausting, so they needed more rest. The demigods could exchange stories, get cleaned up, properly dressed, could cook and once breakfast was ready, the sons of Hecate would join them. The bothersome teens had been too grateful to disagree, so they had all obediently nodded and thanked him. Even wished him a good night, albeit it being nine in the morning already. Still, another peaceful hour of maybe reading, or taking a nice, long bath sounded wonderful. Everything to get Liam to sleep in. The magic had taken its toll on both Alabaster and Liam, but Alabaster had always been more concerned about Liam than himself. Rolling his head to work out the kinks in his neck, Alabaster returned to their shared bedroom, closing and locking the door – he didn't trust the halflings.

"Morning, handsome", murmured a tired voice from the bed.

Alabaster looked up to find Liam half-awake, the sheets pooling around his waist, teasing by baring Liam's hipbones. His face was half buried in the pillows and his arms, ice-blue eyes half-lid as they stared intensely at Alabaster. His normally tamed, black hair was an adorable mess. When he just woke up, Liam still looked so much like the teen Alabaster had met twenty years ago.

"I just bargained with the demigods to give you another hour of sleep", chuckled Alabaster amused.

"Mh... Means we get a whole hour all to ourselves in our soundproof bedroom...?"

Alabaster coughed a little as he crawled into the bed. Liam rolled over and against Alabaster's side, his hands sneaking under Al's shirt. The older son of Hecate shook his head amused.

"The halflings are alright and so is your nephew. Safe and _very_ sound. Teenagers are annoying, all that chatter and the high-pitched voices", grunted Alabaster annoyed.

"I figured as much, otherwise I wouldn't get another hour in bed. You would have woken me the second you'd notice that something went wrong", stated Liam with a grin. "Come here, Ally."

Alabaster wrapped his arms around Liam's waist, pulling him closer and tenderly kissing his lover. Liam crawled on top of him while kissing, straddling Alabaster's waist. The brunette grunted into the kiss as Liam started to grind down against Alabaster's crotch. It was pretty obvious what Liam wanted. And after having to sleep on the couch for the last two days for breaking Liam's record, Alabaster was really all too eager for Liam's ass too. So he grabbed exactly that, both hands groping Liam's sweet, pale bum. Liam yelped at the sudden squeeze and blushed. A smirk matching a shark's was all he got in reply to his blush. Huffing a little, Liam lowered his lips down onto Alabaster's again. The brunette pulled Liam's cheeks apart, a greedy finger circling Liam's entrance, just to find it already loose and lubed-up. Cocking one eyebrow, Alabaster looked around to find Liam's favorite toy laying lubed-up on the nightstand.

"I told you not to put the used toys onto the nightstand", chided Alabaster and bit Liam's neck hard.

"A—ah, sorry", moaned Liam and snapped his fingers. "Got started without you, was hopeful..."

The dildo started flying toward the bathroom for later cleaning. Alabaster knew that this was Liam's favorite and most-used trick. Animating a dildo into moving on its own. Smirking amused, Alabaster pulled Liam closer by his ass-cheeks, pushing the other boy down slowly while Liam hastily ripped Alabaster's sweatpants down to free the brunette's erection. Liam licked his lips.

"See something you want?", asked Alabaster teasingly.

"Gonna take it _all_ in", purred Liam, lowering himself onto the thickness.

Both men moaned as they were united again for the first time in three days. Alabaster bucked up against the tightness, wanting more of it. Liam whimpered softly at that, but found himself obeying the request and pushing down. His hands were pressed against Alabaster's chest, nails leaving red scratches as Liam lifted himself up and lowered himself again. First slow, then steadily getting faster, riding his lover so hard that the sound of their flesh hitting echoed in the room, together with their panting. Alabaster knew that his fingers were leaving bruises on Liam's waist because he was holding so tightly onto his lover, but he couldn't care less at the moment and more importantly, neither could Liam. The black-haired man was in too much ecstasy to care. His mouth was open, head throwing back as he rode Alabaster hard and fast.

"A—Ally, please", whimpered Liam, arms shaking as he tried to still support himself.

Alabaster smirked to himself as he reluctantly let go of Liam with one hand so he could jerk his lover off. It only needed five or so jerks before Liam came all over Alabaster, making a horrible mess. Even though he was still in total bliss and on a high, Liam still went at it as hard as possible. The compulsion of his muscles was driving Alabaster so crazy that only moments later, the older brother came too, buried deep inside of Liam. Holding onto Liam's waist again, Alabaster rolled them over so Liam got to lay next to him. His hands wandered up to pull Liam close, with Liam's legs around his waist. The younger one hummed softly and snuggled up to his brother.

"That was _exactly_ what I needed", panted Liam and leaned in for a kiss.

/break\

Sander was standing under the shower, eyes closed and heaving a happy sigh. It was so good to be in control of his body again. Sure, he had kind of liked to let go and just act on instincts instead of holding back. Just jumping his Donny and licking his face in eagerness. Well, okay, maybe the face-licking was a bit over the top, but just doing what he wanted to do had been nice. Still, having his body back all to himself, that was a real relief. He was also relieved that Trend, Sam, Herc and Thea were back to normal too. All of them were saved, thanks to two former traitors.

"Buongiorno, mio eroe", whispered a soft voice behind him. "Mi sei mancato molto."

Sander jumped slightly when he suddenly had lips on his neck and arms around his waist. Turning around, he offered Donny the brightest smile, laying his arms around Donny's shoulders. The olive-skin felt warm and soft beneath his fingers. Sander licked his lips.

"I love you. What did you just say?", asked Sander confused.

"I said good morning and I missed you so much", replied Donny softly.

"I missed you too, so very, very much and I thought I may not get you back, like I'd be trapped in my own mind and leave you alone with a... puppy", mumbled Sander upset. "I'm sorry."

"But it's alright", whispered Donny softly, leaning against Sander's chest. "It's alright now. You're safe and you're here and you're mine and I'll never let anyone take you away from me again."

Sander smiled softly, tilting Donny's head up so he could properly kiss Donny. "I love you so much, my beautiful, wonderful, amazing Dark Sea. I knew you'd save me somehow."

Sander wanted to caress Donny's hair, but suddenly he couldn't. He frowned confused that he couldn't move his hands. Looking up, he noticed that the water from the shower-head had curled around his wrists and was binding him as though he was tied with rope. There was a naughty grin on Donny's lips as he leaned over and started kissing Sander's lips tenderly. When they parted, Sander leaned over, wanting more, but he was bound by the water. Donny's lips trailed along Sander's stubbly chin, noting how interesting it felt compared to normally. Biting Sander's pulse-point, he teased the flesh between his teeth with his tongue. Sander whimpered slightly. Donny's journey continued down, circling Sander's nipples and tracing Sander's delicious six-pack. The muscles flexed beneath Donny's assault. Donny was grinning broadly as he nibbled on Sander's hipbone. By the time, he reached Sander's cock, it was already hard and begging for attention. Opening up wide, Donny engulfed the length in one go. Over the past weeks, he had gotten really good at this blowjob-stuff. It had been weird and awkward for him at first, but by now he really knew his way around this. Tracing the veins with his tongue, circling the head, teasing the slit. He nibbled a little at the hardness, sucked and licked. Sander moaned, hanging in his bounds.

"Do—on", whimpered Sander and came hard.

Donny grunted as his mouth filled too fast for him to swallow. Okay, so maybe he didn't know exactly how to do everything down there, but he knew that Sander had enjoyed himself. The broad grin splitting Sander's face was all the proof he needed. The blush painting Sander's cheeks was very adorable too. Getting up again, Donny kissed Sander once more and released the water holding his lover. Sander stumbled a little, but then he had his arms tightly around Donny, caressing his back and tracing his spine, grabbing Donny's curls, holding his hand. Just... touching his Dark Sea.

"Thank you", mumbled Sander embarrassed. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"I thought it would be hot, in the bathroom of two former traitors", grinned Donny impishly.

"Naughty", laughed Sander and nudged Donny.

"Let's get dressed and check on the others", suggested Donny with a wink.

/break\

"Stop fussing now, both of you! How am I supposed to cook with you hovering about?!"

Sam may have sounded annoyed and irritated, but on the inside he was grinning like a little boy. While Phyl and Nico were being nice and helpful by setting the table, Joe was outside smoking, Marshall was reading the newspaper (online, because local newspapers were German and that was a bit problematic for Marshall), Sara was half laying on the table, snoring and Thea and Herc were practically inhaling their coffee - "Oh my gods, how did I _survive_ as a bird without coffee?!". Donny and Sander were upstairs sharing a shower, Sam knew that too. But what made him grin inwardly were Derek and Trend. They were hovering behind him, one chin on each of Sam's shoulders, watching him like hawks, trying their very best to help him. But the reality was that they were worried about him and tried to make sure that he was safe.

"I'm sorry, Sammy", sighed Trend, massaging his temples. "Being a _wolf_ just set me on edge..."

"I'm not sorry, sweetheart", chimed Derek with a grin, kissing Sam's cheek. "I'm trying to see if there's still some kitten left in you. I'll miss the ears and the tail though... They were cute."

"You're a moron", muttered Sam and rolled his eyes. "Now give me some space, will ya?"

He was handling bacon, scrambled eggs and pancakes all at once, so he really needed a little space to work. Trend and Derek both pouted as they obediently sat down at the table. Sam smiled a little to himself. He liked this, liked being the center of their attention, it was way better than watching from the outside how they were so chummy with each other. He felt bad for being jealous, but he also thought that he kind of had a right to, right? Up until a month ago, those two had been dating, after all. And they had been each other's longest relationship. So there was a reason for Sam to be jealous. It was _way_ better when both were focusing on him. It made him feel... special.

"How are you two feeling?", asked Trend, looking at Herc and Thea.

"Hungry", noted Thea and emptied her third cup of coffee. "And I found feathers in places where those things _really_ did not belong! Urgh. How long until I get meat?"

Right, steaks. Steaks for breakfast. And spaghetti. But he understood it, the transformation had been exhausting and making him hungry too, so for those two, it had to be way harder. And Liam and Alabaster were probably quite starving too. Sam's head snapped around when he heard steps. For a second, he had thought it to be the sons of Hecate, but it were just a blushing Sander and a grinning Donny. Naughty idiots, thought Sam to himself and grinned.

"Bring the food to the table, guys. Donny, you think you can take over? Breakfast is nearly ready and I want to go and wake my... uncles", stated Sam, handing the spatula over to Donny.

"Sure!", declared Donny excited and took over.

When Sam left the kitchen, so did Nico. While the son of Ares continued upstairs, Nico went out through the backdoor. Joe was wearing tight jeans and a long-sleeved pullover that looked pretty fluffy, but she still shivered a little. So did Nico as the fresh morning air hit her.

"Germany is fucking cold. Why do people willingly live here?", mumbled Joe with a shudder.

"I don't think it's supposed to be that cold", shrugged Nico and looked over out at the streets.

Many people in short-sleeved shirts walked around and rubbed their upper arms. Nico frowned.

"We were supposed to fight Khione when the others got abducted", continued Nico softly.

"Gotta hand it to the Ice Bitch, she really managed to distract you there then", muttered Joe annoyed, throwing her cigarette onto the ground to smash it with her boot.

"We have to return to Berlin. We were supposed to find her with the polar bears there."

"Let's go inside and discuss this with the others", whispered Joe and took Nico's hand.

Nico pulled the dark-skinned girl closer to place a chaste kiss on Joe's lips. The daughter of Vulcan hummed in agreement, grinning. Together, the girls walked back inside and to the kitchen.

/break\

"Stop swaying your hips like that, or you're in for another round", warned Alabaster.

He had just come out of their private shower to find Liam wiggling into a tight jeans. The younger son of Hecate grinned cheekily and stuck his tongue out at his older brother.

"Bite me", huffed Liam and continued the struggle.

A nasty grin on his lips did Alabaster walk up to his brother, pulled his underpants down enough so he could bite Liam's ass. The younger man yelped and fell over, right onto their bed. His face was beet red, causing Alabaster to laugh. Never challenge a son of Hecate. A knocking on the door interrupted their little game and while Liam finally managed to pull his pants up, Alabaster went to unlock the door and found an embarrassed Sam in front of him.

"I _really_ hope I'm not interrupting anything", mumbled Sam, as red in the face as Liam a few seconds ago. "But I made breakfast and I figured you'd want some too."

"Good boy", grunted Alabaster and patted Sam's head. "Liam, hurry up before those boys eat all our food. You remember teenage boys and their appetite, don't you?"

The three of them hurried downstairs. Liam had to smile a little at how crowded their dining table was. He loved having a lot of people around. At Camp Half-Blood, on the Princess Andromeda, then when he had married into the Raser family. But their house here always felt a little empty, unless Liam's daughters came to visit during the breaks. Sitting down, all of them started to dig in.

"I'm going to keep you around", grunted Alabaster after the first bite. "This is _good_."

"Thanks", grinned Sam with a slight blush.

"Okay, guys. Everybody is back to full health and humanity again?", asked Donny firmly.

"Mh... I like your leader-voice. Your leader-voice is hot", murmured Sander with glazed-over eyes.

"Sander. Focus", snorted Derek and hit the other brunette upside the head.

Sander winced a little and rubbed the back of his head. The focus of everyone was on Donny now.

"Everyone's fine", nodded Sara and yawned. "I checked them together with Mister Torrington."

"Good", nodded Donny pleased. "Now we need to figure out how to continue our quest..."

"Last lead we followed was that we'd find Khione with the polar bears in that zoo in Berlin", stated Nico, cocking one eyebrow. "I'd say we have to return to Berlin. Continue where we left off."

"But no getting distracted again", pointed Trend out, embarrassed for them all.

"We lost ten days already because of that", sighed Thea and shook her head.

"You want to face Khione?", asked Liam stunned. "A goddess? Why? The wars are over."

"We honestly don't know", sighed Donny and shook his head. "But Persephone send us, because the companion she has, a blue butterfly who brings and ends spring and summer, got abducted. He normally alerts the nature spirits of the change of seasons."

"That explains the cold", murmured Alabaster with a glare. "I thought that this was the most sucktastic summer in years, but if the nature-spirits don't know what season is supposed to come and go, well, looks like winter wants to take over early this year."

"Which would kill many of the summer spirits", stated Thea concerned. "So we have to free that butterfly to save summer. We just don't know where to find it."

"Then why don't you split up?", suggested Alabaster, cocking one eyebrow. "I mean, you're twelve demigods on one quest. But you have... what do you have to do?"

"We need to face Khione, but we also have to find Teardrop", pointed Donny out.

"You should also go and visit Xarpo, I'd say", observed Liam thoughtful.

"Xarpo?", echoed the other demigods and halflings confused.

"She's the goddess of summer and if someone's messing with summer, you should probably go and talk to her. She has a vacation-house, you could say, in the Black Forest", replied Liam. "The old nature here calls to some of the nature and minor gods. Many spend time in Europe too these days, especially the old ones. The demigods in Heldenheim build a temple for the seasonal goddesses."

"So... back to Arielle and Rika?", muttered Joe and made a face.

"Figures", snorted Sara with a half-grin.

"So Heldenheim too then. Well, I know where that is, so I offer to lead the quest there?", suggested Nico with a half-grin. "Rika and Ari brought me there, after all. It's pretty cool."

"Heldenheim, Berlin and... we have no idea where to to find Teardrop", sighed Donny frustrated.

" _We can help you with that. We can find the way. There is a faint scent, a strong sense._ "

Donny, Derek and Phyl nearly jumped out of their skin as the seven fireflies entered the kitchen. Derek glared annoyed. He hated talking to bugs, it was bothersome. Phyl was in total awe and reached her hands out to caress the little glowing insects.

" _We_ need to split up", noted Donny as he looked from Derek to Phyl. "All three of us can understand them, so one of us has to be with each group."

"Makes sense", agreed Sander with a nod. "I'll stay with you, Donny. I don't care where we go, but I will not leave your side, my Dark Sea. Not again, not after all of... this."

"Can we finish breakfast before we make big, bad plans? Also, Sam's mine", declared Derek, earning him a ridiculed look from Sam. "What? If I'm risking my life for some nasty quest, I demand the best protection there is. So be my knight in shining armor, sweetheart."

Sam grinned amused and shrugged. To him, it didn't matter with who he was going to continue this quest, as long as he could still be of help. As a kitten yesterday, he had felt so very, very useless. He hated that feeling. Locking eyes with Donny, both realized that with this, they would part ways now. It was weird, over the course of this quest, they had grown practically inseparable, had already become best friends at camp, but this quest, well, it had been different. Parting ways now seemed so strange to them, everyone having to go their own way.

"I fear the worst", sighed Thea and shook her head. "Splitting up always ends bad."

"How would you know? All you know about quests is from your clever books. _We_ write reality, so stop being such a pessimistic", chided Herc with a grin and leaned in to kiss his girlfriend. "We will survive, baby. We'll divide and conquer, like real Romans."

"Excuse me?", huffed Sam with a teasing grin. "We're more Greeks than Romans here."

"Will you finally shut up and continue eating?", groaned Alabaster annoyed. "You're all so loud and annoying, I just want to eat and then I want to get you all out of my house."

"But you're welcomed back whenever you want", whispered Liam as he ruffled Sam's hair.

"I'll come and visit", promised Sam with a smile. "Thanks for everything, uncle Liam."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will determine who will stick with who and go where. Which means leader!Donny-time, bro-time for Sam and Sander and other adorable bonding moments before parting for the rest of the crew (also including guilty!Trend). And then they part ways.


	77. Time to Split

77\. Time to Split

"I'll miss you, uncle Liam. I wish I could see you more often", mumbled Sam, hugging his uncle tightly, face buried in Liam's black hair. "You promise I can come visit you again?"

"I even promise you that _uncle_ Alabaster will learn how to behave", grinned Liam softly.

"Don't make promises to the brat that you can't keep", grunted Alabaster with a leveled glare. "And can we please get rid of the brats now? We do have a job to do too. A life and all that jazz."

He grunted annoyed when the son of Ares let go of Liam to hug him. Urgh, demigod hugs. But judging by how much Liam adored his nephew, that kid was going to be around a lot from now on. Heaving a sigh, he gave up and briefly hugged the brat back.

"Thank you for your help", whispered Donny and stepped up to the sons of Hecate, back straight and eyes leveled. "We owe you our lives. Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome. Please don't tell anyone we... helped you", grunted Alabaster with distaste.

Donny smiled a little as they climbed up the latter to get back to their ship. The crew gathered in the meeting hall to make their plans. It was an uncomfortable feeling for Donny to stand there and have the unshared attention of everyone. Unsure what to do, he grabbed a paper and a pen.

"Okay, we have three destinations. Finding Teardrop, confronting Khione in Berlin and visiting that shrine in Heldenheim. Every group will take two of the fireflies with them, which also means me, Phyl and Derek have to split up here", started Donny and drew a chart with three columns, putting Teardrop, Berlin and Heldenheim on top. "I think it's obvious I'll go after Teardrop. We have a connection. I'd like to send you to Heldenheim, Phyl. Because you're the least experienced and that route seems to be the safest. That leaves Derek with Khione. Will that be okay with you?"

"As long as you give me Trend and Sam, yes", nodded Derek seriously.

"Sure. I'm up for a serious fight again", nodded Sam with a grin, laying one arm around Derek's shoulders. "Besides, I can't let my Der get hurt. He'd never stop bitching about it."

"I want Nico on your team too", continued Donny, stopping Nico just as she wanted to protest. "I know you want to go to Heldenheim and I know you'd be a good choice for that since you bonded with Rika and Arielle the most, but you're also the one who controls fire and that is best put to use in a fight against the goddess of snow. So you'll go back to Berlin with the boys."

"You're the boss", nodded Nico slowly, seeing the reasoning.

"I'm keeping my Sander", continued Donny. "And Herc and Thea, since both have horses too, just like me and Sander. We can use them to get around. That way, Phyl, Marshall, Sara and Joe remain and take the Argo II – Marshall and Sara will be able to protect you if the need arises, Phyl. And you'll need Joe to steer the Argo II. Neither of you has a companion so it'll be best if you take the ship to get to Heldenheim. That aside, I'll be needing Thea's brain if I want to figure out how to find Teardrop. Is everybody okay with that arrangement?"

"So... how are _we_ getting around?", asked Derek and cocked one eyebrow.

"Well, I have Fighter, Trend has Rush and Nico has Arion. You can ride with me, if you want, Der", suggested Sam. "It would be the easiest way for us too. That okay with you?"

"Sure", nodded Derek hastily, very pleased with the idea of being pressed up against Sam's back.

"Okay. Then let's use the cornucopia to summon rations, pack up and split up. We wasted enough time already", stated Donny and clapped once. "I call dips on the showers, because before I go on a journey of unknown length, I want to enjoy a nice, warm shower."

/break\

"I don't really like this, Sam."

Sam nearly stumbled where he was standing in front of the shelf, packing his clothes in. Trend next to him chuckled a little. Sam glared at his boyfriend before turning to an upset Sander.

"What do you mean?", asked the son of Ares confused, throwing his new clothes into a bag.

"It's you and me. That's how quests work. You and me and someone else, the hero of the week or something", replied Sander, shrugging. "You and me against all monsters."

"Aw, come here, puppy", cooed Sam with a grin and pulled his best friend into a tight hug. "Just like when we split from the girls, mh? You got uncomfortable without Cally at first too, but we managed without your twin. You'll manage without me too. You'll have Herc with you and Donny is getting pretty damn good with his powers too. You'll be fine, San."

Trend smiled fondly at them. Sander really looked like a kicked puppy. So much had happened in the past weeks, he nearly forgot how things normally were. Sander and Sam, best friends way before Sam had even known of Donny's existence. They had always relied on each other, always knew the other would have their back during a fight. Trend walked up to them, resting one hand on Sander's shoulder and getting the legacy's full attention.

"I'll keep Sammy safe", promised Trend. "He'll be okay, even without you."

"Okay...", nodded Sander reluctantly. "And keep Der safe too! You know how he is!"

"I'll take care of them", chuckled the son of Athena amused. "They'll be fine."

/break\

"This sucks. It's not okay and it sucks", declared Joe with a pout.

Nico sat at the foot of her bed, watching the daughter of Vulcan pace. It was kind of cute.

"Why do you say that it's not okay?", asked the legacy of Hephaestus confused.

"Because Sander stays with Donny, Herc stays with Thea, Trend stays with Sam, Marshall stays with Sara. And we have to split up! That's not okay!", exclaimed Joe with a glare.

"Maybe because we haven't told them that we're kind of together?", suggested Nico amused. "Besides, Donny's reasoning is good. I have fire, that's pretty handy against ice. And if they take the Argo II, they'll need either you or me to take care of the ship. Since I have Arion, you're the logical choice there. Come on, Joe. It'll be okay. It's not like we'll be apart for years."

"I know. It's just... we only just got together and now I have to let you go again?", sighed Joe with a pout and sat down, straddling Nico's thighs. "And I have to go back to visit _Rika_. Urgh."

"Be nice", chided Nico amused, laying her arms around Joe's neck. "Come here."

Joe obliged and leaned in to kiss her caramel-skinned beauty of a girlfriend. Well, maybe being apart would help them. After all, Nico still claimed she had to figure her feelings out, so perhaps this would give her the time to come to the conclusion that she was madly in love with Joe.

/break\

"I don't know if this will end well", sighed Thea with a frown.

She was in the dining hall, together with Derek, Sara and Phyl, preparing the lunch-packets for everyone. Sara and Phyl were stocking up the fridge with food that Thea summoned. She would take her cornucopia with her, so it was up to Derek to chose the right kind of things for them to go. Lots and lots and lots of bacon, of course. Also hard cheese and salami. Things that wouldn't go bad soon. He'd keep his sweetheart and Trend well-fed.

"You're Donny's best friend. Shouldn't you be siding with him?", questioned Derek.

"I am siding with him!", huffed Thea with a glare. "But neither I nor Donny or Herc have any experience with quests. On our squad, we only have Sander who is experienced. I'm just worried we'll screw up. I support Donny's reasoning, the teams he chose were wise, but..."

"Well, I'm not worried at all. I got Trend and Sammy", shrugged Derek nonchalantly. "Trend may not have experience either, but he's a strong fighter. Same goes for Hercules, so you shouldn't worry either. And you're not defenseless either. It will be fine, Chase."

"I—I'm not so sure of this", mumbled Phyl concerned. "I'm glad to have Marshall at my side. He's kind and very, very strong. But I'd like to stay with you, Derek."

Derek offered her a small smile. They had fast become friends and since Phyl had only met the others less than a week ago. Of course she'd feel safer with her friend around, but her ability to talk to the only compass they had was vital for their group. They needed her.

"You'll do fine, Phyl. All you have to do is go and talk to some old summer goddess. It'll be an adventure. You'll be at another camp, it'll be safe", promised Derek, taking her hand for support.

"I... really hope you're alright", murmured Phyl unsure. "And I hope you'll be fine too."

"Ah, everybody will be fine and I'll watch out for you, girl", declared Sara with a grin.

/break\

"How are you holding up, big guy?", asked Herc worried.

They were preparing the horses together, since Marshall had nothing else to do and his calm exterior had always been appreciated by the proud animals. He may not have an own horse, but he liked taking care of the stables. Right now, he was getting to know Rush some better.

"It will be alright", grunted Marshall shortly.

What else had Hercules expected? Marshall had never been a man of many words. But he was straight to the point. Herc sighed and caressed Tempest's mane. He and the spirit were closer now, ever since uncle Percy had helped Herc train with Tempest.

"You and me will go on a journey together", whispered Herc into the black ear. "And we'll go with Nightowl, Trickster and Shadowchaser. Is that alright? No Arion to bug you."

Herc wasn't entirely sure on where the animosity between Arion and Tempest had come from, but those two had known each other far longer than Herc was alive, so Herc left it at that. It wasn't any of his business, he just had to know that those two didn't mix.

"But are you _sure_ it'll be alright?", asked Herc, turning his attention back from the spirit and to the demigod. "I mean, I've never been on a quest before and sure, I get Sander as backup, but Donny is... well, he's a princess. No offense there, but I'm right, right?" Marshal hummed unamused. "See. Just what I say. And Thea is wonderful and brilliant and good with her knife, but she doesn't have any special powers, like me and Donny have. Sander doesn't either, but he has years of experience with quests, so there's that. What do I do if Thea gets hurt?"

"You protect her", stated Marshall softly.

"Yeah. Right. You're right", nodded Herc and took a deep breath. "I protect her. I'm the son of Jason Grace. I can do that. I'm a legacy of Jupiter and he was like the first hero ever, right? I can do that." Marshall grunted and Herc interpreted it as agreement. "You're right, I'm a hero. Or, well, I can be a hero. I can be a great hero and I can protect Thea. Thanks. It was a good conversation."

Marshall smiled to himself amused. There was a reason why he spoke so rarely. Most of the time, others just wanted to hear themselves talk and just wanted a confirmation that what they already knew was true. It was part of why he and Sara worked so well, because she talked a lot and he just loved the sound of her voice. His smile turned softer by the thought of his wild-spirited girlfriend.

/break\

"Okay, if you keep staring at me awkwardly and without saying anything, I'll kick your ass."

Trend jumped slightly at the sudden outburst and stared at his boyfriend a little startled. Rubbing his neck, Trend averted his eyes. Sam cocked one eyebrow. What was going on with the blonde?

"I just... I'm so sorry...", whispered the son of Athena and stepped up to Sam.

"Sorry? What for?", asked Sam confused and panicked, tilting his head.

Oh gods, Trend still had feelings for Derek and now that Der was around again, Trend would break up with Sam to get back together with the son of Demeter. Sam knew he didn't deserve Trend. Derek was so much prettier and the two had shared months of relationship with each other.

"I remember what happened when we were part animal a—and what I did, as that wolf...", muttered Trend, looking guilty. "I didn't mean to hurt you, o—or to... force you..."

Sam stared wide-eyed and dumbfounded at Trend. "You think... that you forced me?"

"I was really rough with you and you didn't stand much chance against me and we did it like four times in a row. You could barely _walk_ by the time we were done!", exclaimed Trend guiltily.

"Oh, you moron", whispered Sam with soft eyes as he walked up to Trend and laid his arms around the blonde's neck. "You were an animal in bed, yeah, but you didn't force me. Sure, you were very rough and that knot was kinda unexpected, but I _liked_ it. I enjoyed it."

"You're only saying that to make me feel better", muttered Trend upset.

"Now you're just being an asshole", grunted Sam with a glare. "What? Because I got raped by one boyfriend, I'd let any other do it too? Don't be a dick, Austin. If I wouldn't have wanted it, I would have told you to stop. Did I tell you to back off? Did I ask you to stop? Did you see me cry? No. Because I enjoyed sex with my boyfriend and I enjoyed that it was a little rougher."

When Sam nodded, the bell on his collar chimed as though it tried to agree, making Sam blush. "Yes, idiot. If you ever go too far, I'll tell you. And by now, I'm trained enough to at the very least break a few bones. You'd _know_ if you'd ever cross the line. Just like I _know_ that you'll never cross that line, because you love me, truly. Right?"

"Yes", nodded Trend hastily, laying his arms around Sam's waist to pull the smaller boy close. "Yes. I love you more than life itself, Sammy. I'd never want to hurt you, which is why this is torturing me so much. I _did_ hurt you. And I didn't mean to, I didn't want to. It was just the wolf inside of me... it was _so_ jealous and angry and annoyed and it _needed_ to stake a claim..."

"I noticed", grunted Sam, playing with his collar to make a point. "But... why? Why were you feeling that way? Did... Did _I_ give you any reason to doubt me or my loyalty?"  
"No, no, you didn't, love", assured Trend, cheek against Sam's cheek as he was whispering into Sam's ear. "It's just... Derek. Derek being here, Derek being all over you, you smelling like Derek all the time. You also smell a lot like Donny, Sander and Sara, but he's just... constantly there."

"You were jealous of _Derek_?", asked Sam stunned and stared up at his blonde.

"Don't make it sound so ridiculous, Sammy", grunted Trend with a glare. "He has always been your best friend and the one you trusted the most. You two are close, have always been."

"I... Yeah. I guess. He's my Der", shrugged Sam with a frown. "But that's different."

But how different really? Trend couldn't shake it off. He had smelt it, their hormones when he had been a wolf. The way Sam's happiness rose whenever he was around both Derek and Trend at the same time and the level of horniness in Derek's hormones always rose around Sam.

/break\

Donny was happy when he finished his shower. As a legacy of Poseidon, being around water was soothing. Every little scratch or ache he had was gone after the calming shower. He was recharged, ready to go into battle, even though he didn't know where that was leading him.

"Hello, mio eroe", murmured Donny softly as he approached Sander.

The brunette had packed their bags. Everyone was gathered in the stables, everyone with their individual bags shouldered. Thea was hugging Nico and Sara tightly, while Derek was in the middle of hugging Phyl. Marshall and Trend had a stare-down, but Donny was pretty sure it was their way of communicating. Donny gasped as he was embraced and lifted into the air.

"Be safe, little Disney Princess!", demanded Sam, kissing Donny's cheek. "I'll miss you. A lot. I'll worry. Also a lot. But I _know_ you'll be fine. Sander will keep you safe. I made him promise."

"I'll miss you too, Sam", whispered Donny, returning the hug.

"So... this is goodbye then. For now", stated Thea, shifting nervously. "Everybody got enough clothes, food, water? Everybody knows their destination?"

"Stop fussing, Chase", chuckled Sara and ruffled her hair. "We'll kick ass."

"Marshall and Sam will be in charge of your groups", declared Donny. "And I want to be contacted every night with an update. Don't take unnecessary risks. Call if something goes unplanned."

"Yes, sir", nodded Sam and saluted.

" _My charming, little foal. I'm glad you're no cat anymore_ ", whined Fighter, nudging him.

Sam grinned and ruffled her mane as she nudged him. Donny smiled to himself while climbing onto Shadow. Sander was right next to him with his impressive, white stallion. The two horses rubbed their faces against each other a last time before ascending. The two of them were followed by Tempest with Herc and Nightowl with Thea. Three of the seven fireflies were flying around Donny's head. They were their only lead. They had no idea where to go.

Trend was sitting uncomfortably on Rush, patting the gray stallion while watching how the other four became smaller and smaller in the distance. Arion didn't look happy because he was force to keep pace with the two pegasi since their group didn't want to split up. Nico was having a hard time keeping the horse calm, while Derek was grinning like a total moron, earning himself a glare from Trend. All Derek did was sticking his tongue out and pressing himself even more against Sam's back. The two brunettes were sitting on Fighter's back together, with Derek's arms around Sam's waist, holding on tightly and enjoying the curve of Sam's ass between his legs.

"Be good, guys", called Sam out, staring at his baby-sister.

He was wearing his red leather-jacket against the cutting, cold wind. Derek behind him was wearing a black leather-jacket that Donny had insisted on buying for him and right now, Derek was grateful for that. It didn't just look badass (Sam had blushed that adorable, little blush of his when Derek had put it on), it was also warm and good for flying. Resting his cheek against Sam's shoulder, he took a deep breath of that delicious honey, milk and coconut mixture of his sweetheart.

"Are you good back there?", asked Trend, somewhere between amused and annoyed.

"I'm perfect. We can go now, or stay, anything", hummed Derek comfortably.

"Der, I'm not your teddy", huffed Sam and rolled his eyes. "Not as tight, please."

"Sorry, sweetheart", chimed Derek and kissed Sam's neck apologetically.

"Let's get going!", announced Nico and dashed off with Arion.

"Same goes for us", observed Joe softly as they looked after their retreating friends.

"You have the coordinates where we have to go?", asked Sara curiously.

"Sure. Nico marked it on a map, left me instructions. Even IMed the mayor of Heldenheim to tell her that we're on our way. It'll only take a couple of hours, we should arrive there by tonight", replied the daughter of Vulcan. "The others are in for a longer journey, what with the horses and all. But I hope we'll all be doing fine. Poor bastards will have to camp though."

"I love camping!", protested Sara with sparkling eyes. "Camping is awesome!"

"It does have a certain appeal to sleep in the wildness", agreed Phyl with a small smile.

"Atta, girl", grinned Sara and laid one arm around Phyl's shoulders. "Let's get this ship rockin'."

"I'm not entirely sure if that's a good idea", muttered Joe beneath her breath.

"Why not? This is a quest. Isn't it supposed to be an adventure?", asked Sara with a grin.

"A—As long as we don't die...", stated Phyl concerned.

"Now, you're a ray of sunshine", snorted Joe and cocked one eyebrow. "Let's get this over with."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! The plot thickens, they're getting closer to their show-down.
> 
> Next chapter will be another Di Angelo interlude, this time introducing James Charles.


	78. James Charles' First Kiss (Di Angelos Part IV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: The next chapter will feature Nico, Trend, Sam and Derek. With looots of cuddles, a startling realization concerning Derek's... size and a confrontation about why Sam is still wearing the collar even though he's not a catboy anymore!

78\. James Charles' First Kiss (Di Angelos Part IV)

Four weeks into being nine, James Charles di Angelo was already bored with it. He wasn't sure why, but he had thought that being nine would make everything different. More awesome. Then again, he had felt that way about every new year. Like, he was getting closer to the age of his older siblings and he would be more adult soon. With all the older siblings he had – Thess, Percy, Donny and Bia – he always wanted what they had. The only one younger than him was Jack and that was boring, he didn't want to be one of the youngest. He wanted to be taken serious.

"You're pouting again", pointed his best friend out and threw a grape at him.

Jimmy huffed and opened his mouth widely, waiting for Basty to throw another. The legacy of Hecate snickered and threw a second grape, getting it right into Jimmy's mouth. The sour taste made Jimmy hum a little as he bit the green fruit. He liked sour and bitter things way more than sweet. Basty knew that, it was why he always brought grapes or pineapples or kiwi with him when he came over. After all, what better way to bribe a kid than with sweets? Or in this case, sours. In return, Jimmy always brought licorice over when he came and visited Basty.

"I'm not pouting", grunted Jimmy and stuck his tongue out. "I just... I thought now that I'm nine, I'd be like... more like one of the adults. But then Percy asked me and Silly to babysit Jack and his Hoods. We totally screwed up. I mean, well, Percy should have been responsible and all, but I _wanted_ to be grown up and I... wasn't. I rather played a prank with them instead of stopping them."

"Dude...", started Basty slowly and got up to walk over to his best friend. "You're nine. You're not supposed to be responsible. I know with your super hero family where everyone is trying to be all perfect and stuff it's hard, but... You're nine, you're supposed to do stupid stuff. Like pranks. That's why adults get babysitters for _us_ and don't send us out to babysit. That one was totally Percy's fault and really not yours, Jamie. Really. Besides, why do you even _want_ to be all grown-up?"

James Charles frowned and opened his mouth to answer. Well, Bianca Maria was supposed to be the oldest and the responsible one, but then she had left and that had made mom and dad really sad, so Donny tried to be responsible. And Thess always followed Donny's lead, he was like a puppy when it came to that. Jack was all about being adorable and doing mischief. Silly was all about being pretty. Percy was all about being rebellious. Thess was all about caring and having solutions. Donny was all about being a leader and protector – even if he himself wasn't really aware of that. And Bianca had been their hero, still was probably. She had been a hero at camp, she didn't have time to be there for the younger siblings so Donny had always been there for them, protecting them. It was just Jimmy who didn't have a role, or a... definition. So he had thought being responsible may work for him too. It worked for Bianca Maria, Donny and Thess, after all.

"I wanna fit in", shrugged Jimmy and bit his lips.

Basty huffed as he stared at the di Angelo. He knew that Jimmy had problems fitting in. All his brothers – Donny, Thess and Jack – had the powers of their mother. Well, technically Donny had the powers of both aspects, of Hades and Poseidon, but even so, Donny was leaning more toward the water. He loved swimming, horses, tending to the living creatures. Jimmy was the only boy with the powers of Hades and only the powers of Hades. Then again, Silly carried the same burden. She had the powers of Poseidon, while Bianca Maria and Percy held the powers of Hades. Unlike Silly though, Jimmy had the additional weight of their father's expectations. Not that Nico di Angelo loved any of his children less than the others, but Jimmy was the only son he had who held his legacy and even though he cherished his little legacies of Poseidon, he felt a special pride that Jimmy was his boy, down to the powers. So Jimmy tried to live up to his title as Ghost Prince – heir to the Ghost King. Basty liked that, it was what had made him first notice Jimmy at camp. Jimmy was always wearing that black leather jacket, even in summer, and a heavy skull belt-buckle and a spiked leather collar. His black hair was slightly longer, his curls in a total mess. His eyes were the darkest brown that Basty had ever seen, so dark and endless like a deadly pit. Tartarus-brown, was what Jimmy's mom used to call it. Basty liked it. The darkness was way more interesting than bright flimsy colors. To top his dark appearance off, Jimmy's skin was ghostly pale. He loved spending time in the underworld, so unlike Thess or Jack, Jimmy didn't have a sun-kissed complexion, much like his sister Percy. All four of them had more then skin-complexion from their mother and not the olive-skin of their father, but Basty was fine with that. Pale was cool. Sometimes, Jimmy totally crept others at camp out by shadow-traveling and adding his paleness, people often thought he was a ghost, shimmering through the walls. Basty got a kick out of that. So all in all, as a whole package, Jimmy was different than most others. He was very much like his older sister Percy, which was why the Ellen-siblings had been drawn to Percy and Jimmy to begin with. That and the obvious. Hecate and Hades, both being gods of the underworld. There was a connection there. And since the underworld was that 'weird, creepy place' most other campers tried to steer clear of them. Witches and people who talked to ghosts... Most were scared of them. So for the outsiders, it was easy to bond. That and Nico di Angelo and Lou Ellen had been friends since their own days at camp too, so maybe it was also a little their influence.

"You fit in with me. Isn't that enough?", asked Basty concerned.

"I mean in our family. And you know that", huffed Jimmy and rolled his eyes.

"Your dad loves you. Your siblings do too. And you're nine, for the underworld's sake, you got plenty of time to figure out who you are. Wait with that until you hit your teens, like our annoying big sisters", countered Basty mischievously. "Come on, let's do something fun and age appropriate."

Jimmy looked up with eager eyes, staring at Basty. "What?"

"Let's prank our sisters", grinned Basty and tugged Jimmy along.

Jimmy sprouted an equal grin as he followed Basty over to Percy's room. They were in the di Angelo household at the moment. Jack was out doing the gods knew what with his Hoods, Silly was over at Andy Cage's, Thess was on another date with Luke and Percy was in the living room with Kitty, watching a movie. Their mother was in the shower and their father was at work.

"What are we going to do?", whispered Jimmy and looked around Percy's room.

It used to be Bianca Maria's, before the oldest di Angelo left to join the hunters of Artemis. And it was totally mean that she got her own room! Jimmy had to share with Silly too, but he wanted his own room too. Not because he disliked Silly, no, he loved his twin, but she always made their room smelly with her perfume and it made Jimmy's stomach turn.

"How about... we make it pink...?", offered Basty with a wicked grin.

Jimmy shuddered. The warlock could be quite intimidating when he grinned like that. His turquoise-green eyes sparkled in an evil and foreboding way. Basty was as pale as Jimmy, maybe a shade darker. His hair was cool, he had chestnut-brown hair with an undercut that made him look badass. The tips of his hair were dyed a dark, nearly black, purple. Basty was wearing really baggy, black pants – unlike Jimmy, who liked skinny-jeans more.

"Pink is good", agreed Jimmy with a wild nod.

Basty's magic was perfect for their pranks. Basty closed his eyes in concentration and a green mist started to spill from Basty's mouth as he spoke ancient words. Within seconds, the room turned pink. Jimmy laughed softly and in delight. This would freak Percy so much out!

"Anything to add, Jamie?", asked Basty as he opened his eyes.

"Unicorns!", exclaimed Jimmy delighted. "Turn all her skulls into fluffy, girly unicorns!"

"You're a mean one, James Charles", noted Basty and obeyed.

Jimmy yelped in glee as there was suddenly a giant dancing unicorn with pink fluff and a pink tutu hanging over Percy's bed. This was awesome! But just as Basty finished his spell, both boys jumped two feet high. Percy downstairs was screeching loudly.

"Uh-oh", muttered Jimmy with large eyes, staring at Basty.

"Hiding. Now!", ordered Basty and pulled Jimmy with him into the wall closet.

The door was open ajar so they could look into the room, but the closet was small. Their noses were practically bumping into each other as the two boys hid from their sisters. Jimmy was giggling, but as the girls approached, Basty hastily laid one hand onto Jimmy's mouth to make him shut up.

"Where are you two little rats?! I'll rip your tails out!", screamed Percy loudly.

"Boys?!", called Kitty out from outside the bedroom. "If I were you, I'd... hide."

"Don't help them!", screeched Percy irritated. "I'm going to rip them to shred and then _you_ will use your magic to fix them back together again so I can rip them apart one more time!"

Jimmy and Basty stared at each other with the widest eyes possible, their mouths hanging open. Their sisters could be scary if they wanted to. Jimmy wrapped his arms around Basty's midsection and tried hiding in Basty's chest. The legacy of Hecate turned a little, hugging his friend back.

"What's all that screaming about?", interrupted Jimmy's mother.

The son of Poseidon looked a bit surprised and very annoyed, judging by what Basty could see. And then he looked completely stunned as he looked around the room. Percy was still on a wild rampage, looking for her baby brother under the bed and in the dresser and-

"We need to go. Now", hissed Basty into Jimmy's ear.

Jimmy nodded hastily and just as the door opened did he shadow-travel them both away. He didn't know where to go though and Basty was practically suffocating him as they were in the middle of dark nothingness. Safe. Somewhere safe. Not home, because Percy and Kitty would find them at home. He gasped as they landed on a bed. Blinking a couple of times, he noticed that they were in his room in the underworld palace. Figured, because family was safety, so if he had to shadow-travel away, it was either home to mommy, New York to his grandparents, or the underworld to grandpa Hades. Jimmy looked around from where he was sitting on Basty's lap.

"Well, this will work for now", stated Basty and pushed Jimmy off his lap. "You're heavy!"

Jimmy huffed as he landed next to Basty on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Basty frowned as he watched his friend for a moment before grabbing the bowl of fruits and offering it to Jimmy. Jimmy always kept fresh fruits in his room in the underworld, since underworld-food couldn't be eaten so he made sure he always had food from 'upstairs' down here. Humming in appreciation, Jimmy grabbed a lemon and started to peel it. A broad grin split Basty's face. Jimmy was probably the only person Basty knew who peeled lemons and ate them like orange-slices.

"We could go to New Rome and visit JP and Milly to kill some time?", suggested Basty.

Milly and JP were two of their best friends, though even their little group of eight was more split into two. Since Milly Zhang was a legacy of Mars, JP Grace was a legacy of Bellona, Fred Chase was a legacy of Athena and Carry Rodriguez was a legacy of Ares, the four kids of war mostly stuck together. They had a sense for fight that was not exactly what the others of their group sought out. Also, the four of them consisted of two couples and two sets of best friends. JP and Fred were bros, Milly and Carry were bffs, while the two Roman kids were dating, so were the two Greeks. Another thing that separated them from the other four friends. There were the twins, Silly and Jimmy, and their respective best friends – Basty Ellen and Andy Cage. Basty and Jimmy were all about pranks and Andy and Silly were more about pretty things and gossip, but they didn't say no to a good prank either, even though they acted all shy around the adults.

"Naw", huffed Jimmy and shook his head. "They're probably doing gross things anyway."

"What you mean?", asked Basty confused and grabbed an apple for himself.

"They're a couple", pointed Jimmy out and rolled his eyes. "Fred and Carry aren't any fun anymore either, because they only do stupid and gross couple-stuff. Like our sisters do."

"What gross stuff?", questioned Basty, taking a bite of the sour, green apple.

"How they're always holding hands like they can't even walk without the other", snorted Jimmy.

"Well, we hold hands too when we run away from a prank gone wrong", pointed Basty out.

"That's different! We do that so we don't lose each other! But they do it all the time and that's totally impractical since you only have one free hand to use and then you get sweaty hands and you have the sweaty hand of the other in your hand the whole time and that's gross", countered Jimmy with a glare. "And they do all the disgusting kissing-stuff! That's really just gross-gross-gross!"

"Why?", laughed Basty and laid down on his side, supporting himself on one elbow. "Your mom and dad kiss you on the cheeks and forehead and nose and stuff too. You don't think that's gross."

"Because it's different", pressed Jimmy stubbornly. "They're mommy-kisses and they're not on the mouth. There's spit in the mouth, if you kiss on the mouth then that's like spitting into the other's mouth. Why would anyone want someone else's spit in their mouth? That's just so ew."

Basty nodded thoughtful at that. Jimmy was right with that. He used to mark the food he wanted by licking it, because then his big sister Kitty wouldn't touch it either because it was gross.

"Maybe it tastes different if you kiss?", suggested Basty with a meaningful frown.

"Still", huffed Jimmy and shook his head. "And the other stuff? Like, you have to hold the door open for the girl and you have to pay her food when you're on one of those weird date-things and you have to watch the boring kissy-movies that she wants to watch. What do boyfriends get in return from their girlfriends for all that annoying stuff?"

"Sex", replied Basty and took another bite of his apple.

"Eh?", grunted Jimmy confused and turned onto his side too. "What's sex?"

Basty shrugged uncomfortably as Jimmy looked at him with those large, curious, dark eyes. "I dunno. I just know that Kitty says it's awesome and totally worth all the trouble. I once asked her why she put up with your sister, like... when your sister gets your house burned down. She says because she loves Percy and because she gets sex from Percy."

"Well, then this sex must be something really awesome", nodded Jimmy thoughtful. "Why else would anyone put up with stupid, big sisters like ours? You think Kitty gets sex back from Percy too, or does only Percy give Kitty sex for the movie-nights and dinners?"

"Wouldn't be fair otherwise", shrugged Basty. "Percy pays some of their dates too, like last week when Kitty spend all her money on her new piercing and had none for the movie."

"Mh...", muttered Jimmy and shook his head. "Still. There must be something."

"Maybe we should look it up on the internet? What is sex and do you give it back too."

"No, we shouldn't", disagreed Jimmy. "Mommy says not to look stuff up that we don't know and that we always should ask mommy and dad first before that."

"I don't want to ask my _moms_ that!", grunted Basty and shook his head. "Maybe it's something we're not even supposed to know? Like... a secret you only share with others who are couples?"

"So maybe Fred and Carry and Milly and JP know...?", concluded Jimmy, nodding.

"I have no idea!", huffed Basty and threw the last remains of his apple into the bin.

"I don't care. It's probably something gross like mouth-kissing and always holding hands and having to hold doors open and useless stuff like that", shrugged Jimmy and sat up.

"Like I said, maybe it's different!", disagreed Basty and shook his head.

"How would you know? Have you ever mouth-kissed anyone?", challenged Jimmy.

"Well... uhm... no...", admitted Basty and blushed.

The boys held a staring contest for a couple of moments, like they were trying to settle something, before Jimmy held his breath and leaned in. Basty yelped into the kiss as he suddenly had Jimmy's lips pressed against his. Jimmy kissed like an octopus, with his lips all puckered like he had seen on TV. He just stayed with his lips pressed against Basty's, counting seconds in his head.

"So?", asked Jimmy curiously as he leaned back again.

He wiped his own face and so did Basty. "Ew. All slobbery and wet..."

"Uhu", agreed Jimmy triumphantly. "See? I told you so!"

"But it felt kinda... good", continued Basty and blushed.

"Huh?", grunted Jimmy doe-eyed.

"Well, your lips are all soft like marshmallows", replied Basty and shrugged. "And you taste like lemons and grapes. Didn't you like it at all?"

"Uhm... Well...", shrugged Jimmy confused. "I don't know. It was kinda weird, but warm."

"So does that make you my girlfriend now?", questioned Basty. "Because we kissed?"

"I'm a boy! So if anything, that would make me your boyfriend!", protested Jimmy with a glare.

"Do you give me sex now too?", wanted Basty to know next.

"I don't even know what that is! How am I supposed to give that to you? Maybe it's something totally expensive and you know all my pocket money was spend on our last firework-prank", stated Jimmy and shook his head. "No, I don't like the relationship-stuff. They don't have time for _anyone_ aside from their boyfriends and girlfriends anymore. That's stupid."

"Uhu", agreed Basty and wiggled his nose. "JP's not coming over as often anymore since he spends all his time with Milly. He's way happier with staying in New Rome now too."

"But I don't wanna abandon all my friends just to spend all my time with only one person. No one is that interesting, not even Silly is!", exclaimed Jimmy, still shaking his head.

"Do you think there's something like boy hunters of Artemis?", mused Basty.

"Eh?", grunted Jimmy confused.

"Well, that's what the hunters of Artemis are, is what mom said. A group of girls who never-ever wanna have boyfriends", explained Basty and laid back down on the bed.

"Mh... Sounds good...", nodded Jimmy slowly. "But only if you join too! Would be boring without you! I wouldn't join if you wouldn't join too."

"Dunno. Maybe we should look _that_ up on the internet", declared Basty. "But first, we'll go and eat something! Let's go and visit Andy. There's food at aunt Katie's."

"Okay", nodded Jimmy and grabbed Basty's hand.

Seconds later and they were in Katie's Salad Bar. Basty was instantly pulled into a tight hug by his mother Miranda before both boys were ushered over to a table where Silly and Andy were already sitting. Jimmy blinked surprised before realizing that him and Basty had been gone over two hours.

"Where have you been, Jimmy?!", exclaimed Silly, throwing her perfect curls over her shoulder.

"We were in the underworld", shrugged Jimmy. "Didn't want Percy to kill us."

"Mommy wouldn't let her", pointed Silly out, poking her salad.

"I didn't bring money", observed Jimmy as he went through the menu.

"No problem, I can pay. Mommy's here so she'll pay for me and if I ask her nicely, she'll pay for you too, Jamie", stated Basty with a shrug. "That okay?"

"Thanks", grinned Jimmy brightly and chose something.

"You two are weird", muttered Silly beneath her breath and rolled her eyes.

"Don't say mean things, Silly", chided Andy and pushed his glasses up.

She grinned at her best friend and leaned in to ruffle his blonde hair. Jimmy giggled at the face the other boy made. He was nice, Jimmy liked the legacy of Demeter. He made living things, like plants. That was like the opposite of what Jimmy could do, so of course it was fascinating.

"What are we doing after food?", asked Basty as his mom brought the food. "Thanks, mom."

"Oh, I can tell you what you're going to do", stated Miranda sternly, her hands on her hips. "You'll go back to the di Angelos and then you're going to apologize to your sisters. Don't think we don't know. Percy – not your sister, your mother – called me earlier, thinking you two fled to our place."

"Oh... damn...", sighed Basty and Jimmy, looking all pitiful.

"Serves you right for doing something stupid again", chided Silly.

But she wore a grin on her lips and was nudging Jimmy, so he knew she was just teasing them for getting caught. He huffed and stuck his tongue out at his twin before continuing his meal.


	79. Back to Berlin

79\. Back to Berlin

Sam loved being with Fighter, she made him feel so free and alive. Flying was amazing. And flying with Derek was _fun_. He kept squealing and clinging to him like this was a rollercoaster ride. It was really adorable. That aside, he got to race Trend – even though the blonde was quite green around the ears. All in all, this was totally awesome. Sam had two of his favorite people with him, he could fly on Fighter and Fighter's mate was with them too.

"Sweetheart, would you mind slowing down some?", asked Derek, loud against the wind.

Sam shuddered as Derek's hot breath tickled his neck. Urgh, so maybe flying with Derek wasn't that great because since he was with Trend now, his libido was more than active. The feeling of Derek's strong arms around his waist, a warm body pressed tightly against his back, it did things to him.

"Nico and Arion are somewhere down there. We agreed to reach the Galgenteich by sundown. We got to hurry if we don't want to worry her, Der", laughed Sam amused, shaking his head to clear it.

Trend glared over at them. He could see Sam laughing and he saw the way Derek was pressed against Sam's back. The two of them looked so cute together and that was what annoyed the blonde. The fact that he actually started to find the picture of Sam and Derek together intriguing. The muscular, tall Sam bottoming for smaller and frailer Derek? It would be something else.

/break\

Nico had already set up the tent and was stirring a fire. The boys were still somewhere up in the air, probably. But Arion, he was just too fast. He had reached their meeting point for the night early. She probably could already be in Berlin, but they were a team and it wasn't wise to storm forward alone. Instead, she let him run free and told him to be back by sunrise.

"Guys. You're late", noted Nico without looking up.

She was cleaning her bloody arrows in the lake. While waiting for the boys, she had hunted in the forest next to the lake. It was why they had chosen this location. No too close-by city, a lake and a forest. The perfect hiding place for the night. The boar she had shot was already over the fire.

"They forced me to slow down", whined Sam as he climbed off Fighter. "Wait, let me help you."

Derek grinned pleased as Sam helped him off the pegasus. His ass hadn't hurt that much since the last ride he had on the Monstrosity. Riding was not exactly his thing. Making a face, he stretched. Looking over, he noticed that Trend looked as displeased as Derek felt.

"I made dinner. It should be ready soon", stated Nico, looking over at the boys. "If you want, you can take a bath before. It's maybe another ten, twenty minutes until it's done."

Derek, Trend and Sam were in the middle of dumping their backpacks when Sam grabbed the others' hands and pulled them with him toward the lake. Derek was gaping at the casual way Sam stripped down and left a trail of clothes behind. He blushed and turned to stare at Trend.

"Yes, he's not exactly shy about those things", sighed Trend and shook his head.

"Are you coming in, you two?!", called Sam and waved at them.

"Gods, he's gorgeous...", muttered Derek, only for Trend to hear. "And... still wearing the collar."

"Yes, I noticed. I just... don't know how to approach the topic. With him, such things are always a gamble", sighed Trend as he started to strip down. "You better do as he says."

It felt only barely surreal to Derek to be naked in the lake with Trend and Sam. And he had to begrudgingly admit that Trend and Sam made a damn gorgeous couple. Especially right now while making out. Sam had his arms around Trend's neck, head tilted up to kiss the blonde while the son of Athena had his arms possessively around Sam's waist, pulling him close.

"You are aware that I'm still here, right?", grunted Derek and rolled his eyes.

"Aw, jealous, Der?", asked Sam teasingly, clinging to Trend. "Sorry, but you're not getting him back. I don't think I'll ever let this one go again. I hope that's not a problem."

Sam was speaking lightly, like he was joking, but Derek could tell that Sam was actually being serious. "Honey, you're aware that I'm not going to try and force myself between you, right?"

"I know!", exclaimed Sam honestly before sighing. "I do. It's just... hard. You two were a good-working couple. And your relationship isn't over for long now and..."

"Gods, you three are such girls! Get dried up, dinner is ready!", called Nico from the shore. "Stop talking like little school girls. Really now, why did they send me daughters when I asked for men?"

"I _love_ that girl", laughed Sam amused and splashed himself a last time before leaving.

Derek was upset that his naked bathing time with Sam was cut so short, but when Sam walked out, Derek had that perfect view on Sam's butt, so that was fine. Trend snorted and nudged him.

"Stop drooling over what's mine", warned the blonde half-serious.

Dinner was well-done boar with bread. Not what they had gotten used to on the ship, but honestly it made Sam feel more comfortable. More like he was on a quest. Still, he missed his bacon. Pouting a little, he chewed on the farmhouse bread with a nice side of grilled boar.

"Kitten, do you want a treat?", asked Derek in a light, teasing voice.

"Stop it with the teasing. I'm not even a catboy anymore", pouted Sam while Nico was snickering.

"Oh, but you were the cutest thing ever", cooed Derek with a grin, rummaging around in one of the backpacks. "Besides, only good boys get a treat, so don't argue with me, sweetheart."

Sam's eyes lit up when he saw the 'treat'. Derek was holding up a Tupperware container filled with deliciously crispy bacon. Licking his lips, Sam inched closer until he was practically sitting on Derek's lap, giving him the best kitten-eyes possible.

"You brought bacon", purred Sam, making grabby motions for it.

"I brought you", pointed Derek out, looking amused. "And I know you're just like a kitten when it comes to treats, so I figured I'd make you your favorite treat. You want some, cutie?"

"You know, Derek has your man tamed like a newborn kitten", chuckled Nico amused, nudging Trend. "Okay, now. We need to talk business. Night watch. We can't all go to sleep at the same time, we're monster bait out here alone. One of us should always be awake. I'd suggest three hour shifts."

"I call dibs on the first shift", interrupted Derek while caressing Sam's mohawk tenderly. "If I have to sleep in a tent, I will sleep without interruptions until morning. I don't have a problem with staying awake longer. Whatever you do after that, I don't care."

Sam was too busy enjoying his bacon and his patting (he liked to blame it on some left-over cat inside of him, but really it was just him loving his cuddles). One guard would be enough, they just ought to wake the others in case of a monster attack, so Sam knew Derek would be alright. Derek wasn't a risk-taker, he'd scream so loud, the others on the other end of Germany would hear him.

/break\

Derek was peeking into the tent, watching how disgustingly cute Trend and Sam were as they were cuddled together, Sam resting on Trend's chest, with the blonde's arms protectively around him. Huffing annoyed, he returned to the fireplace. He'd rather have watch-duty with Sammy, having the son of Ares curled together on his lap. After all, Sam was a sucker for heat. He hated the cold and the nights out here were practically freezing. Shuddering a little, he pulled his clothes tighter. To distract himself, he made an IM call to Donny. After all, the princess wanted to be informed.

"Yeah? What is it?", asked a flustered, tired and exhausted voice.

Derek cocked one eyebrow, looking at the drained-looking boy. "Are you two being naughty?"

"No. We were just kissing. It was a long day", huffed Donny and yawned. "Sander was trying to cheer me up, but... everything is alright now. No worries. We're still in Bavaria. What about you?"

"We're at this lake where we decided to take our break. At this rate, we'll be back in Berlin by tomorrow night", replied Derek and got more comfortable. "The others are asleep, I'm keeping watch. I figured I'd bring you up to speed. Everything is going well so far."

"Good. Good to hear", nodded Donny, looking relieved. "And the fireflies?"

"Oh, those little buggers only recently caught up to us. They're exhausted and asleep too", answered Derek, yawning slightly. "This is so boring. Quests suck. I really don't need to become a hero."

Donny chuckled amused at that. "Sam will appreciate this, Derek. He likes heroes."

"You're nasty", commented Derek with a pout. "Always with the low-blows, stupid princess."

"If you want, I could entertain you some?", suggested Donny. "Sander just fell asleep in my lap. I guess he's still exhausted from the whole ordeal. So... you wanna talk?"

"Shoot", nodded Derek, grinning a little. "Tell me more about the famous Disney Princess."

And he was being honest. He wanted to learn more about Donny if he was to befriend the princess. For the next two hours, he listened to Donny talking about his life and his family, while occasionally asking questions. It was cute, the life story of Donny di Angelo. Such an innocent, little babe. Derek tried not to be bitter, but he had been right after all. Donny had _no idea_ what a hard life was. He had mommy and daddy and all of his siblings and grandparents and everybody always coddled him. He was a spoiled brat who never had to suffer a day in his life. Not really anyway. The bullies who called him a princess and picked on him, sure. But _real_ suffering?

"Time to change shifts", declared Derek and stood. "Nighty-night, princess."

After disconnecting the IM-call, Derek entered the tent. Trend was still cuddling Derek's favorite teddy, so Derek decided to 'tenderly' kick Trend awake. The son of Athena grunted and glared as he stood. Derek gave him an innocent grin as he laid down in his own sleeping bag on Sam's other side. Nico was peacefully snoring next to Derek and he tried to tune her out. But before he had a chance to fall asleep (not that Nico would allow that anyway), he noticed how Sam kept rolling around, turning from one side to the other, grunting displeased, huffing to himself.

"Sweetheart, would you mind stopping?! Nicole's snoring is already bad enough!", exclaimed Derek annoyed after a while. "I'd like to get a good night's rest before we continue our journey."

"Sorry, Der", mumbled Sam embarrassed and rolled over to look at Derek. "I woke up when you took my Trend away and... well, I guess I just can't fall asleep again..."

"Why not?", prompted Derek, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Ever... since we left New Rome, I... stood face to face with Leroy again...", started Sam softly. "I... have those nightmares again. But when I have my Trend, it's good and most of the nights since we left New Rome, I had him to hold me and all and fuck, I sound like some love-sick chick or crap. I don't _need_ him, or anyone, to protect me. And it's just nightmares. But they scare me and make me feel like that weak, twelve-years old boy again and being with Trend makes me feel... safe."

Derek nodded stiffly. Maybe Trend did deserve Sam after all, if the blonde managed to make Sam feel safe. Frowning slightly, Derek pushed his sleeping bag off some and opened his arms wide.

"Come here, sweetheart", whispered Derek softly. "You never had a problem sneaking into my bed before either when you had nightmares. That doesn't have to change, cutie. I'll _always_ be there for you and whenever Trend can't be there for you, you can come to me. Understood?"

Sam looked at Derek with those large, dark eyes and after a short, confirming nod from the son of Demeter, Sam practically leaped into Derek's arms, snuggling up to the other brunette. Burying his face in Derek's chest, Sam heaved a content sigh as Derek laid his arms around him.

"Thank you, Der", murmured Sam softly, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. For not telling you the truth about Leroy earlier and only telling you about being with Trend now and..."

"Hey, hey, sweetheart", cooed Derek softly, running his fingers through Sam's mohawk in a soothing way. "Where's all that coming from? I already told you it's alright, darling."

"I know, but you're just... there for me, always. And I feel like I don't deserve you with the way I... treated you, not telling you the full truth and all", mumbled Sam guiltily.

"There are things I've never told you either, sweetheart", whispered Derek darkly. "I don't need to know everything about you. Everyone is entitled to their secrets, darling."

"I... guess you're right. I just don't want you to feel like I'm locking you out", countered Sam.

"I'm not, I promise", murmured Derek into Sam's hair. "Let's talk about something else, mh? Do you want to tell me why you're still wearing the collar, kitty-cat?" Sam stiffened significantly in Derek's hold, causing Derek to caress Sam's back soothingly. "Sh, sweetheart, it's alright. You can tell me, I won't judge. I just don't want you to bottle everything up inside, honey."

"I... like it...", confessed Sam, barely audible against Derek's chest. "I like that it's a sign that I'm Trend's, because I... I like feeling safe, knowing he's there for me. With the collar, it kinda is like he's there, even if he's not... I—I know it's weird and it freaks me out, because I _hated_ when... w—when Leroy said I was his, treated me like a... p—possession..."

"Sweetheart, darling, no", interrupted Derek concerned, cradling Sam closer. "Those are two entirely different things, I thought you're understanding that now. You didn't like having sex with Leroy, that doesn't make it wrong liking sex with Trend. The same still applies, honey. You didn't like being Leroy's, but if you like being Trend's, then that's completely okay, cutie."

Sam hummed lowly to signal that he had heard Derek, but he didn't reply otherwise. Derek left it at that and continued drawing circles on Sam's back until the son of Ares was asleep in Derek's arms. Which was how Trend found them hours later. The blonde had to smile slightly. Despite their size-difference, Sam looked so incredibly small now and Derek looked so very protective. It was cute.

/break\

Sam was sitting outside the tent as it was his turn, hanging after his thoughts. What Derek had said before he had fallen asleep was still troubling him. If he wanted to submit and give himself to Trend, wasn't that like saying that what Leroy had done to him was right, because it was what he wanted? To be dominated and owned? But somehow Derek had a point too. For years, Sam had thought that bottoming was wrong for him because he had hated what Leroy had done to him, but now with Trend it had basically become his fourth favorite pastime, after sword-fight, cuddling and cooking. Groaning annoyed, he tried to think about something else. There was a lot on his mind these days anyway. Having Derek and Trend so close, his bubbling jealousy every time he saw them together. The worry about how Derek and Donny were getting along. Those pictures of his uncle Liam kind of cheating on aunt Malene with Alabaster. Heck, the fact that uncle Liam was a demigod, that had been even more mind-blowing than the fact that Liam was bisexual. Then there was this whole quest going on too and he started to wonder what kind of quest this was anyway. No major fighting as of yet, the mission had been dragging on for four weeks now. Something was fishy there, but he felt that his personal stuff was keeping him so busy, he had no time to contemplate. Yawning widely, he got up to wake Nico for her shift. He hoped to get some more sleep in before dawn, but he doubted those last three hours would be of any use.

"Oi, fireworks, time to wake up", grunted Sam, nudging the Latina. "Shift-change."

Nico showed him the finger before cracking an eye open and walking past him like a zombie. That girl was fun, he really regretted not having spend more time with her before this quest. The grin on his face diminished a little when he turned toward his sleeping bag. His sleeping bag which was squished somewhere between Trend and Derek, who were actually _cuddling_ in their sleep. Gods, why did this hurt so much? Frowning upset, he poked them both until they were half-way awake.

"Why do you wake us? Is it morning?", yawned Derek incoherently.

"You're blocking my sleeping bag by cuddling", growled Sam defensively.

"Right, so when I use the little space-heater, that's a problem, but when you're curling up to him like he's your life-line, that's totally fine?", snorted Trend a little ridiculed and made room for Sam.

"Oh, stop bitching, blondie", huffed Derek and rolled his eyes. "And you, lie down. I'm tired."

Sam frowned unsure as he laid down on his place, just to be pulled up against Trend. He instantly felt more relaxed as he rested his head on Trend's sixpack. A content sigh escaped him as he felt Derek's arms around his waist, the 'little space-heater' snuggling up to him from behind. Trend wasn't much for spooning, he preferred to have Sam resting on his torso because he usually slept on his back, but Sam actually liked being the little spoon (something he had discovered with Chuck a year or so ago). So having Derek laying behind him like that was really nice.

/break\

Nico sighed relaxed as she was laying in the water, soaking blissfully. After getting up so early, this was a good way of waking up. Before taking her bath, she had IMed Joe to see how things were going. She just kept bitching about having to meet up with Rika, it was to equal parts endearing and annoying. And then Nico had contacted her aunt Nyssa again to tell her about the arrival of the Argo II in Heldenheim. Feeling clean and like she had accomplished something already, she climbed out of the lake and got dressed to start breakfast. The three boys were still deep asleep. Nico had already taken various pictures of them for later blackmail. Derek had his head on Trend's chest and Sam had his on Trend's stomach, Sam and Derek spooning while Trend had his arms around both of them. Nico smiled to herself while stirring the scrambled eggs she was making. When she had walked into the tent to get her clothes and then took the photos, she had realized something. Those three were like her parents, they loved each other. It wasn't just about Sam, the way Trend was nosing Derek's hair in his sleep, no, there was more to this. Trend, Derek and Sam, they loved each other. They just hadn't realized it yet. But Nico won't tell them, no. It was something her mamá once told her – if they can't even figure out how they feel, how are they supposed to figure a relationship out? And Nico agreed. They had to figure their own feelings out in their own pace, because otherwise they were going to stumble into a relationship without a plan.

"Boys! Food! With bacon!", called Nico loudly, trusting Sam's bacon-senses to pick it up.

Sam stirred as the smell of delicious, fresh bacon invaded his nostrils. Yawning a little, he snuggled more into the safe heat surrounding him. A little grin was on his face when he felt the morning-wood pressing against his butt. At least until he realized that it wasn't Trend's morning-wood but Derek's (and it was _bigger_ than expected, which made him blush only darker. Grower, not shower). He blushed a deep, dark red with wide eyes and tried to sit up, but a sleepy Trend objected.

"Your bacon won't run away if you stay with me a little longer", grunted the son of Athena without opening his eyes. "Let's cuddle some more, Sammy. It's so chilly out there, you're so warm..."

He was running his fingers through soft hair, smiling contently. But then he inhaled deeply and noticed the lack of coconut and the intense smell of roses. That was Derek, Trend remembered waking up with Derek in his arms quite vividly. He hadn't realized how much he had missed it. Opening his eyes, he looked down at Derek and Sam, who were curled together on his torso, Derek holding Sam protectively. This was pretty close to perfection, if he was being honest with himself.

"Morning, Khan", yawned Sam and looked up at him adoringly.

"Good morning, Sammy. Good morning, little space-heater", replied Trend a little amused.

"For the record, I don't like my new nickname", snorted Derek with a glare.

"You have an extremely high body-temperature and with the cold night-air that was more than appreciated", countered Trend with a small smile. "We should go and get breakfast."

"Probably", nodded Sam and buried his face back in Trend's sixpack. "But this is comfortable and warm and outside it's cold... Five more minutes, mo chuisle?"

"Cheater", muttered Trend amused and got comfortable again, with both Derek and Sam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be the one where Donny kills a Hydra and everyone suffers a little.
> 
> To inform you, I've received my copy of "Blood of Olympus" and I'll be working on a oneshot to explain how all of THAT needs to be twisted to fit my headcanon timeline once I finish the book - which I have not yet. Just so you know that the timeline will get another add-on within the month, but I'll also be warning about BoO spoilers in the summary when I get all of it done. (It will be the story of how Jake and Will adopted Elizabeth, while remembering the peaks of the Giant War)


	80. Stopping at Lake Starnberg

80\. Stopping at Lake Starnberg

Donny was slowly growing frustrated as they flew together – Trickster and Shadow in the lead together, Tempest and Nightowl right behind them. They were _still_ flying around in Bavaria. Bavaria wasn't _that_ big, but the fireflies were flying circles. Or at least it felt like that.

"Where are we going?!", asked Donny, slowly growing more and more impatient.

" _The young prince needs to talk to the king_ ", replied the fireflies.

"What king? Where are we going?", asked Donny again, frowning concerned.

" _Where the King of Fairy Tales died_ ", answered the fireflies. " _You need to talk to the Fairy Tale King, he knows where the young prince's friend can be found._ "

Fairy Tales. He was used to myths and legends and sagas being true, but now they started with fairy tales? He just hoped it wasn't King Bluebeard, that would be majorly creepy. Donny shuddered.

" _We arrived, young prince_ ", declared one of the fireflies and they headed down toward a lake.

Donny and Shadow followed them, motioning for the others to follow too. The four mighty horses landed at the shore of a big lake. Herc groaned relieved when he climbed off Tempest's back.

" _Whiny, annoying blonde_ ", growled Tempest beneath his breath. " _Keeping me from Blacky..._ "

"Tempest, don't be mean", chided Donny amused while patting Shadow's muzzle.

"What are we doing here? Rest?", asked Sander confused as he walked up to Donny, kissing him.

"I have no idea. They want me to consult some kind of king, but Germany doesn't have a king. I think they're going crazy", noted Donny with one cocked eyebrow, one arm around Sander's neck.

Thea was just leading Nightowl and Tempest away when a roaring sound erupted. The four teens whirled around to the lake where a gigantic beast emerged. Donny stared wide-eyed at the monster. It had seven long necks and large heads. Donny jumped back some. Trickster and Shadow had ascended to get out of harm's way too. Donny shooed them away toward safety with a motion.

"That's the Hydra", called Thea out, looking scared and surprised.

Donny was paralyzed with fear. Training with Trend and the others was one thing, it was _theory_ more or less. It was safe and without dangers. Facing the weird squid had been kind of surreal because it had been a pervy squid and Donny hadn't been able to take it serious. But this? This was the freaking Hydra, breathing fire from one head and burning down trees.

"Donny? Donny?! Get moving, damn it!", called Herc loudly.

He already had his double-edged Imperial-gold sword drawn, lifted high over his head. One of the heads was trying to chew on him so Herc was quite busy defending himself. A clawed hand was holding him in place suddenly, tightly wrapped around his body, crushing a rib or two even. His sword the Lightning Bolt was no more than a needle pricking the Hydra's hand, really. The Hydra roared, angered by the little needle-pricks. It lashed out and with one swipe of his other hand, it threw Thea against a wall. Hard. The native American slid down the wall slowly and collapsed on the ground. Donny felt as though his throat was tightening, like he couldn't breath. He was useless, he didn't know how to fight. What was he supposed to do? He was just the Disney Princess, no hero. And this? This was one of the most infamous monsters there were.

"Donny!", screamed Sander, ripping Donny out of his thoughts.

Donny blinked blearily as he was pushed out of the way, but then he was back full-force when he heard the heart-wrecking scream tearing from Sander's throat. This time, it didn't just feel like he couldn't breath, no, he actually honestly couldn't, like all oxygen had been sucked out of the air.

"N—No... Sander...", stammered Donny, eyes fixed on Sander's form.

Sander was caught between the strong jaw of the second head on the right and Donny could _see_ how the fangs were going straight through his mid-section, colored red with Sander's blood. Donny collapsed back onto the ground, fear gripping his heart.

"D—Donny, at least _run_ ", called Herc and gritted his teeth.

He had at least three broken ribs by now and Lightning Bolt was the only reason why he was still alive, because every time the beast tried to bite his head off, Herc would stab it in the tongue. He saw that Thea was passed out, but she was out of harm's way for now, so that was good. Hopefully. He was scared for Sander's life and annoyed and terrified because Donny just wouldn't move. He sat there, in front of the mighty beast, staring at the ground. The sky darkened above them, from azure-blue to nearly black, clouds gathering everywhere. There was no thunder or lightning. Not Herc's kind of storms. But that of Poseidon. Ice-cold rain started to brass down on them, so hard and sharp as though they were little razorblades. It extinguished the flames. Still, everything seemed to be getting darker. So much that Herc had to wonder; was this Poseidon's storm or Hades' shadows...? Herc frowned when the beast stopped to try and eat him. Turning his attention back from Donny and toward the monster. It was as though time had stopped. Mid-snap, its mouth wide open, tongue half-way out. But unmoved. Herc stared, relieved but also confused.

"Stop hurting my friends", growled a dark voice.

Herc shuddered, a wave of fear washing over him. Fear stronger than what he had felt when the Hydra had approached him. Pure, raw fear that was like a pulsing energy, released from Donny. The legacy of Hades stood slowly, one hand lifted up as he glared at the beast.

"And spit. Out. My. Fiance", continued Donny harshly. " _Now_."

Donny balled a fist and twisted it toward him and in that very second, the Hydra's jaw snapped open with the loud crack of breaking bones. The lower jaw hung loosely now and the beast wailed in pain. Donny lifted his other hand in slow-motion, palm flat up. With its movement, Sander was slowly lifted off the fangs by an invisible force and transported safely below to Donny's feet. As soon as Sander was laying, Donny stared the middle head of the Hydra dead in the eyes. And then he balled a fist with his other hand too, drawing both hands close to his chest. Hercules listened and watched in utter mortification how the monster whined and wallowed while water poured out of its very skin, until that turned leathery and dry, flesh and muscles fading as it fell in together until all that remained was ashes and Herc found himself falling into the lake, being caught by a tender wave, washing him ashore. Breathing was hard with three-or-so broken ribs, but he managed to stand and drag himself over to his friends. Donny had collapsed on top of Sander, completely drained after this display of his powers. Though this seemed to be a good position, because his weight was putting pressure on Sander's wounds, stopping the bleeding. Herc continued his way to Thea, sinking onto his knees next to her. It only took three shakes before she woke.

"Ow, my head is killing me. And my back too", moaned Thea and sat up. "What happened?"

"Hydra", was all Herc could breath out before he collapsed against her.

Breathing was just _too_ hard and passing out was quite the bliss.

/break\

For the record, Thea's head was still hurting. And she was exhausted. She had stitched and wrapped the wounds of Herc and Sander, had force-fed all three boys nectar and ambrosia, had bathed herself, put up the tent and was currently cooking dinner. This job sucked.

"D... Do...n..."

The barely audible moan caught her attention and she turned toward the tent where she had pulled them into. Sander was moving, at least a little. Frowning concerned, she stood and walked in.

"Sh, don't move, Sander. You only survived by a miracle. Your internal injuries would have been deadly if the Hydra had bitten you just half an inch up above", whispered Thea softly.

"Don...ny...", muttered Sander, his eyes fluttering open as he stared at her pleadingly.

"Donny is fine. I don't know what happened, but he's unconscious", answered Thea with a smile. "Look, he's right next to you. He's asleep, but he's fine. Unharmed. He'll be okay, Sander."

Sander looked relieved, sagging back some. "Herc...?"

"Also fine. Well, mostly. I bandaged him up, but his broken ribs will take some time to heal", answered Thea with a frown. "Now continue to rest. I'll bring you dinner soon. You need to rest and you need to recharge, so you'll eat once it's done and then you'll have more nectar and ambrosia and then you'll sleep so we can continue our quest tomorrow."

Sander nodded stiffly and turned his head just as Thea left. His eyes stared over at Donny. The half-Italian was peacefully asleep, laying curled together and facing Sander. Frowning a little, Sander grunted. He wanted to scoot closer, to hug Donny and cuddle him, but he couldn't even move.

"Donny...", repeated Sander, his voice hoarse and dry.

"Mh...?", yawned a tired voice as sea-green eyes fluttered open. "S—Sander!"

The tired expression was replaced by one of utter joy and even though every muscle in his body ached, he bolted up and crawled over to his fiance. Supporting himself with one hand, he reached out with the other, shaking a little as he rested it against Sander's cheek. Sander smiled happily and leaned into the tender touch. Donny groaned in pain when he leaned down, but he didn't care, he _needed_ to kiss Sander now. Their lips met in a lazy, slow touch.

"You're alive... You're alive...", repeated Donny, tears running down his cheeks.

"Mh... Pain, but... y—yes...", groaned Sander and nodded. "Cuddles?"

Donny smiled at that and laid down again, mindful of Sander's injuries. Resting his head on Sander's chest, he closed his eyes. The sound of Sander's blood pumping through his veins was the most reassuring sound Donny had ever heard in his entire life. He laid one hand on top of Sander's heart, drawing little circles. His whole body was aching like he had overused every single muscle he had, his head was hammering and his lungs were burning, but he was _so_ happy. He had saved his friends, had saved his Sander. He had beaten the Hydra.

/break\

After forcing down the dinner Thea had made – she was a brilliant girl, but a horrible cook – Donny had used the last of his strength to get out of the tent. The nectar and ambrosia weren't kicking in quite as he had expected them to and Thea herself was injured and exhausted too, she deserved the rest just like the others. Donny figured a bath in the lake would be far more useful.

"Eine exzellente Show, die Ihr da abgeliefert habt, Frühlingsprinz." [trans: _Excellent show you've performed there, Spring Prince._ ]

Donny was startled by the foreign voice. He was also naked and alone. Just great. When he turned, there was the shimmering form or a ghost, sitting atop the strange cross that Donny had already noticed upon entering the lake. Feeling more revived now that he was surrounded by water, Donny glared fiercely at the ghost. Yes, it was an attractive ghost. Of lithe body-build, with an interesting beard and dark, full hair. A charming smile was on his lips.

"Das war keine 'Show'. Ich habe meine Freunde beschützt", replied Donny fiercely. "Wer sind Sie?" [trans: _That wasn't a 'show'. I protected my friends. Who are you?_ ]

"Der Name ist Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm, König von Bayern", introduced the man. "König Ludwig der Zweite. Doch Ihr dürft mich auch den Märchenkönig nennen, mein Prinz." [trans: _The name's Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm, king of Bavaria. King Ludwig the Second. But you may also call me the Fairy Tale King, my prince._ ]

The man who had just introduced himself as the Fairy Tale King stood and walked over to Donny through the water, taking Donny's hand as he bowed down and kissed it. Donny blushed. The king was charming and handsome. And apparently the one the fireflies had wanted him to meet.

"Ich... denke, wir haben einiges zu besprechen", stated Donny softly. [trans: _I... think we have a lot to discuss_ ]

/break\

Herc hummed contently as feather-light kisses were placed along the slowly-scarring wounds on his torso. He grinned amused at Thea, who looked up at him with a smile, resting her chin on his chest.

"Hey there, my hero", smiled Thea softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like death warmed over", muttered Herc with a groan. "I need a good night's sleep."

"Your wish shall be granted", grinned his girlfriend, leaning up for a kiss. "Donny is outside, talking to a ghost. We'll continue tomorrow, hopefully you'll feel better by then."

"What kind of... ghost...?", asked Herc and yawned widely. "Tell me more."

"I don't know. I don't understand German. Let's cuddle and kiss until he's done", shrugged Thea.

She got more comfortable, tracing Herc's sixpack with her fingertips. He hummed contently at that and closed his eyes, enjoying her soft touch. It soon lulled him back to sleep.

/break\

Sander was woken up by the soft sounds of his friends and the feeling of fingers running through his hair. Blinking his eyes open, he turned to look at the owner of the fingers. Donny's eyes were more blue than green, for probably the first time ever since Sander had known Donny. A soft turquoise, sparkling like the sea under the moon's light.

"Hello, love. Did I wake you? I'm sorry", murmured Donny, continuing his caress.

"Is fine... I'm glad to see you", smiled Sander happily. "Are you alright, my Dark Sea?"

"The boy who nearly got bitten in half asks the drama queen if he's alright", snorted Herc amused and rolled his eyes. "Your pretty princess just passed out because of exhaustion after he single-handedly killed the Hydra and saved us all. No injuries."

"Oh. Right. Bitten in half. I forgot", nodded Sander and frowned.

He tenderly touched the still raw injuries. Nectar, ambrosia and sleep had worked wonders and the wounds were already closing slowly. Donny leaned down and kissed Sander softly.

"Never do that again. Do not ever risk your life for me again", ordered Donny.

"I had to. If you die, I can as well die with you, so I have to protect you", murmured Sander.

"Don't be a fool", frowned Donny upset. "You have your sisters, your parents, your friends. Don't throw away your own life because you think you have to save me. Don't do that. Don't think I'd _ever_ be able to live a single, happy day in my life knowing you had died for me."

"Can we cut the cheese and get to the German ghost?", interrupted Herc and rolled his eyes.

"Right", nodded Donny embarrassed, adjusting himself so Sander was laying between his thighs and Donny could rest his hands on Sander's shoulders. "He used to be the king of Bavaria toward the end of the nineteenth century. They called him the Fairy Tale King. You surely have seen the things he achieved too – Disney designed Cinderella's castle to look like Ludwig's Castle Neuschwanstein. He build the most beautiful castles because he was obsessed with fairy tales, with legends and myths. Us too. The demigods, that is. He was close friends – well, he confided in me that it was a little more than that anyway – with a son of Apollo. Anyway, he worshiped beauty and art. After his death here – the cross in the lake is a remembrance to his death – he stayed to watch over his kingdom and people still. He had been close to nature spirits, a mortal with sight. He used to worship the Greek goddesses of the beauty of nature after he learned the truth about gods from Richard Wagner, the son of Apollo. Demeter, Persephone, Antheia, Thallo and Xarpo. He knows Teardrop, had seen him before, had heard songs that Richard had written in privacy. So when he saw Teardrop here, out of season, he contacted the nature spirits surrounding the lake, which led to a kind of chain-reaction. Gossip spreads fast between the nature spirits, which is why the fireflies led us here because they heard of the rumors that King Ludwig had seen Teardrop."

"Okay. Good. When? Where?", asked Thea curiously.

"We're going hiking tomorrow", answered Donny. "But nothing more of that now. You guys still need rest. We all do. We need all our strength if what Ludwig told me turns out to be true..."

Thea frowned. There was something that Donny was holding back. But she was too tired to investigate, which probably was why Donny was holding back. He wanted them to rest and not to worry. Yawning widely, she snuggled up to Herc and was out within the minute. Donny all the while bend over in a nearly painful way so he could capture Sander's lips.

"Swear on the River Styx that you will never do this again. Fighting for me, yes, but just throwing yourself in harm's way to save me... never, Chrysander Rodriguez", whispered Donny firmly.

"I... swear, my Dark Sea", sighed Sander in defeat. "I just... can't picture living without you."

"Neither can I, which is why it would _break_ me to know that you died for me", countered Donny.

Sander heaved a sigh, knowing he was not to win this argument. So he gave up and instead just pulled Donny into another kiss, this one a bit more passionate. As passionate as he could muster at the moment. That was, until an IM interrupted them. Sander glared at Derek's face while snuggling up to the warmth of Donny's lap. The fingers returned to their task of massaging Sander's scalp until the brunette drifted back to sleep, with the faint sounds of Derek's and Donny's voices in the background, only a soft mumbling in the back of his mind.

/break\

A nearly sad smile was on Donny's lips as the call disconnected. He started to truly like Derek, which was a little sad because he felt for Derek's most likely one-sided love. Derek may be a loud-mouth and act like nothing bothered him, yet Donny _knew_ that it hurt Derek deeply, especially when he saw how happy Sam and Trend were together. But after witnessing the way Trend and Derek interacted, Donny liked to think that there were still some lingering feelings and while under the spell of the Erotes – the gods that brought out the hidden, deep desires – Sam had shown the most affection toward Trend and Derek. The catboy had been possessive of Derek. Surely that meant something, Donny was just not entirely sure what. He was pretty sure that Sam had never even acknowledged or realized that he held some kind of desires for Derek. Whatever would it take to make him realize them though? Donny just really wanted them all to be happy.

"Mother and father", ordered Donny as he decided to make another IM call.

Thea had already spoken with Sara earlier and aside from nearly-maiming and a lot of bitching, things in Heldenheim seemed to be going well. It took only a moment before the call connected and he saw the smiling and curious face of his mother, so much like his own.

"Donny! Baby-boy, how are you doing? Why are you calling? Why is this taking so long?"

"Mom. You're nervously rambling again", grinned Donny amused. "Something is supposed to happen on the solstice, which is why our quest is dragging on so long. But let's not talk about all of this _please_ , this mess is already driving me crazy. How are you doing?"

"Very... pregnant at the moment", confessed Percy embarrassed.

"Oh my gods!", whispered Donny wide-eyed. "I'll be a big brother again! Yay!"

"Yeah, your dad and Jack are as excited", laughed Percy amused.

"I'm really looking forward to returning home and seeing for myself", smiled Donny softly. "I miss you all so very much, mommy. I... I... Sander nearly died today. I nearly lost him. I just... can't. I want to go back home to you and have everything be safe and good again..."

Tears ran down his face and Percy frowned concerned. "But... is he alright now?"

"Yes", nodded Donny hastily. "He will be alright again. But still... I nearly lost him and all I could think was that... I can't. I want him to always be mine. I really want this marriage, mom."

"I know. I understand. Believe me, I'm already discussing and debating with your father about all of this, but he's still not the biggest fan of his sixteen-years-old getting married", stated Percy.

"You'll convince him, mom", grinned Donny broadly. "It's what you do best."

"Funny. Once upon a time that used to be saving the world", snorted Percy amused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will focus on Phyl's group, how they reach Heldenheim and are being reuinted with Rika and Arielle. Also, ancient seasonal goddesses get consulted.


	81. Three Hours Left Fighting

81\. Three Hours Left Fighting

The Black Forest was a magnificent, large stretch of dark pine-trees. More than Sara had ever seen in one place. They spread all over hills and mountains, a long mountain range. She smiled.

"This is the place where fairy tales were born", whispered Sara in awe as she leaned against Marshall. "Did you know? All those mountains could be the seven hills behind which the seven dwarfs lived. Or the forest where Red Riding Hood was crossing to get to her grandmother."

Marshall smiled amused, his arms around Sara's waist and chin on her head. "The Brothers Grimm. Sons of the muse Calliope. Yes, I know, strawberry-shortcake."

"It's breathtaking!", exclaimed Phyl loudly before blushing. "I mean... it's pretty."

"Don't cube your enthusiasm", laughed Sara. "You can be loud too, you know?"

"So where's this... Heldenheim we're going to?", asked Phyl shyly.

"Somewhere on a mountain called... S—Sh... Schauins...land?", stammered Joe with a frown.

"Schauinsland", corrected Phyl with a giggle. "'Sch' is not like in 'school', but like in 'should' in German. The name translates to 'look into the country'. It must have a magnificent view."

"You speak German?", asked Sara curiously, tilting her head.

"A little bit", shrugged Phyl. "My grandmother's grandmother was from Germany, but fled during the Second World War. We Jews weren't much liked around here back then."

"I'd guess", muttered Sara beneath her breath and nodded slowly.

"It's a bit strange", mused Phyl. "My father is dead, you see. I lived with my grandmother all my life, she taught me a little German, but she is getting older. That's why I came to New Athens. For generations, my family kept coming back here every few decades, seeing how everything changed."

"Times change", shrugged Sara with a frown. "People change. Lands change."

"And yet some things prevail...", mused Phyl amused. "Like the gods."

"Stop getting all nostalgic", chided Joe annoyed. "Go and get washed up and changed, or rest. We'll arrive in a few hours and we don't need to look like beggars and burglars."

"Aye, aye, captain", chuckled Sara amused, saluting her best friend.

/break\

"I hate it. I don't want to go there", whined Joe with a pout.

"Stupid girl", chuckled Nico on the other end of the IM. "You have a quest to fulfill. Look, I'm not looking forward to fighting Khione either, but I'm here. All you have to do is consult a goddess."

"And encounter the chick that slept with you", muttered Joe beneath her breath.

"Oh come on, you don't bitch around when we spend time with Danny either", groaned Nico.

"...Danny?", asked Joe slowly, her face falling. "You slept with _Danny_?!"

"Oh my, I think I have to go. Yeah, that was totally Sam calling for me. Bye!"

Joe glowered at the vanishing rainbow until Sara entered the room and tapped her on the shoulder. "Come on, Grumpy. Let's get going, we have to meet up with Snow White."

"So funny, Dopey", huffed Joe annoyed and stood. "Did you know Nico had a thing with Danny?"

"Sure. Didn't everyone?", asked Sara confused.

"I had _no_ idea", muttered Joe, her aura dark and irritated.

"Well, let's go and visit your half-sister, on that happy note", chuckled Sara amused.

"Yes, well... I think we got lost", interrupted Phyl, looking concerned.

"...Crap", muttered Joe with a glare as she looked around.

They had come out of the Black Forest and were heading toward some city. But Heldenheim was supposed to be hidden in the forest. Joe sighed as they flew closer to the highest building – a church of sorts, but it was under construction – and tied the ship onto the roof-top. The four teenagers decided to approach this the old-fashioned way. Getting down and finding out where they were. 'Getting down' was more exhausting than anticipated though, because there were over a hundred fifty steps they had to take. At least the three girls were gasping by the time they spilled out of the church and onto a round market place. The market was surrounded by beautiful houses, most of them cafés and restaurants. The place was bustling with life.

"Okay, this doesn't seem very demigodly", muttered Joe with a frown.

"How did we end up here?", asked Phyl curiously while looking through the different boots.

"I set Festus to track down Rika and Arielle", replied Joe. "Since, well, Nico hadn't been paying _that_ close attention to where they were going. Either Festus didn't want to, or they're here..."

"Great. So what, wild goose chase?", groaned Sara bummed.

"Gimme a bit and I'll get a portable detector", stated Joe thoughtful. "I go back to the ship and make a devise that will track down their DNA so we can find them if they're here..."

"We'll take a look around then", grinned Sara brightly. "That okay with you?"

Joe nodded and turned back to the church with a groan upon realizing she'd have to go up those stairs again. Phyl, Sara and Marshall all the while went on to explore the city some. They followed the narrow alleys out into the open, broad main-street. Where they nearly got run over by a tram. Yelping a little, Sara pulled Phyl out of the way. Marshall took his girlfriend by the hand and led her toward a bookstore. Surely they'd also sell maps and once they had a map, they may find their way around here. Once that was accomplished, they also knew where they were. Freiburg.

"Okay, so that church we were at is the local cathedral, here", stated Sara, pointing at it on the map.

Phyl turned some to look at the looming cathedral behind them. "At least it's easy to spot..."

"Yeah, they don't have a lot of tall buildings around here", agreed Sara with a frown.

"But apparently they have the Minotaur", stated Phyl wide-eyed.

Sara frowned confused and then she burst into laughter. There was a red stone-bull with golden horns and it was being humped by the Minotaur. This would have been incredibly funny if not for the fact that there were innocent bystanders who didn't know that this was a dangerous monster. Aside from the fierce redhead who was swinging her Celestial bronze-sword at him. Oh.

"Arielle!", called Phyl loudly, getting excited.

She clasped her hands over her mouth when the moment of distraction was enough for Arielle to get hit by the Minotaur's mighty hand. The redhead groaned as she got thrown against a concrete wall. Marshall glared and stuffed the map into his pocket as he got his Imperial-gold broadsword. Phyl all the while rushed over to check on Arielle, pushing her red, long hair out of the way.

"Ouch", groaned the ginger, cracking one eye open. "Hey there, pretty girl. Nice seeing you..."

"I'm so sorry", yelped Phyl, guilty frown attached to her face.

"Och nee, ehrlich jetzt, Alter?", groaned a highly irritated voice behind Phyl. "Was'n verfickter..." [trans: _Really now, dude? What a fuckin'..._ ]

The brunette turned slightly, watching how Rika got out of a shop, sunglasses on her nose, black hair tied back in a high ponytail. She dumped her shopping bags next to Phyl and Arielle before heading over to help Marshall and Sara, cursing beneath her breath in German. Not that Marshall and Sara really _needed_ her help. The couple worked perfectly together, slashing and dodging like they knew exactly what the other was thinking. Within minutes, the Minotaur was vaporized.

"So, fancy seeing you guys around", grinned Sara, looking at Rika.

"Yeah. Heldenheim isn't exactly a place you go for shopping. We thought we'd take a little trip, then bahm, Ari runs out, leaves me alone", huffed Rika with a glare. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"We've been looking for you", admitted Phyl as she helped Arielle up.

"We need to get to Heldenheim. Wanna give us directions and we give you a ride?", offered Sara.

By the time the five of them returned to the cathedral, Joe was running up to them on the market place, all proud. "I finished the de... Oh, come on. Why did you find them first? That's not _fair_."

"Where's the hot one?", asked Rika, looking past Joe as though she wasn't there.

Joe glared fiercely at Rika and the German all too willingly returned that glare with a smirk of her own. Sara rolled her eyes annoyed and grabbed them both by the necks. Not as effective as it would have been coming from her hunk of a boyfriend, but she did have the strength of Mars.

"I swear to my dad, if the two of you don't put this shit past you and get your acts together, I'll gut you", warned the daughter of Mars. "Important quest at hand. Concentration. Hel...thingy."

"Heldenheim", huffed Rika undignified. "Still, where _is_ she?"

"She's in Berlin. At least I hope that by now, they're in Berlin", stated Sara with a frown.

/break\

With the navigational help of Rika and Arielle, the Argo II soon found itself landing between high pine-trees and close to a little waterfall in a calm scene like out of a fairy tale. The city amidst it looked all the classical German town, just how Sara had always pictured it in her fairy tale stories. Half-timbered houses, cobblestone pavement, the forest half growing into the town.

"Is this going to be an American invasion? First my niece, now you..."

Joe, Sara, Phyl and Marshall looked up, a bit surprised. The dark-haired woman standing in front of them looked mildly amused. They recognized her – Nyssa Black, daughter of Hephaestus. One of the campers who had helped to build this city twenty years ago. The major now.

"Uhm, hey", started Joe awkwardly, waving at her shortly. "No invasion, I swear."

"We're... well, on the same quest as Nico", continued Sara eagerly. "And we're here to visit some kind of temple. Of a goddess called, uhm... Sharpy? Scar-Poo...?"

"Lady Xarpo", corrected Nyssa amused, cocking one eyebrow. "Interesting. Mh. Yes, that may make sense. The nature spirits seems rather messed-up. Arielle, would you mind showing them?"

"What about me?", asked Rika and made a face.

"Discord and the seasons never mixed well, Ulrika", stated Nyssa, other eyebrow raised as well.

Rika sulked a little and threw one last nasty glare in Joe's direction, as though she wanted to say – I'm watching you, girl. The other four followed Arielle through the town. At the outskirts of it, they walked along a beaten path, hidden in the shade of the trees. They had to climb a considerable way up, dodging bushes and crossing a small creek until they reached what must have been the most nature-set temple either of them had ever seen. It was caved right into the mountain, two beautiful stone-figures, elegant and beautiful like nymphs, guarding the entrance that was hidden behind ivy and moss from either side, a third one seemingly floating over the entrance, connecting her two sister-statues. Inside was a burning fire, the save itself decorated with all kinds of colorful flowers.

"It's... beautiful", whispered Sara in awe as she spotted the little waterfall behind the fire-place.

The water ran past the fire-place on either side, the water-source that seemed to be feeding the flowers. Arielle grinned a little and stepped back, motioning for them to take action. It was their quest, after all. The four of them exchanged a long chain of looks, no one daring to move forward.

"I'd suggest that Phyl should do that, if you want my input", stated Arielle with a grin.

The daughter of Persephone stared wide-eyed and nodded stiffly. She was supposed to summon a goddess? That did not sound good or easy or fun. Not the least bit. Shuffling a bit, she grabbed her backpack and got a sandwich out. Carefully unwrapping it, she stuffed the foil back into her bag and went to burn it, asking in her thoughts if maybe, perhaps, eventually Lady Xarpo could find a moment to spare, pretty please. She had _never_ been more nervous in her entire life.

"A sweetling, like most children of spring."

She yelped high-pitched and stared wide-eyed at the beautiful, young woman in front of her. Black hair kept flowing in a non-existent wind, eyes like coal piercing into Phyl's very soul, tanned skin wrapped into a colorful toga, a blending mixture of yellow, orange, red and brown.

"Uhm, thank you for coming, Lady Xarpo, ma'am", stammered Phyl, all red-faced.

"It's rare for a demigod to be calling out to me, of course I'd follow", smiled Xarpo tenderly.

"Well, uhm, someone is messing with the seasons and we've been told we should probably talk to you about... uhm... this...", stated Phyl, trying to be calm and sound mature.

"Do you know who I am?", asked Xarpo, tilting her head. "Because you sound rather unsure."

"You're the goddess of summer", answered Phyl, a little more confident.

"Ah, it is so sad", sighed Xarpo disappointed. "That's the thing with being minor gods. I am not the goddess of summer, I'm the goddess of autumn, one of the first horae."

"Hooray?", asked Sara confused, knitting her eyebrows.

"Horae. The hours, my child", smiled Xarpo, mirth dancing in her eyes. "The seasonal goddesses."

"Hold on there, you're an _hour_?", repeated Joe, making a time-out sign with her hands.

"Yes. There are three of us, my sisters and I. The three seasonal horae", nodded Xarpo.

"Three hours", repeated Joe slowly. "Three hours, like in the prophecy."

"I wouldn't know about any prophecy", stated Xarpo, a little confused.

"Uhm, you and your sisters don't happen to be fighting right now, huh?", asked Phyl anxiously.

"Summon them and ask them yourselves", stated Xarpo, crossing her arms and cocking one eyebrow. "Thallo, Auxo, be so dear and come join us, will you?"

A breeze went through the cave, tugging on the teens' clothes and hair and two other beautiful women appeared on either side of Xarpo. One was youthful, with long, light brown hair and sparkling eyes, green as fresh grass, her robes a flow as green as her eyes, wild flowers stuck to her hair as she flittered about in the air, hovering about two feet above ground. The other seemed a tad more mature, with dark, brown hair reaching down to her knees, her robes a darker shade of green, eyes green as two emeralds, skinned nicely tanned. She was radiating a certain warmth, a comfortable feeling like bathing in the summer-sun.

"My sisters, Thallo, goddess of spring, and Auxo, goddess of summer", introduced Xarpo.

"Demigods!", yelped Thallo excited and flew over to them, circling their heads. "Oh, I love demigods! You, you are a daughter of spring. Lady Persephone, mh? She took over my duties. Well, I wouldn't mind. Mortals pretty much forgot about us by now, didn't they? Oh, you're pretty."

She was playing with Phyl's hair, giggling as she tipped the slowly withering flowers braided into Phyl's hair with her finger and brought them back to full bloom. Phyl stared in awe.

"She's a bit hyperactive, don't mind her", waved Xarpo off.

"Uhm, so, last time I counted, there were like four seasons... right?", asked Sara confused. "What about winter? I mean, don't you guys have a fourth sister or something?"

The light mood seemed to shift and the three goddesses appeared more sober and serious at that. Phyl didn't like it and Marshall and Sara had to fight the urge to go for their weapons.

"Not that we're not totally happy meeting you guys!", added Joe hastily for her best friend.

"We dare not speak of that", stated Xarpo, obviously the leader of the three sisters.

"I do miss her though", mumbled Thallo, looking rather upset.

"Shush", chided Auxo with a glare at her sister. "What do you want from us, children?"

"Well, seasons are a little messed up, if you haven't noticed. There's one week left of August and we actually had _snow_ yesterday", stated Arielle with a deadpanned expression. "It's, you know, summer. Shouldn't one of you feel kinda responsible and the other feel kinda left out?"

Auxo and Xarpo exchanged a long look and heaved a sigh, nearly at the same moment. Phyl grew uncomfortable. This was turning a tad too serious for her liking. They knew what was happening, but they apparently didn't want to speak of it. Sara grew impatient, raising one eyebrow.

"What is happening to nature?", demanded the daughter of Mars to know.

"It... started on the summer solstice", started Thallo, playing with her robes nervously. "I don't know, I thought she was just bitter and a bit bitchy. She does tend to get bitchy, you know?"

"Who?", inquired Phyl, having a feeling she knew the answer to that.

"Cheimon, the fourth horae", answered Xarpo, shifting a little. "Once upon a time, we were known under different names. They called me Phthinophoron – yes, I'm glad for the name change by now, really, Auxo went by the name of Theros and Thallo was called Eiar. Back then, we had a fourth sister. Cheimon, the goddess of winter. But things got kinda messy and the Greeks didn't exactly dig winter, so when they declared us the horae, they left her out of the deal. Not to be associated with the four seasons we originally were, we kinda changed our names, became who we are now."

"So wait, they just dropped winter because they didn't feel like it?", asked Sara stunned.

"That was about Cheimon's reaction too", nodded Thallo upset. "Haven't seen much of her since then. But, well, the weather had been messed up in the past hundred years. Climate change."

"It just got worse this year", continued Auxo, smoothing out her dark-green dress. "I think she had been working up to _something_ , but we are not entirely sure what that may be."

"So... We have an angry, bitter goddess of winter at our hands", summed Sara up.

"That would go well with Khione", added Marshall, his deep voice sounding concerned. "Winter and snow, united. Yet, why haven't you said anything before?"

"Even after being recognized as the horae, we didn't exactly get a lot of recognition, if you know what I mean, big guy", countered Auxo, cocking one eyebrow. "We figured, what harm could she do, being broody? But well, this weather now... I guess we underestimated her."

"And I guess _that_ is the reason she's bitchy to begin with", stated Arielle unimpressed.

"What... uhm... now?", asked Phyl insecurely, looking around.

"Three hours left fighting", whispered Sara, thoughtful look on her face as she mulled the words over, before her head snapped up to stare at them. "Will you come when we ask for you help?"

"That depends on the sacrifice you can make", countered Xarpo, hands on her hips. "We're only minor goddesses, but we're still goddesses. We don't follow demigods like trained puppies."

"O—Of course, Lady Xarpo!", exclaimed Phyl hastily. "Uhm, what would you like...?"

"Let's see what you can come up with", shrugged Xarpo mischievously.

"Why though?", asked Thallo confused. "I mean, what do you want from _us_?"

"Well, I think that if we want to fight against winter, we could use the help of the other seasons. I think our prophecy was referring to you, that only the three of you together can fight against winter, that without your help, we don't stand a chance", admitted Sara, her gaze calculating.

Phyl found herself fascinated by this. The way she had met Sara so far, the Roman was rather droll and happy-go-lucky. But she was a daughter of Mars and when she was thinking strategy, she could be rather serious, her soft, brown eyes easily cutting diamonds with one glare.

"I suppose, if we must", sighed Auxo, sounding rather bothered by this.

"If you _must_?", snorted Joe, looking rather ridiculed. "Are you messing with me here, lady?"

"We're seasonal goddesses. We make flowers bloom and plants grow. We don't _fight_ , daughter of Vulcan", stated Xarpo sharply, her voice like the cold, harsh wind in autumn, sending chills down their spines. "We're not eager for battle and if you request our help, you should show more respect."

"O—Of course, Lady Xarpo, she didn't mean it!", exclaimed Phyl, nodding hastily. "T—Thank you very much for your help, my ladies, we will call upon you again and we'll have a great offer for you, I swear! Thank you so much for your time, we really appreciate it!"

The three goddesses seemed a bit pacified by that and nodded slowly before disappearing again. The teens turned toward each other with lost looks. Phyl startled as Sara clapped her on the shoulder, a proud grin on the ginger's lips. Phyl blushed self-consciously.

"You did good, flower girl", praised the Roman. "Now, what do we do next?"

"Get our asses to Berlin, obviously", muttered Joe with a glare. "Help Nico and the others."

"Then let's get going", agreed Sara and led them out of the temple to get back to their ship.

There was an eerie silence accompanying them on their way back and an odd winter-chill in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before shit is going to happen, I'd like to get the last proper di Angelo chapter out, to be honest (the last one of a kid that's actually still living with them. Bia's chap will follow after the big quest). I just feel that if not now, then I won't be able to break plot for at least ten chapters because of suspense and stuff. So next chapter will have Laura Silena's interlude, featuring more Jimmy and Basty, as well as Percy Junior trying to be a bit more responsible and Luke and Thess being cute babysitters. And that'll be the last interlude until the quest is all done, I swear. After this, shit's gonna hit the fan big times.


	82. Laura Silena's Black Pearl (Di Angelos Part V)

82\. Laura Silena's Black Pearl (Di Angelos Part V)

Laura Silena di Angelo was a legacy of Poseidon, but she was very much leaning toward her grandfather Hades' realm. Wealth. Gems and all kinds of riches and jewels and sparkly things. The riches of the sea, to be even more precise. There was nothing more beautiful than pearls. She herself collected them, had dived wide and deep to get them. Everything she owned was adored with pearls, even if it were fake pearls. She was just fascinated by the shiny quality of the round treasures. Others in her class played with marbles, but her marble-set considered of pearls.

"Ouch..."

Silly frowned annoyed as she turned around some. She was used to her twin-brother coming and going as he pleased without using the door. The perks of being a legacy of Hades. However, she did disapprove of Jimmy shadow-traveling Basty around, because she knew how much it drained Jimmy to shadow-travel at all, even more so with someone else.

"W—What in the world happened to you?", yelped Silly loudly and stood.

She rushed over to help Jimmy onto the bed. The black-haired boy groaned and collapsed face-first on Silly's bed. She cautiously peeled the singed shirt off her brother. He winced. There was a nasty burn on his stomach. Huffing annoyed, she rushed to bring nectar and ambrosia.

"I'm totally fine, don't mind me", muttered Basty with a pout.

Silly just glared at him fiercely before returning to her brother. "What happened, Jimmy?"

"Don't poke a dragon. They don't like being poked", mumbled Jimmy with another groan.

"Here. Eat and drink", ordered Silly with a frown, handing her twin the godly food. "Sleep."

"Kay... Nighty-night, Schwesterherz", yawned Jimmy and curled together around Silly's teddy.

Silly huffed and stood again, walking up to Basty. Her glare alone backed the legacy of Hecate against the wall, her finger stabbing him in the chest was only helping that matter. The witch-boy was clearly intimidated. He gulped, a little frightened by the sea's fury.

"You. Do. Not. Endanger. My. Jimmy", declared Silly darkly, stabbing him with every word.

"I didn't mean to!", exclaimed Basty with a glare of his own. "And it was his idea! You know how much he loves _How to Train your Dragon_. We just wanted to train a dragon together..."

"And nothing about that seemed ridiculously dangerous to you?", snorted Silly, pushing him. "That's why I don't like letting you and Jimmy go on your shenanigans alone! Get. Out!"

She made a high-pitched noise, one that her siblings and parents liked to refer to as a Siren's Wail. Basty held his ears while the glass in the room started shaking. He hastily ran out, one last upset look directed at Jimmy, who was still out cold on the bed. Silly huffed pleased as the stupid witch-boy was gone. Climbing onto her bed, she pulled Jimmy's head into her lap. While combing the fingers of one hand through his messy curls, her free hand played with his necklace.

She loved pearls, they were perfection. Round was the perfect form, you could never screw the length of a side up, they were the perfectly balanced objects. Their shining exterior was enchanting, the way they captured the light, as though they were sparkling themselves. Silly owned plenty of pearls – various shades of pink and blue and green. But the rarest pearls there were were black pearls. Yet even though she had found various black pearls over the years, she owned not a single one of them. She kept putting them on a string, a string that was generally around Jimmy's neck. He only wore black and the black pearls fit him so perfectly, because he was _her_ black pearl. He was the most precious thing she owned. He was her twin, part of her soul lived in him.

Or at least that was what grandpa Hades had once told them. That twins shared one soul, which was why twins were always so close, or why identical twins looked just like the other.

It was simple for Silly, really. Jimmy was part of her, so Jimmy was _hers_. Mamma and papà had probably also the right of part of Jimmy since they had made him, but that was all. Other than that, Laura Silena _knew_ that Jimmy was hers to protect and keep save and play with, because since Jimmy was part of her, he knew what was funny and awesome and silly and great. They knew what the other thought or wanted. Together, they could pull off _any_ prank. Together, they could escape _any_ punishment, with the coupled force of their adorableness. And together, they could win any fight – the underworld and the sea united were the strongest force there was, that was what papà always said and what papà said was totally and completely true.

"Hey there, little mermaid, care to tell me why Basty's downstairs, crying?"

Silly frowned and turned to her big sister. She was _still_ upset with Percy for leaving them on their own, leading to the Hoods and Jack nearly burning down their house. The punk cocked one eyebrow as she entered and walked over to the young twins.

"He took Jimmy to some stupid thingy and Jimmy got hurt", pouted Silly, caressing her twin's hair. "No one is allowed to hurt my Jimmy! He can be glad I didn't hurt him for getting Jimmy hurt!"

Percy mirrored Silly's frown at that. They often called her the little mermaid, not because of any fairy tales but because of her character. She had the possessiveness and greed of a mermaid, what had led them to charming sailors into certain death to obtain their treasures and jewelry. Percy knew not to try and take any of her little sister's jewelry, because she was fiercely protective of her treasures and if she valued her brooches and necklaces, well, Jimmy was her crown-jewel. Percy understood it, to a certain degree. When they had been younger, Percy had been overly protective of Thess too. But the ocean's nature that had manifested in Silly in such a unique way made her protectiveness over her twin brother borderline dangerous.

"Oi, little angel, how are you feeling?", asked Percy, poking Jimmy a bit.

Where Silly was their little mermaid, Jimmy was their little death angel. Silly smiled when her twin cracked one eye open to look at them curiously. Yawning a little, he snuggled up to her.

"Is okay, Silly gave me nectar and I'm feeling better already", replied Jimmy. "But I wanna nap."

"What do you say, I put in a DVD for you kids and you watch a movie downstairs?", suggested Percy with a small grin. "Together with Andy and Basty, because they're already downstairs and by now they look pretty bored. And Basty looks pretty guilty."

Silly glared. She didn't want to watch a movie with Basty. Basty didn't deserve their time right now. He _knew_ what the punishment was for endangering Jimmy. Three days no Jimmy. But she was feeling rather guilty for Andy's sake. The legacy of Demeter had come over to bake cookies with Silly and she had only just left to get changed, but then Basty and Jimmy had interrupted her.

"Silly?", requested Jimmy, tugging on her hand and offering her the deep, dark puppy-eyes.

Heaving a sigh, she gave in. There were exactly three things she could never deny: She could never deny sweets, or when mamma requested something from her or when Jimmy used _the eyes_.

"Okay, fine. But we're totally watching _The Little Mermaid_ ", declared Silly with a huff.

"Okay", nodded Jimmy obediently and stood.

Or rather, he tried to stand. But apparently he was still a little out of it, because he just collapsed back onto the bed, with a slightly dumbfounded expression. Percy stood, concerned. Not that Silly minded her, she rather fussed over her brother instead. She noticed how Percy left the room and came back moments later with her own twin-brother and his boyfriend.

"Luke, would you mind lending us your strong upper arms?", requested Percy softly.

The blonde teen grinned amused and walked over to Jimmy. He knelt down next to the boy, ruffling Silly's hair with one hand. Jimmy stared at him with his large eyes and extended his arms. The boy's face lit up when he got to ride piggy-back on Luke's back. Luke laughed amused as Jimmy cheered and clung to his neck. Silly rolled her eyes and walked past Percy, over to Thess. Looking up at him, she smiled brightly and grabbed his hand. Thess was the second best sibling.

Everybody had their role-model big sibling. For Jimmy, Percy and Donny, it was Bianca Maria. For Jack and Thess, it was Donny. But for Silly, it was undeniably Thess. Sure, Donny was great and could relate to Silly's water-powers and Bianca Maria was amazing and could relate to being a girl, but Thess was just that kind, sweet water-bender who understood what it was like to worry about an underworldly twin. Thess always had an open ear for Silly, he knew how to do practically everything, he was responsible, independent and had a cute, loving boyfriend. He was how she wanted to be when she was as grown-up as he was now.

"Why don't you go ahead and make some popcorn, Percy?", requested Thess.

She cocked one eyebrow and shrugged before passing them and going downstairs. Silly frowned confused when Thess stopped and turned to look at her. Blinking a couple of times, she observed how Thess went down into his knees, looking at her with that tender, but scolding look.

"What's wrong?", asked Silly confused. "It was Basty! He ruined Jimmy's shirt and got him hurt."

"Mh, well, then Basty will be prohibited from coming over and seeing Jimmy for the next three days", nodded Thess seriously. "But this isn't about Basty, it's about Percy."

"Why?", asked Silly, sounding confused.

He heaved a sigh and rested his hands on her shoulders, his dark eyes – so much like Jimmy's – staring at her intensely. "Sally Persephone is your sorellona. You have to respect her. I _know_ she screwed up badly and I know you're mad at her, especially because Jimmy nearly got hurt. But Percy is already feeling guilty, she regrets it and she's _trying_. See today? I offered her to go out on a date with Kitty, while I babysit you guys, but she insisted on staying too. She's trying to make it up to you guys, to show that she can watch out for you too, but your behavior makes her feel bad. I'm not asking you to forgive her right away, but give her a chance to make it up to you."

Silly knitted her eyebrows thoughtful at that. She knew she tended to hold grudges – mamma always said it reminded him of papà. It would be good to let go of those things. So perhaps she _could_ try to see what Percy had to offer. Nodding reluctantly and taking Thess' hand again, she continued the way down. Percy was just in the middle of setting milk and cookies down on the table, while Andy, Jimmy and Basty were sitting on one of the two couches. Thess ruffled her hair and went over to the other long couch and collapsed face-first against Luke's chest. The blonde offered him a loving smile and tilted his head up enough to steal a kiss. Silly cooed, while Jimmy wiggled his nose. Silly took her place between Jimmy and Andy, offering her best friend a guilty smile. Andy just rolled his eyes affectionately. The blonde legacy of Demeter was awesome – he always understood that her priorities were rather simple. Jimmy first, then the rest of the family, followed by her friends – and the rest of the world could wait.

"Why do you always do that?", asked Jimmy after a moment, staring at his brother and Luke.

"Do what?", retorted Thess confused as he got more comfortable laying against Luke's chest.

"The spit-exchange", pointed Jimmy out, sticking his tongue out. "It's ew and gross!"

"It's called kissing", countered Luke, kissing along Thess' jawline, which made the black-haired boy blush furiously in embarrassment. "And you do it when you care about someone _very_ deeply."

"But it's still ew and gross", mumbled Jimmy, wiggling his nose again. "And tastes weird."

"...How do _you_ know?", asked Thess after a long moment of weird silence.

"Basty and I tried!", stated Jimmy, looking half-proud of himself.

Silly gave a high-pitched yelp before leaning over Jimmy to hit Basty square on the chest. The brunette boy huffed and tried to dodge her while Jimmy leaned back to not get in the middle of it.

"How. Dare. You", exclaimed Silly, continuing to hit Basty. "That was his _first kiss_! You don't get to take that! The first kiss is the most, most powerful thing ever! Every fairy tale says so and now you took it away from him, stupid, stupid witch-boy! Bad Alabaster!"

"Ouch. Ouch, ouch, ouch", winced Basty. "Stop it now! It was _his_ idea!"

"But it's alright, silly Silly", chided Jimmy with a frown. "Only one true love's first kiss does magical thingies. I'm too little for one true loves. So it doesn't count, right? Right, Luke?"

He turned hopeful eyes on the blonde – because if someone knew what was right and wrong about true love, then it surely was the legacy of Aphrodite. Luke looked thoughtful for a moment as he shifted to lean against the headrest, with one leg sprawled out over the length of the couch, the other resting on the table with his foot, Thess laying between the blonde's legs.

"I think Jimbo is right with that. It only counts when it's out of true love and you kids are still too young for those kind of things. So stop hitting Bastino", stated Luke amused.

Basty grinned brightly, pleased by that and by the fact that Silly had finally stopped to hit him. She still looked displeased as she settled some, arms crossed over her chest. That stupid witch-boy was going to be the death of her! But then Percy pressed play and her favorite movie started and things looked remotely brighter. And the cookies she and Andy had made were delicious. When even Luke, Thess, Percy and Jimmy praised them, Silly's chest swelled with pride. Only Basty's praise was dismissed – albeit she did say thank you, because mamma had raised her well.

"Do you think it's gonna be a sister or a brother this time?", whispered Basty when the daughters of Triton started their song. "I mean, it'll be crowded. Not as bad as in Atlantika, but still..."

"I hope it'll be a brother", stated Jimmy with a bright smile. "Jackie is the cutest thing ever! And having another Jackie would be totally great!"

"...Where _is_ Jack anyway?", inquired Andy curiously. "It's awfully silent here."

"He's with the Stolls and Hoods", replied Thess amused. "Travis said he'd make casserole and Jack _adores_ his casserole so he used the puppy-dog-eyes until I allowed him to go."

"And besides, you can't say it like that", interrupted Luke softly. "You and Thess and Donny are di Angelo boys too, just like Jackie, but you're all very different, aren't you?"

Jimmy looked thoughtful and turned to Silly, rather confused. "What do you think, Schwesterherz?"

"I dunno", shrugged Silly. "I love the siblings we have and the new one will be great too, I'm sure, but no sibling could ever be as adorable as you, so I don't think it matters."

Jimmy's whole face brightened at that and he nodded in agreement, rather pleased. Being seven siblings sometimes made it hard to be the favorite – some of their parents' friends still went with numbering them one through nine – so somehow it always meant a lot to them to be acknowledged like that, even if it was only from another sibling of theirs.

"Shush now, I want to see the movie", chided Percy playfully.

Silly hummed in agreement, watching her big sister out of the corner of her eyes. Thess was right. Percy would have _never_ wasted a perfectly fine Tuesday afternoon, because that was when Kitty was off work at her mother's restaurant. Still, Percy was sitting here, watching a Disney-movie they all had seen dozens of times. Percy had even helped Silly and Andy with the cookies earlier. And 'earlier' in this case had been during a time Percy was normally still asleep during summer. If Percy could try and be more responsible, then Silly was mature enough to accept the apology.

/break\

Jimmy was sitting on his bunk, pouting. Thess had brought Basty home after the movie and promised them that he would tell Basty's parents about their shenanigans, which would mean no-Basty-time for Jimmy and no-Jimmy-time for Basty. Or, in short: Both were grounded. Still, the only thing about being grounded that annoyed them was that they couldn't see each other. Though when Jimmy was pouting, Silly steered clear of him. She couldn't stand seeing him upset and she had ended up helping him sneaking out before because he had used _the eyes_.

"What are we doing this for anyway, Silena?", inquired Andy, interrupting her thoughts.

She blinked a couple of times and looked up at the legac of Demeter. He had auntie Katie's dark, green eyes and uncle Malcolm's golden-blonde curls, but unlike them both, he was rather scrawny and small for his age and he needed his glasses. Like, he was really, really blinde without them. Silly always found that kind of adorable and weird at the same time. The two of them were laying on the floor in the twins' room, twisting and twirling thin silver wire.

"It's for Percy", replied Silly softly, pulling a rather small, black pearl out of her pocket.

She had gotten Andy to help her with the brooch because it was supposed to look like a flower and if someone knew flowers then it was a legacy of Demeter. It did look like a very fine blossom and Silly liked it already, so she added the last thing – the little black pearl in the center of the blossom.

"Mh, it looks pretty", nodded Andy thoughtful. "But why for Percy? I thought you were still mad at her for what happened last week? You know, I think Amy would like something like this too..."

"Oh, we can make another one for your sister", smiled Silly. "I have a very pretty grey pearl – that is her favorite color, isn't it? It does compliment her eyes, so we'll take it anyway."

As always, Andy just nodded. When it came to jewelry, it was best not to argue with Silly. Gathering the brooch in her hands, she stood and hopped out of the room and over to what was now Percy's bedroom. Knocking softly, she waited for her sister to call out to her and then entered.

"Hey there, little mermaid", greeted Percy curiously and sat up some. "What's up?"

"Here. I made you something", said Silly and held the brooch out for her big sister.

"That's... very pretty", whispered Percy in awe, taking it with so much caution as though it may break easily. "Thank you very much. But... isn't that a black pearl? Aren't those Jimmy's?"

"Well, it's too small for his camp-bead-necklace", stated Silly simply and shrugged. "And you only wear black too, so I thought you may like it too. I don't have any use for black otherwise."

"Mhmh", nodded Percy, a small smile on her lips as she put the brooch down and rather grabbed her sister around the middle to pull her into a hug. "Thanks, Silena. I really like it."

"I like you", mumbled Silly and wrapped her arms around Percy's neck. "I just don't like when you don't care about us, because we're family and family should be more important than others."

"You're right", agreed Percy reluctantly. "You're right. And I'm still sorry about what happened."

"Okay", nodded Silly, as though the matter was dismissed with that.

Silly was rather pleased with herself when she left her sister's room and got back to her own. Andy was already working on the brooch for his big sister Amy, while Jimmy was at least hanging upside-down from his bunk to look curiously at what Andy was doing there. Better than brooding.

"Laura?", whispered Jimmy, sounding very unsure and concerned. "Do you think Donny will move out when he marries Sander? Married people always live together and with the baby, it would be very cramped if Sander moved in with us too... Do you think he'll leave?"

Silly made a non-comical sound. Jimmy was the only one allowed to call her Laura, she rather disliked her firstname, which was why she only went by her second name. Sitting back down with Andy, she motioned for her twin to join them and seconds later, Jimmy was next to her.

"I dunno. Probably", replied Silly thoughtful. "You're right, married people always live together..."

"Mh, but Donny is still a kid and kids live with their parents", argued Andy curiously. "So does being married beat being a kid then? Or how do those things work...?"

"I dunno, you have to ask your dad. Uncle Malcolm is really, really clever. I'm sure he knows", pointed Silly out, earning her a nod from Andy. "Why do you ask, Jimmy?"

"I don't like that Bia left. And now Donny will leave too. That's no good", answered Jimmy, frowning deeply. "You will never-ever leave me though, right?"

"Of course not!", huffed Silly and shook her head. "I can hardly leave you! Whenever I leave you on your own, you end up poking dragons or something else silly! When I find a handsome, nice husband and you have a pretty, nice wife, we can all live together in one house."

"Mh, I like that", nodded Jimmy, looking relieved and pleased.

"That's a good plan", agreed Andy. "You di Angelos are really, really exhausting and troublesome – poking dragons, nearly burning the house down... When you have kids, they surely could use more supervision than just two parents of who one is a troublesome di Angelo themselves."

The twins turned and glared at him until he grinned sheepishly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have all the action - the long-awaited fight against Khione, which means Nico, Sam, Trend and Derek get to kick ass in Berlin.


	83. Two Sides of the Same

83\. Two Sides of the Same

Donny had never been more grateful to have Hercules Grace on his side. The legacy of Jupiter was pretty handy when it came to fighting aurai and venti. Wind nymphs and wind spirits. Granted, he wasn't able to control them all, but he gave them an advantage as they rode on their horses up the Zugspitze. The wind was cold and biting – literally so. Donny hissed and tried to dodge an overly aggressive nymph. Shadow beneath him whined, fighting his way forward through the snow storm.

"W—Why are the nymphs attacking us?! Don't they know we want to help?", called Donny loudly.

"I don't think we'd be helping _them_. I think they serve another master", called Thea loudly.

"W—Who?", asked Sander worried, frowning.

"Me", interrupted another voice as they reached the peak of the mountain.

A beautiful, pale woman with flowing, long, white hair. She looked nearly like a ghost, hair and dress constantly moving in the wind, a vicious look on her face. The pegasi were grateful as they found hoof-hold on the snow. The heroes dismounted and readied their weapons.

"Who are you? And why do you fight us? We want to rescue nature", stated Donny firmly.

Herc was a little too busy fighting off angry storm spirits to concentrate. The goddess snarled.

"No one knows me!", hissed the goddess angered, making a dismissing gesture with one hand that easily knocked Thea back onto her butt. "I am Aura, goddess of the cold breeze and queen of wind nymphs, daughter of Boreas and sister of Khione. And in this fight, I am siding with my sister."

"Just great", muttered Sander beneath his breath, lifting his sword. "But... Why, lady?"

"Because everyone shivers and shies away from my winds, but relishes the _summer_. Now, we will end summer and my cold breezes and my sister's snow will rule the world!", exclaimed Aura.

"Even greater", hissed Herc irritated. "Okay, we gotta fight."

"We do", agreed Donny and took a deep breath. "You and me, together."

"W—What?", asked Herc surprised, staring over at the younger boy.

"Your grandfather may control thunder and lightning, but my grandfather is also a god of storms", countered Donny, straightening his back and reaching out for the blonde. "You and me together, we control the weather. We won't let some minor goddess kid of a minor goddess beat us, right?"

"Okay, so you and Herc team up against the weather wonder over there and me and Thea will somehow... uhm... distract the angry spirits?", suggested Sander, looking around anxiously.

Herc flushed a little as he found himself holding hands with Donny, looking deep into the other boy's eyes. "Man, that is the gayest thing I ever did. And I recently had vivid dreams about—uhm, never mind. Let's get started. So, I got a little more experience with storms. Follow my lead."

Sander and Thea got backup from Shadow, Trickster, Tempest and Nightowl. While Nightowl and Trickster could only head-butt the nymphs out of the way, whereas Tempest and Shadow had more efficient methods. Tempest managed to convince some of his brethren to join his side and fight for them, he also had more chances at fighting against other storm-spirits. Shadow went at it far easier. He grabbed one enemy, opened the shadows and dumped them somewhere – he internally apologized to Hawaii for the increase of storms today.

/break\

"Thank you very much for your help, we truly appreciate it", stated Phyl with a shy smile, bowing.

"Don't worry about it, girl", chuckled Nyssa, ruffling her hair. "Now get moving, kids."

"Yes, ma'am", chorused the four demigods obediently.

They were on their way to climb the latter and board the Argo II. An hour ago, they had spoken to Donny, been informed that his group would be heading to the Zugspitze. They had agreed to meet there and regroup, to go to Berlin together. Donny in return had informed them that Derek's team were still looking for Khione, not having found her in the zoo as of yet.

Nyssa, Kayla, Arielle and Rika were standing on the ground, waving them off as they slowly ascended into the air. Donny and his group could surely use some backup to free that butterfly. Seeing as Derek and the others were still touring Berlin on the search for Khione.

"Any ideas what we can sacrifice to summon three goddesses?", inquired Joe nervously.

She was steering the ship, with her three comrades standing in a half-circle around her. All four of them had serious expressions on their faces as they stared ahead. They knew their enemy, they knew they allies, they knew their destination. Their path was _too smooth_. The last two lines of the prophecy seemed to hang over them like a Damocles sword, threatening them and laughing at them.

Uhm, I may... perhaps...", stammered Phyl, her voice shy and barely audible.

"Speak. Up. Girl", huffed Sara, patting her rather harshly on the back. "Come on. You just summoned three goddesses and convinced them to help us. More confidence, Philadelphia."

"Phylicia!", yelped Phyl undignified.

"I know, I know", laughed Sara amused, eyes dancing with mirth. "It's a nickname, girl. Now say."

"Uhm, Derek took this funny, little horn with him to Berlin, didn't he? Can't we use that to summon something like... seasonal food that we can burn for the hours?", suggested Phyl shyly.

"That... is an awesome idea, Philly-girl!", exclaimed Sara excitedly, jumping up and down.

Phyl smiled a little. She really liked Sara, the redhead was so overly enthusiastic about everything, always open for suggestions and friendly. Marshall offered Phyl a smile as he rested a calming hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. Sara turned enough to aim her excited smile at Marshall.

"It is a good idea", confirmed Marshall, his voice deep and calming.

"Okay, see down there? That's this... thingy-mountain where Donny and the others are", interrupted Joe loudly. "And judging by that snow-storm that's brewing right at its peak, we're just in time."

/break\

Thea and Sander were only hanging in by a threat. Granted, by the looks of it, Herc and Donny were pretty close to victory. They had Aura and most of her nymphs trapped in the center of a cyclone – and Thea was seriously concerned what the German weather scientists were thinking about _that_. Suddenly, she found herself back to back with Sara. Craning her neck, she saw Sander standing with Marshall. Grinning, she nudged Sara behind her.

"Great timing, little strawberry", praised Thea.

"Enlighten me. What's the game plan, coach?", asked Sara in return, blocking a storm spirit.

"We distract the nymphs and the storm spirits, Donny and Herc take care of the storm and the little weather witch – we're fighting the goddess Aura", explained Thea.

"Okay. And... the storm... uhm... How's that gonna help?", inquired Sara confused. "I mean, okay, it traps them for now. But on the long run... We need something better."

"I'm open for suggestions", grunted Thea back, slashing a nymph.

"Let's ask Philly. She's on a roll today", declared Sara with a broad grin, turning toward the barely-visible ship that was fighting against the snow storm. "Philadelphia! Suggestions?!"

Thea winced. Sara had one hell of an organ there, so no doubt the daughter of Persephone on the ship had heard her. A thoughtful expression passed over her face before she nodded. After climbing down the latter, she approached Herc and Donny, tapping Donny on the shoulder.

"No distracting. This is complicated enough", grunted the legacy of Poseidon irritated.

"I'm sorry. I mean, uhm, can you make the storm go away? Like, carry them away. I love the _Wizard of Oz_. Can you make Aura Dorothy? Carry her off to, I don't know where...", suggested Phyl shyly, shifting some. "I mean, I don't know where, but... Would that be an option?"

"That's... a brilliant idea, Phyl!", exclaimed Donny, opening his eyes wide. "Herc, do you remember the story of Calypso? My mom told me about her, he knew her once. She was stuck on this magical, mythical island Ogygia. That is the _perfect_ place to store stubborn goddesses, don't you think?"

"Sure. Okay. So, we have to concentrate the storm on moving there", nodded Herc slowly.

"Good", smiled Phyl brightly. "I'll, uhm, go and help the others..."

She shifted nervously, the weight of the sword still strange in her hands. But she wanted to help.

/break\

Sander smiled a little as he shifted the weight in his arms. A little grunt came from the sleepy Donny snuggled up to his chest. They had managed to pull a _Wizard of Oz_ on Aura, but it had been a bit too much for the young hero. He didn't use his abilities often enough to stay on his feet after this feat. He was ridiculously proud of his fiance. Donny had done so great. And he looked so ridiculously hot when he was using his powers. A real turn-on. Seriously, by now Sander was having some serious blue balls, especially since the Erotes-dream. It wasn't just that he really wanted to have sex with Donny (which he still wanted though. Very badly), it was the full package that he wanted. That perfect dream wedding, with all their friends and family, kissing Donny in front of Chiron and promising his princess his life and love. He wanted that beautiful, radiant smile, the white tux, the flowers, the rice-throwing, the unhealthy and giant wedding cake. He wanted to make his dream-boy an honorable Disney Princess, with a proper fairy tale wedding where the birds would sing, a deer would carry Donny's veil and a bunny would bring the rings or something.

"You're thinking wedding again", whispered Donny into his ear as Sander carried him into a cave.

"W—What makes you think that?", mumbled Sander embarrassed, blushing.

"You got that cute, dreamy expression on your face when you do", chimed Donny with a grin.

"Yeah, you totally do", agreed Sara with a teasing look. "And it is _so_ cute. Gosh, I can't wait for your wedding! Wait, you're not making us dress up in ugly stuff, right?"

"Since I'm marrying a Disney Princess, I want the wedding Disney-themes", said Sander seriously. "So all the bridesmaids have to dress up as Disney princesses and the best men as princes."

"Yer kiddin', aren't cha?", asked Sara stunned, blinking a couple of times. "He is, isn't he?"

"Nope", hummed Donny and shook his head. "He's not. We've been talking about this a lot during the whole waiting-in-the-Argo-while-traveling and... I kind of like the idea."

"So, you'll be who? The Little Mermaid?", inquired the daughter of Mars.

"I don't do cross-dressing", stated Donny with a deadpan. "I'll be a genderbend version of Snow White though, not the Little Mermaid. And Sander, obviously, will be my Prince Charming."

"Why Snow White?", asked Phyl timidly, grateful for the conversation.

They were in a dark, weird cave, not knowing where it was heading. But the entrance had been guarded by spirits so they figured this was where Teardrop was hidden. Donny and Phyl went in, together with Sara and Sander as backup in case they'd have to fight. The others were waiting at the ship, Herc needed a rest after the fight, Thea had some minor injuries that needed to be taken care of and Joe made sure the ship was ready to leave in case they needed a fast get-away.

"Because Snow White is like the one, true love", sighed Donny dreamily. "The kiss that breaks every curse. Arguably there's also be Sleeping Beauty for that, but... Yeah, sleeping for a hundred years is not as awesome as living with seven dwarves and singing with birds."

"Thea and Herc are already signed up as Beauty and the Beast. Derek said he'll force Sam to dress up as Sleeping Beauty, he'll get Trend to be Prince Phillip and he will take Maleficent, or alternately he'd let Trend be Phoebus, force Sam to play Esmeralda and take the pervy Frollo himself... I'm a little scared by that one, to be honest", admitted Sander, wiggling his nose.

"Oh! Oh, I could be Merida! She's kick-ass and redheaded and I could dress Shally up as a bear, he'd be so fluffy and adorable!", exclaimed Sara excitedly. "Oh, that wedding will be so much fun!"

"Mentally noted down", nodded Donny with a grin. "What about you, Phyl? Any ideas?"

"Me?", asked Phyl surprised. "B—But it's your _wedding_. A—and we barely know each other. I wouldn't want to intrude on that, Donny. You really don't have to invite me."

Donny stared at her a little weird. "Phyl, you're cute, but shut up. Of course you're invited."

"Oh. Uhm, thank you", whispered Phyl, bowing her head a little. "I'd like to maybe do Jane...?"

"Ah, I'm sure you'll find your perfect Tarzan on our wedding", grinned Donny broadly.

"Guys! Guys, look, I think we've reached our destination!", exclaimed Sara hastily.

Donny tugged on Sander's collar, alerting the brunette that he wanted to be put down. The trickster was reluctant to do so, but as always, he obeyed his Dark Sea. Once Donny's feet touched the ground, Sander laid one supportive arm around his fiance's waist, pulling Donny close. There was a grateful smile on Donny's lips, even though it was unnecessary. Sander would always be there to support and help Donny and he would do everything to have Donny's back. Leaning down, he kissed Donny's cheek, because it was just too hard not to kiss his Dark Sea when he looked all determined and gorgeous. They approached the cage made of ice, a beautiful, luminescent butterfly flapping around in the middle of it, flying circles and looking tired. But resting would mean death. Freezing to death. Donny turned his ring once and turned it into his sword, easily cutting the ice and freeing the beautiful butterfly. It flew straight up to Donny, caressing the boy's cheek.

" _Hello, my prince. I knew my queen would send you to free me_ ", whispered the butterfly. " _Thank you. Oh, and you brought the young princess. Your grandmother hoped you'd get along well._ "

"I'm glad you're alright, Teardrop", grinned Donny, lifting one hand so Teardrop could sit down on it and rest his tired wings. "Let's get you out of here. Let's get all of us out of here."

"Agreed", chorused all of them, heading out of the cave again.

/break\

Back on the ship, they set sail toward Berlin, but it was a long way to go. They knew they wouldn't make it before sunrise the next day, so Donny hit the showers and IMed the others to inform them of it. With that, they split up to rest. Sander had grabbed a snack and was lounging on the bed, only in his sweatpants, because he wanted to be comfortable (and he was too tired to get up and get a shirt after he had taken off his bandages). The hydra bite had nicely healed and was scarring already. More scars to show off at camp. And at home – his mother surely would be proud of him. Wow. He hadn't even gotten around to tell his mom that he was engaged.

"Mh... such a nice sight to greet me..."

Blinking doe-eyed, Sander looked up at Donny. His Dark Sea had a mischievous leer on his face as he quite obviously ogled Sander. Blushing in self-awareness, Sander shifted some. Not that the sight in front of Sander wasn't also appealing. Donny was only wearing sweatpants himself, water running down his by now slightly toned chest, the olive-skin glistering deliciously. Donny walked over to the shelf and grabbed one of Sander's shirts. Instead of handing it to Sander though, he put it on himself. Sander smiled brightly. He loved how adorable Donny looked in his clothes that were too big, slipping off some. Donny crawled into the bed and Sander was more than happy to embrace his lover, pulling Donny close until he could bury his nose in the dark curls. Donny's shampoo smelt nice like flowers. Sander loved the way his Donny smelt, the way he felt pressed against Sander's side, curving so perfectly. Basically, Sander loved everything about his Dark Sea.

"We have Teardrop, we'll soon head home", whispered Donny, kissing Sander's neck.

"Mh... Can we... do family dinner? With your family and my family and us, celebrating our engagement? When the quest is over, when we're finally home again?", asked Sander.

"Oh, you're so cute", cooed Donny, planting a kiss on Sander's lips. "Yes. Yes, let's celebrate. After all this fighting, all the blood... Yes, I just want to celebrate having you, loving you."

"I can't wait until we're back home again", sighed Sander, arms around Donny's waist. "We can finally be properly together. I mean, uhm, I love the kissing and groping and making out, but I wanna take you out on fancy dates, dress up like a penguin and pay all my pocket money for dinner with you and then I wanna dance with you and kiss you under the moonlight..."

"They call me the Disney Princess while in reality, you're the one with the Disney-romance wired mind", teased Donny with a tender smile on his lips. "I love you, my Prince Charming."

"I just... want everything perfect for you, because you're perfect", mumbled Sander embarrassed. "I love you. I loved you for so long and now that I have you, I want everything to be perfect..."

"Everything _is_ perfect, as long as I have you, mio eroe", smiled Donny, kissing Sander again.

Sander grinned, a mixture of pride and happiness. He couldn't wait for this quest to be over, for them to get their regular life back – with training, school, parents, siblings, _dates_.

/break\

Phyl was sitting at a table together with Thea and Marshall. Herc was out cold on the couch next to them, snoring peacefully after the exhausting task of making a tornado up. Joe was at the steering control, with Sara on watch-duty. Having her arms crossed on the table, Phyl rested her chin on them, staring curiously at the beautiful butterfly sitting in front of her. It had extremely large wings, sparkling, in about a hundred different shades of blue.

"What can we do to defeat the goddess of winter?", asked Phyl softly.

" _You need the other seasons_ ", answered Teardrop, staring at her curiously.

"That won't be a problem then", smiled Phyl. "We have Thallo, Auxo and Xarpo on our sides."

" _Not enough_ ", countered the butterfly, making his way over to sit on Phyl's nose, causing the girl to giggle. " _The gods don't fight themselves. They need demigods to represent them during the fight._ "

"So... we need demigods to represent... the seasons...", said Phyl, for the benefit of her friends.

"Well, you're the daughter of spring, Demeter kind of represents summer with the agriculture and stuff... But what modern god represents autumn?", asked Thea a little confused.

" _Do you truly need me to answer that?_ ", inquired Teardrop, sounding amused.

"Uhm, yes, please?", requested Phyl, eyes crossed as she looked at the butterfly on her nose.

" _Autumn is the season of death. Plants die_ ", started Teardrop. " _The representative of spring is the queen of the underworld, the representative of summer is her mother, who spends quite some time with her daughter in the underworld... Who stands for death and also lives in the underworld?_ "

"It's a stretch, but... Hades stands for autumn more than the other gods, I suppose...", drawled Phyl thoughtful. "So, I'm spring, Derek is summer and Donny would be autumn then..."

" _Very well, my princess_ ", praised Teardrop amused. " _Together, you three and the goddesses represent the seasons and can win against winter._ "

"We represent the same... two sides of the same...", drawled Phyl surprised.

"Crossing off another line of the prophecy", stated Thea, nodding her head. "Great."

"The one line I'm afraid of is the following though", said Marshall seriously, growling a little.

"Nearly all of us brought our lovers with us into this", whispered Thea, eyes drawn to the sleeping form of her boyfriend. "It could hit practically all of us. Dying, or losing the one we love..."

"Never been so glad to be single", sighed Phyl, shaking her head.

"Maybe we get lucky and Sam, Nico, Trend and Derek can take Khione out even before we have to waltz in? Only having to take care of Cheimon sounds... better", sighed Thea hopefully.

"Yes please, let's hope for that", agreed Phyl, nodding wildly.

" _Good luck with that. Prophecies can't be avoided_ ", warned Teardrop seriously. " _They just can't. Many generations of heroes before you have already tried before you._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, they saved the butterfly! Yay for that. Next chapter will wrap the quest up, with the fight against Khione and Cheimon. Which means the next line of the prophecy will be fulfilled.


	84. One Love Left Dying

84\. One Love Left Dying

"I'm bored. I'm so, so, so bored..."

"Okay, okay. I give up! What do I have to do to shut you up?!", groaned Nico annoyed.

She whirled around and glared at Derek. The son of Demeter was pouting, dragging his feet along as he walked behind the others. Not particularly because he was so slow, but this way he had a nice view of Sam's and Trend's asses and _that_ was a good motivation to keep moving.

"I'd be far more entertained if my sweetheart wouldn't be wrapped up so much", complained Derek. "How am I supposed to ogle him properly if he's wearing a thick winter coat?! It hides everything."

"Please stop being a perv, Der. We have to find this damn place", muttered Sam, not even up for a blush right now. "The whiteness hides in the darkest place. Fuck this, I hate riddles..."

After having returned to Berlin and visited the zoo, this was their lead. It figured that Khione wasn't staying with the polar bears 24/7 for so many weeks, but this clue was not very helpful so far. They had spend hours now, touring through Berlin and trying to find the 'darkest place'.

"Well, whiteness equals snow in this case since we're looking for Khione. We just have to find out what the darkest place may refer to", sighed Trend, laying one arm around Sam's waist.

The son of Ares sighed happily, leaning into the touch and warmth of his blonde lover. Derek huffed at that display of affection and butted in between them. With a grunt, Trend adjusted to rest his arm around Derek's waist instead. A little whine escaped Sam's throat at the lost of Trend's warmth. So Derek slipped one hand into the back-pocket of Sam's too-tight jeans and pulled him close.

"D—Derek!", hissed Sam with a glare.

"What? Just warming that gorgeous butt of yours", hummed Derek with a straight face. "Also, your ass totally helps me think. Seriously, just looking at it makes me feel more intelligent."

"Then maybe _looking_ would be enough, you horny bastard", grunted Sam with a deadpan.

"You people are horrible", snorted Nico and shook her head. "Okay, so... Darkest place around. Come on, be at least a little helpful. Are we talking literal darkness? Like a cave?"

" _The place where darkness leaked into. The darkest darkness of the underworld_ ", supplied a firefly.

The two little glowing insects were flying in front of the four teenagers. Derek frowned thoughtful, drawing circles on Sam's butt with his thumb and absentmindedly slipping his other hand into the back-pocket of Trend's jeans. The blonde only grunted a little, not commenting otherwise.

"Where on Earth did Tartarus 'leak into'?", muttered Derek confused, tilting his head some.

"Now that's a hint", grunted Nico, arms crossed over her chest. "Not that it helps much..."

"Actually, I think it does...", stated Trend and paused for a moment.

"How so?", inquired Sam, looking over Derek's head and at the blonde.

"We're in Germany. If there is a time in history that can be described as Tartarus leaking into our world, it would be the Third Reich", explained Trend. "We're currently in the capitol of a country that was enslaved by a power-hungry monster, who tried to commit genocide and killed thousands of innocent people. If that doesn't sound like Tartarus on Earth, I wouldn't know what else does."

"What does that mean for us though?", inquired Sam. "I mean, where do we _look_?"

"There would be a concentration camp in Oranienburg, but that's a tad far away from our current location...", drawled Nico, gaining the boys' attention. "What? I got a tour-guide at the zoo."

"Give me that", ordered Trend, going through the pages. "Mh. Okay. This would fit. It's... a creepily appropriate place. Hohensch... schönhausen. It's a prison from World War II. The place where people waited for their transfer to concentration camps."

"Great! Let's break into a creepy, freaky Nazi-prison to fight against a snow goddess", exclaimed Sam, looking far too excited for all their taste. "Let's go and kick some frozen butt!"

"Okay, let's get going", sighed Derek, not the least bit eager about this.

/break\

It was easier to sneak into the prison than anticipated. Then again, it was Tuesday morning and tourist groups were all over the place. So it wasn't too hard to just pretend to be part of one of the school classes visiting the place and once inside, they escaped the group again to tour on their own.

"Okay, yes, I can feel Tartarus in here", whispered Nico, shuddering violently.

The four of them were standing in front of a shabby, tiny cell and even without being related to Hades, it was easy for them to feel the pain and torture that had happened here a hundred years ago. This place must have been more haunted than anything else they had ever seen in their lives. Tip-toeing down to the basement and the torture chambers, they found what they were looking for. And also the reason why Khione was here to begin with. The floor was cracked, most likely Khione's doing. The mortal world had been wearing thin at this place to begin with so breaking a direct connection to Tartarus hadn't been too hard. And apparently, Khione was using this to summon monsters straight from Tartarus itself. That was so not good. Not at all.

"Okay. What's the plan?", whispered Derek concerned, squeezing Sam's butt nervously.

"Take your hand out of my pocket, for one", stated Sam unimpressed. "We attack. Trend, you and me will take care of the monsters, Nico will focus on the Ice Queen over there."

"Taking out Elsa. Wanted to do that ever since Kara forced me to watch that horrible movie", nodded Nico eagerly, cracking her neck. "Yay for that. Okay. Flame on, then."

Flicking her wrist, she caused a small flame to twirl around it. Derek looked more pissed than ever as he got his sword out. He really hated fighting. That was what the hunky heroes were for. He preferred the place on the sidelines where he could watch the sweaty deliciousness.

"Let's get this over with, I demand cuddles afterward", sighed Derek annoyed.

"If you do good, you may even get a reward-kiss from Sam", offered Trend in a serious voice.

"Let's kill those monsters!", exclaimed Derek rather enthusiastically all of a sudden.

Trend smirked amused, while Sam blinked a couple of times and turned to glare at Trend. The blonde just shrugged casually, readying his own weapon. The Owl's Feather glistered golden in the light. He didn't have a good feeling about this and he disliked that the others hadn't reached them yet – before entering the prison, they had IMed the others and told them their location. They had wanted to wait for backup, but seeing how Khione was summoning monsters, they needed to act.

With snake-legged women, strange creatures, vicious, red bulls and the crazy goddess, all of them soon had both hands full. Nico checked for a last moment how Derek was slashing away at the empousai, Sam was fighting a mighty dragon and Trend was dueling with something that looked like a ghoul. They were doing well enough, so she had to focus on her task.

"Hey, Ice Bitch!", called Nico loudly. "What's your opinion on the Human Torch?"

The white-haired woman whirled around, glaring at the Latina. Her glare turned even nastier when suddenly, all of Nico caught fire. The snow goddess backed off slowly, unsure what was happening.

"I've dealt with one of your kind before. Nasty little bug", snarled Khione viciously.

"Yeah, that bug's my mama and I don't appreciate anyone talking shit about him!", growled Nico and lunged for the goddess, causing a ring of fire to light around them. "Let me pay you back."

While the goddess and the halfling were in a pretty evenly matched fight, Sam found himself face to face with two dragons. He had done well against one, but two were borderline. Especially since the blasted beasts were herding him closer and closer to the rift. The closer he got to the pit, the more screams he could hear. Tortured souls, the innocents that had been imprisoned in here. His eyes darted around, looking for help. His right arm was bleeding badly where one of the dragons had lashed out at him, rendering him nearly motionless. It was a good thing he could also fight with his left arm. Still, a little help would be appreciated. But Trend was far too busy with the... hydra? Really? Why couldn't Khione summon some cute, little hellhound puppies?!

"Sammy, need a hand?", asked a cheeky voice. "Those empousai are _nothing_ compared to nastily tempered cheerleaders, really. Let me slay a dragon for you, sweetheart."

"My knight", grunted Sam and rolled his eyes as he turned to Derek. "Thanks."

They exchanged a small grin and Sam couldn't deny that it felt exciting that he could fight at Derek's side like this, because he never before had gotten to fight side by side with Der. Sam winced as he continued the fight, his right arm stinging. He started to feel a little delirious as they finally got one kill down, leaving only one drakon as their opponent.

Derek was feeling pretty darn good. Killing monsters was nice. Fighting with his Sammy at his side was even nicer. Donny had said that Sammy liked fighters and heroes, so maybe Derek could prove himself to his Sammy. With a bright smile on his lips, he turned toward Sammy. His smile melted when he saw how Nico's fight with Khione was going. The snow goddess was trying to fight the fire with ice, firing icicles around. Only his fast reflexes allowed him to push Sam out of the way just as a large one was flying into their direction. Sam grunted annoyed, he barely managed to stab the stupid drakon thanks to Derek's distraction, turning to chide Derek for pushing him around, but what he saw when he turned to his best friend only made his throat tighten in an uncomfortable way. It looked so surreal and _wrong_. There was a giant icicle, easily the size of Sam's forearm, sticking out of Derek's chest, red blooming on the green shirt, darkening it.

"D—Der...", whispered Sam, voice broken.

His double-edged sword fell to the ground as he hastily wrapped his arm around Derek, both sinking to the ground together. There was so much blood and they were just _too close_. He could feel reality beneath them crumbling, the earth breaking apart more and more where Khione had forced this entrance to Tartarus open. But Sam's right arm was too useless and with only one arm, he couldn't move Derek, so all he could do was cling onto the son of Demeter.

"S—Stupid idiot", hissed Sam annoyed. "Why did you do that, bastard?!"

"Because it... would have hit... you...", whispered Derek softly, face contorted in pain.

"So what?!", snarled Sam. "You think it would have been the first time I got seriously hurt on a quest?! Gah. I can _deal_ with shit like that, you dumbass! You shouldn't have!"

"I did", smiled Derek softly, resting a hand in Sam's neck.

"You didn't, don't be stupid", chided Sam, trying to stand, with holding onto Derek with one arm. "Come on, we gotta get you out of the way, dumbass. T—Trend has the nectar."

"There's an icicle stuck half an inch from my heart", stated Derek seriously. "A—And there's a dragon between us and Trend. It's going to eat both of us if you try to carry me over there..."

Sam glared, angered. "I don't fucking care! I'll-"

The ground beneath them shook. The earth was in pain, the old wound having been ripped open so brutally. Derek was supporting himself with his hands and one of them was curled around the cliff. The split was literally right next to them and if Sam didn't hurry, then Derek's sweetheart was going to pummel right down into the darkest pit of the world. Derek was well-aware of his condition. Even on the low chance that Sam single-handedly managed to drag Derek around – where the son of Ares could barely walk himself due to his own blood-loss – there was still a blood-thirsty dragon that was not happy about them killing its mate. If Sam was to try drag Derek around, he'd have to leave his sword, leaving him without any means to defend himself. There was no way Derek would let Sam die like that, just to protect Derek. Not when Derek was well-aware of his own condition, of the barely-there chances that he'd make it out of here alive to begin with.

"Sammy, shut up", whispered Derek, using what little strength he had to pull Sam down.

The son of Ares grunted annoyed, but the grunt was swallowed by Derek's lips. It was nothing like the first time they had kissed, all those years ago. The innocent, childish and yet demanding kiss. Or the playful, friendly kisses Derek occasionally gave Sam. This was tender and _loving_.

"Is tusa cuisle mo chroí, Samuel", whispered Derek, putting all the feelings he had into that one sentence as their kiss parted. "Bí grá agat dom. Crothnóidh mé thú. Tá brón orm." [trans: _You are the pulse of my heart, Samuel. Love me. I will miss you. I'm sorry_ ]

It was the adrenalin, probably. The urge to get Sam out of there, because the ground beneath them shook again and Derek would never let Sam endure the literal hell. He pushed Sam off, with so much force that Sam landed on his butt about a meter away. The recoil however send Derek flying too. And even though he was falling down an endless, dark pit, knowing he was dying, there was a smile on his lips, because he knew his Sam was out of harm's way. He could only pray that Trend would take his job serious and keep protecting their Sammy.

"N—No! No, no, no, no, no!", chanted Sam and wanted to stand, to go after Derek.

But the dragon recovered from Sam's last hit enough to find the source of the screaming, lunging for Sam. Cursing beneath his breath, Sam took his sword and rammed it straight into the wounded beast's heart. After that, he went as close to the pit as he could. But there was nothing he could do, aside from diving in right after Derek and even _he_ knew what a ridiculous idea that was. He sank onto his knees, on solid ground this time, staring over at the raft with broken eyes.

Only the scream torn from Trend's throat broke him out of his lethargy. He had just lost Derek – his mind and heart had no grip on that _at all_ – but he was not losing Trend too. Not at all. It was the moment he snapped, the moment he gave up part of him that made him _him_. The compassion, love and laughter. In that one moment, he gave himself entirely over to his father, begging for strength. His eyes were hard and cold as he stood and grabbed the sword tightly. His senses were heightened, reflexes strengthened. No second of doubt or reluctance between his attacks as he slaughtered the enemy, channeling all the rage, hatred, anger, regret and wrath he felt in that moment.

He didn't even notice how Donny and the others arrived, how he got more brothers and sisters in arms, how the number of enemies shrank. He completely missed the appearance of three goddesses.

"W—Where's Derek?", asked Phyl confused as she and Donny stood opposite the white woman.

Khione was pink with rash from the heat, Nico laying exhausted and badly wounded in front of her, shaking her head slowly. "H—He... I saw him fall. He fell into... Tartarus..."

There was a moment of silence, one where Cheimon materialized next to the exhausted Khione. The goddess of winter regarded her snow-bringer with a judgmental glare. The silence was interrupted by the seasonal goddesses as they turned to their missing fourth sister.

"The greatest sacrifice", whispered Thallo the Spring Goddess, her eyes sad. "We will help you."

With that, a full-blown fight of nature broke loose, in the basement of a Stasi prison, at the fringe of Tartarus itself. Flowers and plants fighting against the blizzard of ice-cold snow. Each of the five on the good side grew a tree, only a little thing. Phyl looked proud as it grew stronger, this having been the first trick that Derek had taught her this summer. Donny added more than just life to it, he linked them to the entrance of Tartarus. In the end, the power of trees grown by Xarpo, Thallo, Auxo, Donny and Phyl were stronger than the cold ice. Five trees twirled around Khione and Cheimon, imprisoning them between the living trees that enclosed them completely. In a way, it reminded Sara of how Hexor got taken out in her favorite movie _FernGully_. The tree that considered of five trees closed and sealed the goddesses between them. It was beautiful in a bizarre way. All seasons seemed to take place in one tree, making it a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

Yet Marshall, Trend, Sam, Sander, Sara and Hercules were still busy taking out the last of the monsters that had escaped the pit. Thea and Joe were tending to Nico's injuries while Donny and Phyl collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. The goddesses vanished, together with the tree, without another word to the heroes. There was one thought all of them blocked out: Derek was dead.

/break\

Derek was falling through darkness and pain, closing his eyes. He was at ease. This was okay. He was dying, but he was dying for Sam and – that was _all that mattered_. When sounds echoed around him, he opened his eyes wide, confused. Everything was a little blurry, but the first thing that came into focus was a white wooden arc, with red roses growing up and around it. Beneath the arc stood Chiron, dressed as a priest, together with Trend in a dark-gray tux and Sam in a beautiful white dress. Looking around some, he saw a bunch of guests sitting there, staring. Up with them were Sander, Marshall and Donny, dressed in suits and lined up on Trend's side, while Thea, Sara and Phyl were lined up on Sam's side, all in beautiful dresses. He looked around one more time.

"...You may now kiss the bride", declared Chiron in a smooth voice, causing everyone to cheer.

Trend pulled Sam into a passionate kiss, arms around Sam's waist to rest on his butt. Derek's eyes widened. He was dead and stuck in his own, personal _hell_. The best man on Sam's and Trend's wedding. How much torture did he need?! But then they parted and Sam turned toward him.

"Well, he said kiss the bride. You gonna obey him, or do I have to drag you here, Mister Raser?"

There was a playful smile on Sam's lips as he grabbed Derek by the tie and pulled him in for a kiss. Derek's world spun as everyone cheered even more and he could feel the firmness of Trend in his back. Correction, he was dead and this was his own, personal _heaven_. Smiling into the kiss, he responded to it, clinging onto Sam. After the kiss, there was another kiss, this time with Trend, then there was kissing and laughter and jokes, cutting the cake and feeding each other.

"Ready to get out of here?", whispered Sam, resting one hand on Derek's thigh.

"I'm all in for us unwrapping our gorgeous wife", agreed Trend, hand on Derek's other thigh.

"Totally agreed", nodded Derek hastily, eyes wide, pupils blown.

But just as Sam, laughing and smiling and so beautiful, pulled him along, he caught sight of someone who seemed off. A table with six people. Not demigods. Too old. Somehow familiar. Trend nudged him, giving him a weird look for stopping. Derek offered him a smile.

"Why don't you two go ahead and I'll... follow. Why don't you prep our pretty?", suggested Derek.

While Trend and Sam went ahead, Derek approached the table slowly. Ever since the kiss, things seemed to have faded. This had felt _real_. Now, he realized he had been on a quest, he had died. He realized those weren't guests. They were the Erotes. Pothos had one arm around Hymenaios' waist, the Asian giggling as he babbled on about the wedding. Hermaphroditos was drinking silently, Himeros was obviously plotting some hook-up. Hedylogos was sitting on Anteros' lap, carding his fingers through the gray hair of the sophisticated gentleman. Derek gulped.

"W—Why are you here? I mean, this is obviously my reward for sacrificing myself for Sam. This is my heaven. Don't butt into my favorite fantasy", chided Derek with an annoyed glare.

"This wedding is sponsored by Erotes Inc, thanks for chosing us", chimed Hymenaios and stood. "We like you. Kinda. We're also trying to get back into the good graces of the Olympians to dodge punishment. So, this is us, saving your life, little demigod."

"W—What...?", sputtered Derek stunned, stumbling a step back.

"You've always longed and yearned for Sam", stated Pothos, Erotes of yearning.

"But you also always wanted to make him an honest boy", smiled Hymenaios, Erotes of weddings.

"He had always been your greatest sexual desire. Just him", stated Himeros, Erotes of desires.

"You've been trying to sweet-talk him for years now", offered Hedylogos, Erotes of sweet-talk.

"You never minded being a bit feminine and you wouldn't mind having him being a bit feminine, especially if it involves a dress", chuckled Hermaphroditos, Erotes of effeminacy.

"And regardless of all your fears, this love of yours is requited", ended Anteros, Erotes of requited love. "We're currently taking all of this energy produced by you fulfilling all of our realms, changing it, but instead of keeping it, we're feeding it back to you, keeping you alive."

"W—What does that... mean...?", asked Derek slowly, sitting down.

"You're not dead", argued Anteros. "You're stuck in the same curse as your friends had been before you broke it, but unlike them, we're not taking the energy to keep it. We use it to keep you alive."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wanted to be mean and leave it at Derek falling, but then I figured I can hardly write the next chapter if my readers slaughter me, so... Next chapter will explain in more detail what exactly is happening to Derek right now. Together with A LOT of crying and grieving.
> 
> On another note, if you've ever been to a concentration camp or a Stasi prison, you'll know why I chose that as a connection to Tartarus, because I doubt any other place has such a creepy and unsettling feeling to it.


	85. Five-or-so Stages of Grief

85\. Five-or-so Stages of Grief

Derek looked like a very pleased cat as he was stretched out on the bed, naked and covered in sweat. He was resting his head on Trend's chest, using the muscular body as his personal pillow. Sam had his arms folded on Derek's chest, staring up at him adoringly and lovingly, the way Derek had always wished to be looked at by Sam. Smiling, Sam started to feed Derek grapes.

"Nice show. Can we talk now?", grunted Pothos, little impressed.

"Hey, just because you babble some nonsense doesn't mean I'll let you distract me from my Sammy", countered Derek and smirked, running his fingers through Sam's soft hair. "So, now how about you explain yourself properly. What the hell is going on here?"

"You were tumbling down the rabbit hole, little Alice. But the Wonderland you're heading for is not one to be desired", stated Himeros, playing with his fiery red hair. "And with that nasty wound at that. You're a hero, darling. And to stay on the Olympians' good side, we decided to save you."

"Okay, then... how do you do that?", inquired Derek, tracing Sam's spine.

"These dreams, normally only one of us inflicts it on a victim, making the demigod or mortal dream a reality where their hidden desires come true. Fulfilling desires releases adrenaline and self-esteem, great power and energy hidden right there. We Erotes have the handy ability of sucking that energy out of humans and translating it into... power-sources, life-sources even", explained Anteros, twirling his dark, gray beard and smiling a little. "All six of us cooked this dream up especially for you and the energy we take from you, a great amount of energy considering that all six of us are feasting on different desires of yours. Now, where your friends were weakened because energy was drained from them, we are giving you a burst. The translated energy is far stronger than what we take from you. We're keeping you alive with your own energy, basically."

"Okay... that's... very nice of you", nodded Derek slowly, cupping Sam's butt with his hands, causing the son of Ares to squeal a little. "But, if I may remind you, without me, they would have never broken any of the curses. How are the others supposed to free me again, without, well, me?"

"Honey, have you ever read the fairy tale of _Sleeping Beauty_?", asked Hedylogos with a smirk. "Who do you think put the girl who dreamed about nothing else but true love into such a deep sleep? That was entirely Anteros' doing. Only requited love managed to break his spell. True love's kiss, as they like to call it. There's always truth in every children's tale, my dear. And there is always _magic_ in so many things. We are the gods of love and love is our magic."

"So, lemme get this straight. I need true love's kiss for this spell to break?", grunted Derek, blinking a couple of times and looking down at his dream-version of Sam. "That's not gonna happen. He doesn't love me. Not like that. And even if, there's still the matter of me having fallen into Tartarus."

"True love means being willing to go through hell for one another", stated Anteros, his voice deep and calm as it washed over Derek. "If you don't believe in the spark of possibility that he may return your feelings, then just dwell in this dream and accept it as your heaven. See what happens."

Derek hummed and adjusted Sammy on his lap. "Okay. I'll go with that."

/break\

They had gathered themselves and left the prison, boarded the ship and set sail back to the US. All without a single word passing between them. Joe was relatively sober, or keeping it together enough to steer the ship at least. Nico was sitting at her feet, too exhausted and in too much pain to stand, but also not willing to rest in the cabin. The Latina had one arm wound around Joe's legs, cheek resting against Joe's thigh. Both were sitting in silence, just feeling each other.

Sara and Thea were below deck, trying to comfort Phyl. Derek had been the first friend she had made, the one who taughed her about her powers, introduced her to camp, lead her and helped her make friends. She couldn't believe he was gone. Death itself was so hard to grasp, but the death of a dear friend seemed so much more cruel. So the other girls just held her, promising it would be okay.

Herc, Sander, Trend and Marshall were sitting together in the dining hall. Not to eat, but just to sit in silence together. They were heroes, they knew that every quest could mean death. It didn't make the acceptance any easier or the grief any less painful. Sander was staring at his hands.

"Der was my first... everything", admitted Sander into the silence. "W—We weren't dating for long, but... he was my first kiss and my first time, both my first times, I guess... He was always there for me. Even after we broke up. I—I... I can't believe he's gone."

"He made Leroy impotent", whispered Trend, a small smile on his lips. "He was _the only one_ to figure out what Leroy had done to Sam and he punished the bastard for it."

"Heh, sounds like a Derek-thing to do", laughed Herc. "He was a little bitch. The good kind."

"He was a good leader", added Marshall, voice low and more gentle than normally. "Everyone thought he was a player, but he took nothing more serious than his duties as cabin-head, as head of the cheerleaders. He was always willing to help the new kids settle, like Phyl."

"I—I don't want him to be gone...", sobbed Sander, staring up at them with teary eyes.

"None of us, man", whispered Herc, clasping a hand over Sander's shoulder. "We all care."

"I love him", said Trend, whispered so lowly it was barely audible.

"What?", asked Herc stunned, turning a bit to face Trend.

"I love him. Even when we were dating, I never managed to tell him. I was so busy talking about how much I love Sammy that I never... I never admitted my feelings for him, not to him and only too late to myself", continued Trend soberly. "He died without knowing that he was loved..."

/break\

While the other boys did what they would never admit to do – being emotional, talking about feelings and crying – Donny had gone after Sam. Upon entering the ship, the son of Ares had been heading straight to his and Trend's cabin, locking the door. It was a good thing that Donny could shadow-travel, because breaking down a door was not in his abilities. What he found inside was not entirely what he was expecting. Derek had been Sam's best friend for years, he had thought to find the Irish boy crying and cursing the world. He would have _preferred_ to find that. But Sam was just sitting there, on the bed, with his knees drawn up and an empty expression on his face.

"Sam...?", asked Donny softly, approaching the son of Ares. "Are you alright?"

"No", was the shallow and monotonous reply.

"Of course you're not. That was a stupid question, I'm sorry", sighed Donny and sat down next to Sam. "I mean, you just lost your best friend. But you will be alright again, Sam."

"No", was once again the reply, as emotionless and empty as before.

"Mh?", grunted Donny confused, scooting closer. "What do you mean?"

"No. No, I will not be alright", answered Sam seriously, turning angry and sad eyes on Donny. "H—How am I supposed to _ever_ be alright again, di Angelo? Derek is... Derek..."

"Because you're the strongest person I ever met, Samuel", whispered Donny encouragingly, grasping Sam's face between his hands. "You moved on after your own boyfriend raped you, you grew so strong, you never let anything beat you down. You'll be alright."

"I won't", growled Sam, swatting Donny's hands away. "I moved on because I _had Derek_. Even when I thought the world was crumbling around me, Derek kept a cool head and held me. I spend countless nights sneaking into his apartment, his bed, crying in his arms all night. When I didn't know _how_ to move on, he told me to train, to become stronger. He held me when I needed a hug, he told me where to go when I lost direction, he listened to me when I wanted to talk. _He made me alright again_. Every. Single. Time. How am I supposed to be alright when he's not here?!"

And with that, the dam broke. Sam sagged against Donny, crying and sobbing into the halfling's chest. Donny had problems holding them upright, but he did his best, rubbing circles on Sam's back and trying to sooth him. Not that it worked. Sam cried and cried and then he cried some more, until he fell into a fitful sleep, still crying. Donny was whispering nonsense and promises all along.

/break\

Trend frowned concerned as he shifted the sleeping Sander in his arms. The boys had done a little more than just talk. They also drank. To Derek's life, to victory, to their own mourning. At one point, Sander had fallen asleep against Trend's shoulder, dried tears straining Sander's cheeks. It surprised Trend more than it should, really. Sander had always been very emotional, had always valued his friends a lot. And what Sander had said was true; Derek had been his first. Sander's first kiss, first boyfriend, first time of intimacy. That was a bond, certainly. Something that doesn't just fade away, not if all of those were shared, not if even afterward, such a deep friendship remained. Carrying the sleeping brunette to the room Sander and Donny were sharing, Trend noted the lack of Donny inside. Frowning, he tugged Sander in and left to search for the missing Disney Princess.

He only found Donny once he reached his own room. Granted, opening the door was a little harder than anticipated, considering that there was a table blocking the door. But Trend was strong and determined. Once inside, he found Donny and Sammy, curled together in a tight ball.

"Hey there, princess", whispered Trend, pushing some of Donny's curls away.

"Mh... Don't bother me...", mumbled Donny with a frown, burying his face in his pillow.

"There's a Sander waiting for you in your room. A very sad Sander who could surely use his favorite Dark Sea", whispered the son of Athena. "Why don't you let me take over here?"

"S—Sander...?", asked Donny concerned and sat up, rubbing his sea-green eyes.

A small smile played on Trend's lips as he watched Donny stumble out of the room. The smile died all too soon as he turned back to Sam. Sam's eyes were puffy from crying, with tears straining his cheeks. The son of Ares was curled together in a tight ball, as though he was trying to hide his vulnerability, but only promoting it even more. Not in five years had Trend seen Sam look that weak, broken and small. Even all his muscles and strength seemed insignificant compared to how vulnerable and hurt he looked just now. Heaving a sigh, Trend sat down next to his lover. But when he reached out to touch Sam, the son of Ares flinched away from the contact, curling together tighter. Trend frowned, reaching out once more, just to get the same result.

"Sammy...", started the son of Athena, voice soft and unsure.

"Don't touch me", mumbled Sam, low and shallow. "I'll only hurt you."

"What do you mean, Sammy?", asked Trend concerned.

"My cousins always got hurt because I lived with my aunt and uncle. My mother was hurt just by having me, because she had to give up her only child. I broke Erik's heart, Jonas' self-esteem and... Chuck's heart more than the others, I think", whispered Sam, barely audible. "I _tormented_ Donny for months. And now... Derek... is dead. Died for me. Because of me. You should stay away from me. I always hurt good people and you're one of the best..."

"Don't. Don't do that, Samuel", growled Trend, looking angered as he grabbed Sam by the shoulder and forced him to look at the blonde. "Don't lock me out. I know you're feeling guilty, Sammy. I know you're hurting and are looking for someone to blame, but you are not to blame. And you are not the only one who's hurting, Sam. I lost him too. We all did." Sam turned a little to look at Trend from beneath his long lashes. "Sammy, everybody hurts at times and breakups are messy. What happened with your family was not your fault either and they all love you very dearly, I doubt any of them would wish to exchange you for a mortal child. Donny forgave you a while ago. And Derek chose to die to save the one person he loves more than anything, even his own life. You."

"Y—You... knew...?", whispered Sam, staring deep into the storm-gray eyes of his lover.

"Mh? Knew?", repeated Trend, a little confused.

"That it's... That he... All the flirting and nicknames and groping... He was serious. That he genuinely loved me...", murmured the son of Ares, staring desperately up at Trend.

The blonde sat down and pulled Sam up against his chest until Sam was sitting on Trend's lap. "Sam, everyone knew that. Literally everyone who knows you and Derek knows that Derek is... w—was... in love with you. You're the only one who never knew." Trend frowned thoughtful and laid his arms around Sam's waist. "How come you realized it now, after all those years..."

"I was holding him in my arms after he got... h—hit... He kissed me", admitted Sam blushing furiously. "It wasn't just a friendly kiss like before. It was... all those feelings. I could... I could feel how much he actually... loved me. And... and the things he said, r—right before he..."

Trend frowned a little, pulling Sam closer. "What did he say?"

"He... said he loved me. But not just... that. He said he loved me dozens of times before and I always... thought it was... brotherly love... But it wasn't a simple 'I love you, sweetheart'. He said t—that I'm the pulse of his heart... It's a... it means _so much more_. He... a—asked me to love him and his voice was so... broken and pleading, like it was really all he wanted in life... I never... H—How did I _never_ see it? Earlier, b—before he... it was _so obvious_. Why... Why did he never make it obvious before? H—He always treated me like a... f—friend..."

"Because you were", replied Trend, lips pressed against Sam's temple. "You were the very first friend he ever made. Coincidentally, he also instantly fell in love with you. But you stuck around. He... I don't know if he ever told you, but back in England, he had been picked on a lot. Even when he made friends, they turned away from him after a few weeks. You stuck around, regardless of if he slept around, had a nasty temper, was being a total bitch... But not you. You just stuck around, regardless of with how many of your friends he slept. You became the center of his life, not just because he loved you, but also because you were his best friend. He never said anything because he never wanted to risk losing you and he feared that if you weren't to return his feelings, he'd lose you for good. He always hoped you'd pick up on it and you two would get together, but nothing would ever make him risk losing you, because you just meant that much to him."

With that, Sam's tears broke loose again. He clawed his fingers into Trend's shirt, sobbing and shaking in the blonde's arms. Trend held him tightly, feeling the wetness on his shirt spread.

"I—I... I miss him... H—He died f—for me... I love him... I think... I think I always did, but I never could see him in the right light... I—Is that...", whimpered Sam, hiccuping loudly.

"It's fine, Sammy", assured Trend, caressing Sam's mohawk. "I know, Sammy. I know you love him. I... I've known it for a long time now, Sammy. Longer than I care to know, actually."

"D—Define that...", requested Sam once he was calmed down enough to only cry without sobs.

"Sammy", murmured Trend softly, dragging his lips along Sam's temple. "He was the first person you called about dating... Leroy. And you went to _him_ after your breakup. You crawl into his bed at night when you have nightmares. He's the only one who ever met your mother, grandfather and actually your whole family in person, because you took him home for Christmas."

"I—If... you... say it like that...", mumbled Sam, cheeks dark-red. "I never... noticed..."

"I'm aware", chuckled Trend, a sad smile on his lips. "I love you. I love you with all of my heart, I think part of me even loves that you love Derek. Because... part of me still loves Derek too."

"He's dead...", whispered Sam broken, eyes dry but shattered.

"No", stated Trend firmly, tightening his grip on Sam remarkably. "No, I refuse to believe that. We are living in a world where _everything_ is possible so it will be possible for us to save him."

"D—Don't. Don't give me false hope", warned the son of Ares, looking up at Trend.

"I'm not. I'm promising you that I will do everything in my powers to get him back. For both of us."

/break\

Sander woke up to the sound of soft sobbing and a wetness spreading on his shoulder. Frowning and yawning, he turned some, causing the curly-haired weight to slip some. Why was Donny crying? Sitting up some, he pulled Donny closer to sit on his lap. Last time he had a curly-haired cutie crying in his lap had been Derek, after his breakup with Trend. Oh. Derek. All the memories suddenly rushed back to him, causing him to gasp shortly, holding tightly onto his Donny.

"S—Sorry", mumbled Donny, rubbing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Sorry?", repeated Sander confused, voice muffled by Donny's curls.

"He's one of your best and oldest friends and I should comfort you about his d—death", explained Donny softly, wrapping his arms around Sander's neck. "I should be strong for you."

"You're my Dark Sea, I'm your hero", countered Sander with a frown. "You don't have to be strong for me. We are strong for each other. And I think you like Derek too by now. You're friends too, so... it's okay. You can mourn him too. We can... mourn him together..."

Tears spilled from his eyes once more, matting the dark curls. Donny too was shaking as he was crying into Sander's chest. No comforting words were spoken as both just held each other, knowing that their fiance was all they needed right now. It was all the comfort they needed.

/break\

Thea had held Phyl until the girl had cried herself to sleep, she had handed Sara over to Marshall for further care and cuddles, she then proceeded to tug Herc in, who had been pretty knocked out after drinking with the boys. Right now, she was headed for the control panel. Joe was still standing upright and proud, a determined look in her chocolate-brown eyes.

"You know, you need to re-dye your hair", pointed Thea out as she reached the other girl.

Joe frowned, tugging a little on one of her dark-blue strands. The color had faded a lot over the summer, her roots showing black. Shaking her head a little, she turned to look at Thea.

"No crying?", inquired Joe skeptically.

Thea hummed and knelt down next to Joe, reaching out to card her fingers through Nico's curls. The Latina was curled together, leaning against Joe's legs, deep asleep. The legacy of Hephaestus grunted, hiding her face more in Joe's pant-leg. Her clothes were burned, literal holes in them at some places, her hair was a rat's nest and she had some scratches. But Nico hadn't wanted any medical attention, she just wanted to be with Joe.

"I spend enough time crying", declared Thea with a frown. "W—We... finished our mission. We saved the seasons. Heroes... die on missions. It's part of our lives, I suppose... T—There is nothing we can do. All the tears in the world won't bring Derek back."

"So you're trying to look at the glass as half full and not half empty, eh?", grunted Joe.

"What else is there to do?", sighed Thea and got more comfortable, drawing her legs up.

"Crying and eating ice-cream", mumbled a tired voice.

Nico cracked one eye open to glare at Thea for waking her and for being so _strong_. Nico couldn't do that. She wasn't strong. Not when it came to those things. Losing people was cruel. She knew it from her parents. All three of them had lost their own mortal parents. Losing people was something she had contemplated ever since first noticing that some did have grandparents, had first made her think about death. She never wanted to lose someone close to her.

She hadn't been too close to Derek before this quest – plants and fire didn't mix well and he was too snobbish to spend much time at the forges or the bunker whenever Nico had been visiting the Greeks. Still, she considered him a friend and he was gone. Gone forever.


	86. Returning Home

86\. Returning Home

Maybe if things would have gone differently, they would have stayed longer in New Rome to celebrate. But this way, the Greeks parted silently from their Roman friends. Nico, Joe, Sara and Herc hugged them all goodbye and secured the Argo II before the Greeks continued, leaving before even the Graces or Zhangs could come and ask questions. They just wanted to go home to their own parents, to their own homes. Since Thea was light, she decided to take Marshall with her on Nightowl, while Donny took Phyl with him on Shadow. Sander had his fingers clawed into Trickster's white mane, clinging to his trusty friend. Trend and Sam were more in the back and Donny could hear Rush and Fighter whispering softly about Sam, concerned for their foal. Donny couldn't wait until they arrived back home – and they didn't even pause on their way. They all just wanted to get home. And when they did, they parted nearly wordlessly too.

Marshall went to accompany Phyl home, Trend had his hand resting on Sam's lower back as they left and Sander, Donny and Thea made their way together. The trio first passed the Chases' house, waving Thea off. Sander and Donny were holding hands, had been since they had landed.

"I don't wanna let you go", whispered Sander, breaking the silence that had lasted since their arrival in New Rome for the first time. "I don't... Can I just keep you, please?"

"I love you, eroe mio", whispered Donny back and pulled Sander into a soft kiss. "But... I... I just want my mom right now. And you need your family too. I'll call you tonight, promise."

"Okay", nodded Sander reluctantly, because he too missed his family. "I love you, my Dark Sea."

Donny's heart was heavy as he watched Sander enter the house. His heart had been heavy since leaving Germany and as much as he wanted to stay with Sander now too, he just wanted to curl together on his mother's lap and have Percy tell him that everything would be alright.

"I'm home", announced Donny softly as he entered the house.

"Fratellone!", called the excited voice of Jack. "You're home! Finally! I missed you so much!"

Donny grunted as Jack collided face first with Donny's stomach and suddenly, everything looked just the tiniest bit brighter, because Jack looked up at him as though he was the best thing in the world. And it was even cuter because in the hood of Jack's shirt sat the little black bunny Jack had apparently adopted while Donny had been gone, so now Jack's cuteness was doubled by having a cute baby bunny sitting half on his head. Donny smiled and caressed their heads.

"I missed you too, tesorino", whispered Donny exhausted. "Where are the others?"

"Papà is working and Thess and Percy are out with Kitty and Luke! They met to kiss and hold hands! And Jimmy and Silly are in the park with Andy and Basty! And I have my Hoods over! Oh and mamma is upstairs doing laundry", replied Jack obediently. "Can we cuddle, Donny?"

"Later, tesorino", sighed Donny, kissing Jack's head. "Why don't you go and play with your Hoods some more? I'm really tired and I wanted to talk to mom. We cuddle later, I promise."

"Okay", nodded Jack wildly, hugging Donny again. "I love you, big brother."

Donny watched Jack with tired eyes before following, dumping his backpack in his room before entering his parents' bedroom. He loved the domestic side of his parents, of their whole family.

"Mamma?", asked Donny as he saw his mother folding clothes on the parents' bed.

"Mh? Oh. Oh my dad, Donny!", gasped Percy wide-eyed. "Y—You didn't call. You're back!"

Similar to Jack, Percy stormed up to Donny and engulfed him in a tight hug, whirling his oldest son around, then carrying him over to the bed and sitting him down at arm's length. Percy was smiling brightly as he looked Donny up and down. The smile slowly melted as he took a closer look.

"What happened?", asked Percy concerned. "How did it go? Did... Who got hurt?"

With that question, Donny broke down. He started sobbing and collapsed forward against Percy's chest, telling him under tears what had happened while Percy just held him and comforted him.

/break\

Clarisse frowned as she entered Sander's room. He had come home, without another word, gone to his room and been there since then. He was sitting on his bed, staring with sad eyes at the photo-wall he had above his bed. Pictures of quests, his friends and family. Clarisse knew that look.

"What happened?", asked Clarisse as she sat down next to her son.

"D—Derek...", whispered Sander, voice hoarse and pained. "H—He's... He's... dead..."

Clarisse's eyes softened as she pulled her son into a hug. He clung onto her and started crying into her shoulder, body shaking with the tears. All Clarisse could do was hold him tight.

"I'm sorry, Chrysander", whispered Clarisse soothingly. "I am so sorry that you... that you have to go through this. I never wanted you to feel that way, my boy."

"I—I knew o—one day one of my friends m—may... may...", stammered Sander under tears. "Because we're heroes a—and quests are dangerous... B—But Derek wasn't a h—hero... he never wanted to be one... but he came to help a—anyway and now h—he's gone..."

Clarisse gulped hard, holding tighter onto her son. "It's... often those who didn't mean to be a hero who die a hero's death. When... When I was a little older than you, I had this best friend. Silena. She... was a lot like Derek. More into gossip and pretty things than fighting, but in a way, that was why we were best friends, because we were so different and she... made me appreciate things I never thought about before. And when I – when camp – needed her the most, she... sacrificed herself to save everything. Everyone. That... didn't make her death any _easier_ on me..."

"H—How did y—you... cope...?", asked Sander, rubbing his eyes.

He looked up at his mother with his soft, nougat-brown eyes and Clarisse caressed his hair. "I... It's hard. Very hard. But I had your father and Percy and... I moved on, I made other friends like Frank and Reyna and I... continued living. Because that's what she died for. So we others could keep living. Giving up is _not_ an option, because then her death would have been for naught. That doesn't mean you're not allowed o cry and mourn him, because you miss him and he was your friend."

Sander frowned thoughtful as he buried his head back in his mom's neck and continued crying.

/break\

Sam sighed softly as he continued his way alone. He had effectively gotten Trend off his back, send the son of Athena to the DPS building to fill out paperwork. Now that Trend had taken Rush in, there needed to be some legal issues to be taken care of so Rush could stay. Sam had told Trend so, pleadingly, that he needed to know that Rush could stay with them. But if he was being honest, he just needed some time to himself. He appreciated that Trend was there for him, but there was something he had to do, something he didn't need Trend for. Taking a shaky breath, he knocked.

"What... Raser?", asked the beautiful Brazilian girl as she opened the door.

Sam tried not to make a face. He and Stella Ribeiro had never seen eye-to-eye. Mainly so because she had been dating Sander in the short time where Sam had thought Sander could be _his_. Still, this was more important than old rivalries and childish pouting. Looking past Stella into her apartment, he saw Melissa Montgomery, the head of Dionysus Cabin, the two younger sons of war Erik Anderson and Jonas Meyer, the head of Hephaestus Cabin Victor Kruger and cabin-head of Apollo, Charles Smith. He was mildly aware that Stella was in a three-way relationship with Victor and Jonas, while Victor and Charles were best friends, as well as Jonas and Erik. And Melissa and Stella had always been inseparable. Melissa and Stella had been who he had hoped to find.

"Can I come in, Stella?", asked Sam, keeping his voice soft and polite.

" _Why_?", asked Stella and made a face. "As you can see, I have company. And a good time."

"Don't be a meanie, Stella!", chided Jonas with a frown. "Hey, Sam! Good to have you back home!"

Despite himself, Sam had to smile a little bit. They had always been sort of the counterpart to the Sons of War. For a while, Jonas and Erik had trained with Trend, Sander, Marshall and Sam, but it hadn't quite worked out. So the two younger boys had build their own team with Charles and Victor. And Melissa and Stella were their Derek, in a way.

"It's about Derek", replied Sam, fighting to say the name out loud. "Please, Stella."

A concerned frown marred Stella's features as she stepped aside. That was why Sam was here. Because even though Sam couldn't stand Stella, she and Melissa had been Derek's best friends aside from the Sons of War. They deserved more than to hear it in a public announcement.

"What's wrong?", asked Melissa confused, putting her wine-glass down. "Where's Derek?"

Stella went back to taking her seat between Melissa and Victor. The tall, broad chocolate god (as Derek had liked to call Victor while the two had still been dating) had Jonas on his lap and laid one arm around Stella's tanned shoulders, pulling her close.

"We... found the butterfly of Lady Persephone and freed it. We had to fight Khione for it though and... it was a... hard fight", started Sam, shifting a little. "He... D—Derek... didn't make it."

"W—What...?", asked Stella, voice tight. "If this is your definition of a joke-"

"He died", repeated Sam, interrupting her. "He died a—and Trend went to report to the DPS, which means tonight will be a big 'celebration' for our victory and the burning of the burial shroud and announcement of his sacrifice and all that crap, but... I know he was your friend and I... I just thought you should hear it from someone else, not during a city hall meeting..."

A gasped sob escaped Stella's lips as she clasped her hand over it. Melissa laid one arm around her best friend's waist, pulling Stella closer as the daughter of Aphrodite started crying.

"W—Where's... Phyl?", asked Melissa concerned.

She had spend weeks with Derek and Phyl, had seen how much Phyl had started to admire him. And she barely had the basics down. What if something had happened to her too?

"She's... not fine, but not hurt", replied Sam. "Marshall brought her home earlier. Now, uhm, if you'd excuse me, I have stuff to do. I just... wanted to tell you."

Not that Stella or one of the others really registered. They were too struck with the news. Sam left again and the friends, who had been laughing and joking just ten minutes before, now found themselves thrown off. Jonas, Erik and Victor had all dated Derek at one point. Melissa, Stella and Derek had been the unholy trinity of Athena Academy. Charles sat there and observed them.

"I—I wanna go and check on Phyl", declared Melissa, her purple eyes dark with tears.

"Oh gods, she must feel awful", gasped Stella, looking concerned and terrified.

The two girls were up and out within a few minutes. Jonas and Erik still looked dazed, then again they were their youngest. Charles looked at them only for a moment longer before locking eyes with Victor. The son of Hephaestus nodded sharply, signaling for Charles to go, that Victor had the situation and would stay with their younger charges. Charles smiled gratefully and left.

He knew where to go. The building was not far away and when he reached the right floor, he saw the two doors opposing each other. Sam's apartment and Derek's apartment. The door of Derek's place wasn't even properly closed, Sam had most likely just stormed in without another thought. Slowly pushing the door open, Charles found who he was looking for. Sam sat on Derek's bed, hugging a pillow to his chest, nose buried in it, inhaling the rosy-scent that Derek seemed to have left everywhere he went. Sam was silently crying to himself, eyes closed tightly.

"You didn't have to", whispered Charles softly. "It was very nice of you to come over and tell them, us, in person, but... I know how much you _hate_ Stella. Never thought I'd see you polite with her."

A hoarse, not at all happy laugh escaped Sam's throat as he shook his head. "S—She's a bitch. Always dissed my 'hawk. You just don't diss the 'hawk. But... she was always good to Derek..."

"Mh, that's right", agreed Charles cautiously as he approached. "What happened to Derek?"

"W—What do you mean, Chuck?", asked Sam in a timid voice, looking up.

"The way you told it, the way you left again, the way you're currently crying...", listed Chuck slowly. "You obviously blame yourself for whatever happened, so I need you to tell me the truth now so that I can firmly tell you that it's utter bullshit."

"H—He died to save me", admitted Sam, fresh tears falling down his cheeks. "We had to fight monsters and Khione and I was already pretty badly wounded and lost a lot of blood and I didn't see it coming and Derek pushed me out of the way a—and got hit instead... and... d—died..."

Charles nodded slowly to himself. Frowning, he grasped Sam's face with both hands, tilting it up tenderly so Sam was forced to look at the blonde son of Apollo. Charles' sky-blue eyes were clouded with concern and laced with honesty as he looked deeply into Sam's.

"It. Was. _Not_. Your. Fault", whispered Chuck seriously. "Don't you ever think that. Because if there is _one_ thing Derek would die for, it's to save your life. He would have done everything for you."

"B—But... I'm supposed to be the hero, I'm supposed to be strong, I—I'm supposed to protect myself. He wasn't supposed t—to die for me. If I had been stronger, I... I...", sobbed Sam.

"No, hey. Stop it", ordered Chuck softly, tenderly rubbing the tears off Sam's cheeks with his thumbs. "You're only human too, Sam. You can't always do everything."

"B—But... H—He died... he died and told me he loved me and I never _knew_ ", whimpered Sam.

Chuck heaved a sigh and wrapped his arms around Sam's waist, pulling him close. Sam buried his face in the strong, firm chest, crying softly while Chuck caressed his hair tenderly.

"It's okay", whispered Chuck soothingly. "He did it because he loved you, very much..."

Chuck continued to sooth Sam until the son of Ares managed to cry himself to sleep. The blonde had already suspected that something was off the moment Sam had told them about Derek. He had been dating Sam for over a year, he was pretty sure that next to Derek and Sander, he knew the son of Ares the best. He knew how important Derek was to Sam. There was no way Chuck would have let Sam be on his own in such an emotional state. Sure, he had broken up with Sam shortly before summer rolled around, but that was to protect his own heart, because he had fallen too deep for Sam and realized that Sam's heart already belonged to someone else. And during the summer, Chuck had managed to move on with Melissa. The daughter of Dionysus was blunt, straight-forward and she didn't have the emotional baggage. Both weren't in love with each other, not at the moment anyway, but maybe if given time. Right now, she was exactly what Chuck needed after Sam. But that didn't mean that Sam meant nothing to him anymore. Sighing, he looked around. He could hardly leave Sam here, so he cautiously hoisted the son of Ares up into his arms. Carrying Sam over to the opposite apartment, he shifted and tried to reach Sam's keys without waking the mohawked boy.

"If your hand comes _any_ closer to my boyfriend's ass, I will break it."

Chuck looked up and locked eyes with irritate dark-gray stormclouds. Trend Austin was at about the same height as Chuck, they were both relatively equally muscles and broad, though the bookworm was paler, his eyes a piercing gray where Chuck's were sky-blue. They looked alike and maybe that was why Chuck had hoped to be the one with whom Sam could move on. Obviously, that hadn't worked. It seemed that whatever had happened during the quest had brought Sam and Trend together, if the way Trend was leaning in the open door of Sam's apartment, glaring at Chuck, was anything to go by. If he was being honest, he didn't know how he felt about that.

"Just trying to get his keys", replied Chuck politely. "Would you mind getting out of the way?"

Trend grunted and instead of getting out of the way, he took Sam out of Chuck's arms. The glare melted off Trend's face as Sam snuggled up to Trend's chest in his sleep. Chuck observed them silently, how Trend carried Sam over to Sam's bed and cautiously put him down.

"Where was he?", asked Trend softly. "When I came back from the DPS, he wasn't home."

"He came over to Stella's and told us about... Derek", answered Chuck. "And then he left for Derek's place. I followed him, because I thought something was... off with him. I was right."

"I should have known", groaned Trend, sitting down next to Sam.

But when Chuck looked at Trend, looked at him closely, he saw that the son of Athena was at least as exhausted – physically and emotionally so – as Sam. Chuck walked up to them, closing the door behind him and sitting down on a chair and watching them.

"I think he wanted to pack up Derek's things", stated Chuck calmly. "I mean, Derek doesn't... have anyone else. He doesn't have a mortal family and the closest he has is Sam and Sam's family."

"I'm aware", grunted Trend with a glare, as though he felt offended, but then he heaved an exhausted sigh and rubbed his face. "Thank you. For being there. I don't... like leaving him alone at the moment. What happened to Derek hit him the hardest..."

Chuck nodded, watching how Trend absentmindedly took Iggy the red, fluffy unicorn and put it into Sam's arms. The son of Ares hugged it tightly in his sleep while Trend caressed his hair tenderly. It had taken them years, but apparently Sam had finally gotten what he always wanted. Chuck just wondered if it was truly worth the price – the price of Derek's life...

/break\

Luke frowned concerned as he slipped into his big sister's room. Their parents were still at work, Matt had stormed out of the house earlier, muttering something about stupid Hoods stealing his Jackie and Fred was on one of his 'dates' with Carry Rodriguez. Thea had returned home and locked herself into her room right away. Luke wouldn't be Luke if he'd be stopped by a locked door.

"Thea?", asked Luke softly, ruffling his own blonde curls a little. "What happened?"

"Sh", shunned Thea with a frown. "I have to figure out how to solve this problem."

She had a bunch of pictures and scribbled notes pinned to her wall, all previous pictures taken down to make room, differently colored yarn linking the various pins. Short: It looked like his big sister had lost her mind. Frowning concerned, he walked up to her, briefly looking over the notes. It was good he was used to Thea's brand of crazy. Looking at all the important notes, he saw what was going on. Or rather, what had happened. Apparently, Derek was dead and Thea was desperately trying to figure out how to bring him back from the dead. Luke frowned concerned.

"Big sis...", started Luke, reaching out for her shoulder. "Don't. Don't make yourself unhappy."

"I'm not making myself unhappy!", exclaimed Thea irritated. "I'll _solve_ this!"

"No", objected Luke, grasping both of Thea's shoulders and forcing his sister to look at him. "Not all problems are meant to be solved, Theadora. Some things are meant to happen. Some deaths are meant to happen. I know it's hard for a legacy of Athena to accept, but you can't solve everything."

"No!", exclaimed Thea enraged and sad. "No, I can find a solution, I know I can! I... I know..."

She started sobbing softly and collapsed against her little brother's chest. Luke looked sad as he held the older Chase as Thea just cried, denying to give up on anything.

/break\

Phyl smiled faintly as she sat together with Stella and Melissa, eating tons of chocolate ice-cream together. She was grateful that the two girls had come, she was grateful that Marshall had brought her home. This place, it was so much more than just a safe haven for demigods. It was a home. She had made all of those amazing friends, all of them thanks to Derek. And now Derek was gone.

"If Derek was here now, he'd be bitching about this silly quest and how he most likely had gotten his clothes dirty during the whole thing", mused Stella fondly.

"Oh yes", laughed Melissa, shaking her head. "And he'd be bitching about not having Sam here."

"He was so... brave...", whispered Phyl sadly, staring into the bowl of ice-cream.

A sad silence befell them all as they thought about Derek's sacrifice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have Thea actually FINDING the solution and our brave boys taking a quest to Tartarus to find Derek. Without their parents knowing.


	87. Zero Ways out of the Game

87\. Zero Ways out of the Game

Thea stood in front of her blackboard, trying to figure out how to get Derek Rhys back from the dead. To Donny and Sander, it looked a little bit more like a crazy-board and as though Thea was slowly losing her mind. Donny was sitting on Sander's lap, both boy's in Donny's room, where Thea had moved her blackboard after one too many concerned looks from Luke. In a way, at least a little bit, did it remind Donny of the 'old days', before their quest. Back when Sander and Thea had basically been the only people in Donny's life, outside of his family.

"Where's Sam?", whispered Donny, trying not to disturb Thea's thinking-process.

"Church", replied Sander, voice muffled by Donny's curls as he kissed them repeatedly.

"Come again?", requested Donny, ducking away a little to look at his fiance ridiculed.

"Church", repeated Sander, shrugging a little. "Sam goes like at least one Sunday a month to mess, though he's trying to go more often. I know it's Saturday, but I guess he went to... light a candle for Derek, pray for him. He's been going every day since we returned home. Trend's with him. I guess he's feeling... useless, or helpless, I dunno. Like he can't fix Sam without Derek."

Donny frowned a little. "I didn't even know Sam's religious, I mean, not many demigods are."

"Guess that's why you didn't know", shrugged Sander, pulling Donny close again. "It's not bad that you didn't know, I mean you and Sam haven't really known each other long."

Donny nodded slowly. He knew Sander was right. Just because they had grown to be best friends over the past two months didn't mean they instantly knew everything about each other. Still, after Derek had just died before Donny had a chance to properly connect with the son of Demeter, it hurt even more to realize that he didn't know Sam as well as he'd like to. Sighing softly, Donny curled up against Sander's torso, cheek resting against Sander's chest so he could listen to his heartbeat.

"Fratellone! Fratellone, play with me! Uncle Travis took my Hoods away!"

The door to Donny's room burst open and a black bunny hopped in, closely followed by Jack, who looked overly excited. The little di Angelo jumped onto the bed, jumping a few times before falling right into Donny's arms and snuggling up to his oldest brother. Donny smiled a little while Sander groaned under the weight of two di Angelo boys on top of him.

"I can't play right now, fratellino", whispered Donny softly, kissing the top of Jack's head.

"But Jimmy is in the park with Silly and Andy and Basty! And Percy and Thess are on a double-date with Luke and Kitty! So I'm bored and now I wanna go visit Zero and I can't if none of you take me! Shadow-travel me!", demanded Jack with a pout.

"What did you just say?", asked Thea, slowly turning toward the boys. "Who do you want to visit?"

"Zerberus", laughed Donny a little, ruffling Jack's hair. "When Jimmy was little, he couldn't really pronounce 'Zerberus' and always called him 'Zeroberus', the additional 'o' making it easier to pronounce for him. Jack always heard it and started nicknaming Zerberus 'Zero'. Shorter, easier."

"T—That's it!", exclaimed Thea as she turned to the board before rushing over to the bed and grabbing Jack to hug him tightly and kiss his cheeks. "You brilliant, little angel!"

"I dunno what I did, but if I get kisses, I'll do it again", stated Jack with a curious frown.

He liked being hugged and cuddled and kissed. Thea laughed and whirled him around before kissing his cheeks again. When he got put down, he gathered Poker up in his arms and decided to go to the Chases and do whatever he had just done again so he'd get Mattie-kisses too. Donny blinked slowly as he just looked after his brother and then over to his best friend.

"Thea, what in the world are you talking about?", asked Donny confused. "What just happened?"

"IM Sam and Trend to come over! I know the solution!", exclaimed Thea excited, pointing at the prophecy. "Zero ways out of the game! Zero! You just heard it, Zero!"

"I have no idea what she's talking about", whispered Sander concerned, hiding behind Donny.

/break\

Sam was a little displeased as he got 'summoned' to the di Angelo household. He had been in the middle of prayer and unlike other demigods, he took these kind of things serious. Still, Trend had promised him that Donny had sounded hopeful as he had called. Trend was holding Sam's hand, silent and good and there and _not dead_. Sam's heart felt so tight and painful ever since they had taken his Derek away. Somehow, Derek had always been, well, not taken for granted, but just _there_ , a constant in Sam's life, a steady part that could not be thought away from Sam's side. He had never thought about how much Derek meant to him, because he never had to picture what life without Derek could be like. Now he knew and he _hated_ it. And it had only been three days, but they were the damn worst days in his life. Whenever he normally felt down or bad or sad, he knew he could turn to Derek, but now Derek was gone and Sam didn't know what to do, or how to do it.

"I know how we can get Derek out of Tartarus!", was announced right into their faces as the door opened, Thea looking proud and excited. "Come, come! Hurry up, don't waste time!"

"Are you sure? One hundred percent sure?", inquired Trend. "I don't want false hope."

They followed Thea upstairs and to Donny's room. Sam realized this was the first time he was in Donny's room and it was to discuss how to get a dead Derek back, not to just hang out and gossip or anything else that he'd have preferred for the first time he'd be over at this house.

"Jack called Zerberus 'Zero'. _Zero Ways Out Of The Game_. Zero is the way out of the 'game'. I'm not entirely sure of the 'game' part yet, but Zero is the way out. Many creatures can shadow-travel, but no one is stronger in that department than Zerberus himself. He could easily travel to Tartarus itself. He's a giant dog, if we take something with Derek's scent, he may also be able to track Derek down. We could easily slip in, find him and slip out again without the risks that mine and Donny's parents had to face. It could be an easy mission. We'd just need Zerberus", explained Thea in a rush.

Donny frowned, looking from the board to Thea and then over to Sam, observing how hope sparked in those green eyes. They had to try. Even if they may fail, which he truly hoped not to be true, he'd never forgive himself if he wouldn't try. His eyes wandered over to Sander as he stood.

"Jackie!", called Donny loudly. "Come on, let's go and visit grandpa Hades and play with Zero!"

Within seconds was Jack back in his room, standing to attention. He had wanted to go to the Chases, but since their parents were on a date today and all his siblings were out, he couldn't go. He was only five, he wasn't allowed to run off on his own, even though the Chases only lived a couple streets over. Large, sea-green eyes stared adoringly up at Donny. Smiling at his youngest brother, Donny took his hand, Sander's hand in his other, until all of them formed a circle. Closing his eyes, Donny shadow-traveled them to the underworld. The palace loomed in front of them, impressive, dark and dangerous. Donny exchanged a look with the others and led the way in.

"Grandfather!", called Donny out loudly. "Are you home?"

"Donny! My little champion!" Seconds later and Persephone was hugging the air out of Donny.

"Oh, hello, grandma", laughed Donny. "What are you doing here? It's only August."

"With how messed-up the seasons were this year, who cares?", chuckled Persephone, leveling each of them with a tender look. "You did me well, young heroes. Your help is appreciated."

"It was our honor, Lady Persephone", replied Sam and bowed a little.

"Now come, children. Have tea with my husband and me", offered Persephone amused.

"Grandma, I missed you", announced Jack, clinging onto his grandma.

"Oh, I missed you too, little one", smiled Persephone fondly, patting her hair.

"How about you take Jackie to grandpa and I show my friends around a little?", offered Donny amused. "Thea wanted tea, didn't you? Why don't you go with them?"

 _Keep them occupied and distracted_ was conveyed through one single look. Thea nodded sharply and offered Persephone a charming smile. The two females and the youngest left for the kitchen. Donny all the while led the way to his room, with Sander, Sam and Trend following him.

"What are we doing now?", hissed Sam, looking around a little paranoid.

"We'd need the keys of my grandfather", stated Donny calmly. "Sander, I need you to sneak into grandpa's chambers and steal his keys. Can you do that, my thief?"

Sander grinned in a broad and proud manner, nodding determined. "Of course, my love. I'll do it. I'll meet you back here later, together with the keys. And then we can do this and save Derek."

"Yes, eroe mio", smiled Donny, pecking Sander's lips. "Do your best."

He continued smiling as he watched Sander leave. Then he turned around on his heels, motioning for Trend and Sam to follow him. The couple exchanged a confused look, but obediently followed. The confusion grew to concern as they slipped out of the palace. Trend grasped Sam's hand again.

"Donny! Where in the world are we going?!", hissed Sam as he grabbed Donny's hand to stop him.

"To Tartarus", was the simple reply as they headed toward what was obviously Zerberus.

"B—But you just send Sander to fetch the keys. Shouldn't we wait?", inquired Sam confused.

"The plus side of shadow-traveling is that you don't require keys", answered Donny.

"Then why did you send Sander away?", asked Sam, even more confused than before.

Donny paused as they reached the sleeping, three-headed dog, turning to face Sam and Trend with a sober expression on his face. "I know why you two want to go and get him and I will gladly help you, but I... I _can't_ do this if Sander is there too. Both my parents went to Tartarus and I've heard from them what they have been through down there. I can't have Sander down there. I just can't."

Trend frowned and nodded a little. He understood where Donny was coming from. Trend would prefer to keep Sam safe and out of harm's way too, but _this_ was about Sam, about Sam getting Derek back, so they had to go together. His grip on Sam's hand tightened as the couple followed Donny onto the back of the giant beast. Zerberus woke slowly, growling a little.

"Sh, my big guy", whispered Donny, patting Zerberus' head softly. "Bring us to Tartarus."

" _That's not a good plan, little prince_ ", criticized Zerberus' left head skeptically.

" _Yes, it's dangerous. Your father and his mate didn't like it either_ ", agreed the right head.

"Doesn't matter. Like mom, I have to go and protect a friend", stated Donny firmly.

Sam scooted closer to Donny, arms firmly around the younger boy's waist. He disliked how well Donny fit into his arms, because it was entirely too similar to Derek. Sure Chuck had been more like Trend, thoroughly, but Erik and Jonas, aside from being blonde, they were more similar to Derek in build. Was that it? Had that been his subconsciousness? Because... he wanted Derek? But Derek had always just been _there_ , Sam had never questioned the possibilities, the options. Trend was pressed up against Sam's back, holding onto the son of Ares so he wouldn't get lost.

"Brace yourselves, we're going to Tartarus", announced Donny grimly.

/break\

Derek was content in his dream-world. He was laying sprawled out on the bed, with one of his favorite boys tugged under his chin. Eli. Time in dreams was different, he didn't know how much time had passed in the real world, but it had been three months in this dream-state. And as much as he had enjoyed dreaming about naughty things involving Trend and Sam, Derek too had a craving for tender and loving stuff. Those parts of his dreams involved Sam in an apron and Trend in a suit and their adorable children who Derek had only fleetingly met in Trend's vision of the future.

"Daddy, can I have mommy-cuddles?", asked Eli, face planted against Derek's chest.

"Sammy, sweetheart! Our son wants cuddles!", called Derek out, looking amused.

Sam rounded the corner, wearing a red, frilly apron over his tight skinny-jeans, smiling tenderly at them as he slowly walked over to them. "Mh, doesn't look like there's room for me."

Eli gasped and scooted over, squeezing in between the couch and Derek, so Sam could lay down beside Derek. A grin split Derek's face as he laid one arm around Sam's waist. Smiling softly, Derek planted a kiss on Sam's temple the moment Trend entered the living room. The blonde was giving them a fond look as he sat down beside them. This was paradise, indeed.

/break\

This was hell, literally. Sam gulped as he looked around. It was dark, creepy and unsettling. The air made his throat hurt and him cough harshly. Trend's grip on Sam's waist tightened immediately. They were in Tartarus, he was not going to let go of Sam for even a second. Sam was shaking a little as he pulled one of Derek's shirts out of his backpack – they had stopped by at Sam's apartment first because Donny had said they needed some clothing from Derek. He hadn't known why, but now it made sense. Before giving it to Donny, Sam inhaled deeply and even though the air around here was poisonous, this one breath felt refreshing, smelling like roses and sweets and rich like earth. Tears pricked in his eyes as he handed it to Donny.

"Zerberus, can you smell this?", requested Donny, holding it out for all three noses. "Find him."

The scenery around them passed fast as Zerberus carried them. Sam had his face buried between Donny's shoulder-blades, trying not to inhale too much of the air. It wasn't helping that his heart was pounding fast and hard in his chest, eager for them to reach and find Derek. He had no idea what they were going to do once they had his body, but _somehow_ , they would bring Derek back to life. After all, Sander was currently stealing the keys of Hades, the way to smuggle a soul out of the underworld. They may not have needed the keys to reach Tartarus, but for the next part.

"We need to stop", decided Donny as he heard the wheezing behind him.

The poisonous air bothered him a little less than those without a heritage from the underworld, but it still also got to him. He had always listened closely to the tales of his mother and father about Tartarus, the few times that Nico and Percy had confided in Bianca Maria and Donny about it. The fire water of one of Tartarus' rivers could heal them, help them through this mess. He could see the burning river ahead. Zerberus obediently paused there, letting his three charges climb down.

"I know it may sound insane, but you need to drink the fire", instructed Donny as they reached the river-side. "It will help against the poisonous air. We'll need to take breaks every now and again to drink the water, otherwise the air will get us killed here."

"That sounds more than insane", grunted Sam and scooped some of the fire up in his hands.

Trend did the same as the other too, wincing at the taste and the burn. It did help, easing his lungs again. A roaring from behind them interrupted their time at the water-side. All three pulled out their weapons and turned to face the literal hoard of monsters. Apparently three demigod-snacks had lured a lot of monsters out of their hiding. Trend went up against two snake-legged women, while Donny tried to fight off a drakon. Sam all the while came face to face with the freaking Minotaur. Of course it was down here, they had just recently slayed the damn thing.

"Damn things... Where is the caretaker?", cursed Donny beneath his breath.

"C—Caretaker?", asked Sam confused, slashing away at the Minotaur.

"Mh? Yeah. You remember our history lessons about the Giant War, right?", inquired Donny, waiting for the affirmative nod while thrusting his sword into the heart of the drakon. "How my mom and Thea's mom met the titan Iapetus and the giant Damasen down here and they sacrificed themselves for them, right? So, after the war, when the two immortals reformed, grandpa Hades got them out of Tartarus again. Iapetus is back to being the janitor of the underworld and Damasen became the caretaker of Tartarus. They're kinda responsible for the security down here."

Apparently, Zerberus knew that too and the dog howled loudly until two large figures appeared in the distance, slowly approaching them. The Einstein-like looking janitor with the name-tag saying _Bob_ and a redheaded security guard with a name-tag saying _Damasen_. With their help, the monsters were soon taken care of. Donny turned gratefully toward them. He had always liked them, often visited them when he was down in the underworld. After all, his mom wouldn't be alive if not for them. That kind of thing deserved a lot of gratitude. Bob looked extremely happy as he coped Donny up in his hand and lifted him up, ruffling his hair with one large finger. Small Bob often lived with the di Angelos, because he had lived with them for years while Bob and Damasen had still been reforming, something that took longer when an immortal 'died' in Tartarus itself, so the dead kitten still liked to come over often, but he mainly lived in the underworld with Bob and Damasen now. Damasen looked down at the two foreigners critically.

"What are you doing here, Donny? Who are they?", inquired Damasen curiously.

"Those are my friends, Sam and Trend. We're here because a friend of ours fell into Tartarus. We... want to... to retrieve his... body...", answered Donny, voice shaking a little.

"Oh. The boy", nodded Bob in understanding while Trend and Sam climbed onto Zerberus again. "Thanatos told us that his brother Eros told him about the Erotes and their little game..."

"Game?", echoed Donny curiously as he was placed on Bob's shoulder.

The titan, the giant and the three-headed dog continued their way, with Trend and Sam just silently clinging onto Zerberus, grateful that Donny had connections and seemed to know what was happening here, what they had to do in order to get this right and be successful in their quest.

"Yes. The Erotes are rather peaceful gods, actually. They put people to sleep to channel their energy. It seems they have one down here who they channel", answered Damasen calmly. "Eros had a message for us, apparently. I suppose the Erotes told them, knowing we would meet you here. We're supposed to tell you that they're channeling the boy's energy to keep him alive. But the combined power of all Erotes can only be broken by True Love's Kiss. I hope you're prepared for-"

Sam didn't give him a chance to finish, because he already saw Derek laying in the dirt. The green of his shirt a stark contrast to the whole of Tartarus. Sam jumped off Zerberus and sprinted the last meters until he could cradle Derek's head in his lap, carding his fingers though the dark curls, his free hand finding Derek's pulse. It was weak but it was _there_. The wound was still there, but not bleeding. Sam's body shook with tears of relieve as Trend approached him and rested one hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam turned teary-eyed to Trend, a spark in them, one that Trend had seen fade completely on the burning ceremony of Derek's burial shroud three days ago. Trend offered Sam a small smile and adjusted Derek so the son of Demeter was resting in his lap.

"Well, you heard Damasen. True Love's Kiss", stated Donny as he reached them, nudging Sam.

"W—What?", asked Sam confused, looking up at Donny like a lost kitten.

"You have to kiss him, Sammy", offered Trend, voice soft and honest.

"H—He said True Love!", argued Sam with a frown and a blush. "I'm not... That's too much..."

"Trust me on this one, Sammy", urged Trend on, taking Sam's hand and caressing it softly with his thumb. "You _are_ his truest love. There's no one else Derek loves more than you."

"If you love him too, you have to kiss him to make him wake up!", declared Bob excited.

He and Damasen didn't get too much action down here, at least not rom-com like kind of action. It was always about fighting monsters and keeping them contained and boring stuff like that. But true love's kiss to break a spell? And helping demigods to safely escape Tartarus? They hadn't done that in over twenty years now. It always made Bob happy to see Donny, to see how much the boy resembled both his parents. It made Bob proud, to think that he had helped save both their lives.

"W—What if it doesn't work?", asked Sam concerned. "What if what I feel isn't enough?"

"You know why Derek always calls you his sweetheart?", asked Trend in return, smiling a little to himself. "Because you have the sweetest heart. Believe me, your love _is_ strong enough."

Sam blushed and closed his eyes tightly as he leaned over Derek, lips puckered in what would probably be the most awkward kiss he had ever given. Derek's lips were soft and sweet against his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you probably expected some elaborate arc about Tartarus, but I'm not Rick Riordan. I'm not gonna stretch that stuff unnecessarily. They went in, they had a plan, they had help, they reached their goal. Easy as that.
> 
> Next chapter will have Derek waking up, the return of my two favorite sons of Hecate and Donny being in a looot of trouble back home! ;)


	88. Sleeping Beauty's Princes

88\. Sleeping Beauty's Princes

Everything was kind of fuzzy. Derek remembered having the most wonderful dream where Sam had been his obedient and faithful wife, ready for cuddles and naughtiness whenever Derek desired either and Trend was there, being his hot, handsome self and whenever they weren't going at it in every position the Kamasutra knew, they would have lovely family moments with Eli and his siblings. But then something had pulled him out of his dreams, some strange sensation. And now there were all those noises. Feet trampling, monsters roaring in the distance, voices babbling.

"Shut up", groaned Derek, lifting his hands up to hold his head.

"Back from the dead and his first words are 'shut up'", commented someone in a teasing voice.

"You're alive. You're awake. You're _here_."

Now that voice, he recognized instantly. A smile forced its way onto his face as he opened his eyes in time to see the brilliant smile on Sam's rosy lips. Grunting a little, Derek had to adjust to the sudden weight as Sam jumped him and basically came to lay on top of him. Sam started to shower Derek's face with kisses while also hugging him tightly. Okay, this was as good as the dream.

"What did I do to deserve this?", asked Derek a little amused.

"You nearly died, you fell into Tartarus and you worried us out of our minds", replied Donny.

"So we took a quest to rescue you", ended Sam, looking proud.

"After all, Sander and I, we need you on our wedding", teased Donny with a sad smile.

"We should get on Zerberus and get the hell out of hell", interrupted Trend seriously and yet concerned too. "And preferably straight to Munich and Sam's... uncles."

Trend frowned and reached out to caress the pointy kitten-ears on top of Derek's head. Donny followed his line of sight and saw the brown, cute ears. Sam awed and reached out to touch them. They twitched. Cat-ears, just like with Sam after his curse had been broken. Bob cooed and reached out to pat the kitten-boy, but Damasen stopped him, looking seriously at Bob, conveying the message that those boys were too sucked into their own world right now to deal with them.

"Munich it is", nodded Donny in agreement. "It's good you're back, Derek. Can you get up?"

Derek tried, but winced at the sudden pain. Sam was immediately there to gather him in his arms, cradling him close as he carried him over to the oversized, three-headed dog where Donny and Trend were already climbing on. Derek's heart was beating fast as he was cautiously placed on the big dog, still in Sam's secure hold. He ended up between Sam and Trend, somehow. Derek had a hard time keeping his eyes open. He was still tired and his mind felt fuzzy. And Sam felt so warm and firm next to him. So perfect and gorgeous and comfortable. Just so absolutely Sam.

"You've lost a lot of blood, you need to rest. We'll take care of you and then Alabaster and Liam will fix you once we reach Munich", stated Trend as he got more comfortable, his voice tender.

"Thank you, a lot. I'll greet mom and dad from you", said Donny, looking at Bob and Damasen.

Sam smiled brightly as he watched how Derek drifted off to sleep. Really now, his smile was blinding as he watched every twitch in Derek's face, just staring at him as though Sam feared that Derek would vanish if he as much as blinked. Trend laid one arm around Derek and leaned over to push the hair out of Sam's face. Something had changed and Trend knew it. Losing Derek had changed Sam, had made him realize just how important Derek truly was to him. More important than a friend. They hadn't spoken about it yet, because Trend didn't want to put Sam through any more hardships aside from this. That aside, Trend already knew how all of this would end. He had told himself so, when he had been in the future and had seen their family. His older self had told him what would happen and Trend knew that Derek was theirs and part of them.

"He's real. He's here. He's safe", whispered Sam in awe, caressing Derek's cheek. "We... did it, Trend. We saved him. Right? He... He can't do that again, right? He can not die."

"He won't", promised Trend softly. "We won't let him. Now sleep some, Sammy. You've fought hard in the underworld. Rest until we're at your uncle's. I love you, my darling."

"Darling?", repeated Sam and wiggled his nose. "Don't pull a Derek on me."

"Why not?", teased Trend amused. "I know you secretly like the petnames he gives you."

The only reply was a faint blush on Sam's cheeks and a prominent pout on his lips while Donny held the reigns and led their three-headed dog through the shadows and out of Tartarus.

/break\

Liam was smiling sluggishly as he woke up to the feeling of kisses being trailed down his spine. He liked waking up to Alabaster's affections. What he didn't like as much was when the ringing of the doorbell interrupted said affections. Neither did Alabaster. The older one glared annoyed as he stood and grabbed a bathrobe ( _Harry Potter_ motive; Alabaster's was Slytherin – his own choice). Grumbling to himself, Alabaster went to open the door. He had been five minutes apart from ravishing Liam, damn it all. His anger dissolved when he opened the door, because honestly, the surprise was just too great. The annoying half-bloods were back.

"What the...", grunted Alabaster and shook his head. " _Why_?! How...? What? You're alive!"

"Derek is hurt. That is, he is not dead, to begin with. But he was in Tartarus and we went and got him and now he's back and alive – thanks to the Erotes – but that leaves him with the same curse as we were stuck with and he's hurt and with how weak he is, I don't know if he'll live until we reach New Athens again and I just really need him fixed", rambled Sam. "Please fix my Derek?"

Alabaster's eyes swept over the awkward group of teens. Sam was in the front, with Trend and Donny at his sides. Trend was carrying an annoyed looking Derek, who looked ready to explode.

"For the record, I told them I could _walk_ ", stated Derek with a glare. "They denied me."

"You were pierced through the _gut_ by an icicle!", stated Donny high-pitched. "So shut up!"

"Don't do that, lad. Me and Liam already lost enough people to the gods. Don't be a fool and be another one of them. Now get moving and follow me", said Alabaster and half-hugged Derek.

Trend, Sam and Donny followed Liam to a bedroom that hadn't been there before. They were pretty sure of that. It was opposite the room that belonged to Sam's oldest cousin Selene. Sam frowned curiously when the door was opened. The room was _awesome_. As big as Sam's apartment in total and it kind of looked like it too. One wall was dark red, the bed was giant and looked comfortable.

"Liam took the liberty of decorating it. He had a lot of free time last week. I hope you like it, Sam."

"Mh? Me?", asked Sam confused while Trend placed Derek on the bed.

"You're part of Liam's family, which makes you part of my family. He loves you very dearly, which means I will do my share to protect you and keep you happy. Since you know what you're getting into and still said you'd return, we decided to put a room up for you", stated Alabaster simply.

"This... is my room?", asked Sam stunned and stared around.

"I invited you to come over whenever you want. It would be rude to make you sleep on Sel's bed. I'd never hear the end of it from either of you", chuckled Liam from behind. "Hello, Sam."

Sam turned around and found himself in a tight hug (Liam was wearing a bathrobe that made him out to be a Ravenclaw). After ruffling Sam's hair, Liam approached the bed, staring at Derek.

"I'm so glad you're not dead. Wow, last time I got to say that was when I saw Ally again..."

Sam frowned as he saw how extremely happy Alabaster and Liam were. He knew those two would have preferred for Sam to bring Derek as his boyfriend and not Trend (which was only because they didn't know Trend. Sam was convinced if they did, they'd love him all the same).

"Shirt off. Sit up. Bandages off", stated Alabaster firmly. "Also, the kitty-ears suit you, Derek."

"Thanks", muttered Derek with a glare and sat up with the help of Trend while Sam was fast to help him out of his shirt. "I need to get injured more often if that gets you to undress me, sweetheart."

"Not. Funny", growled Sam darkly. "You have _no idea_ what I've been through!"

Derek flinched as he heard the serious note to Sam's voice. Alabaster hummed as he inspected the wound while Liam hastily left to fetch their first-aid kit. They cautiously cleaned the wound once more, but before they could wrap it, Sam took the bandage from them and glared.

"He's gotten a little... possessive ever since he thought Derek died", stated Trend softly.

"We can't help him now", said Alabaster after a while. "His injuries are too serious. You know how much the spell exhausted you. If we lift the curse now, it's likely to kill him. For good this time."

"So... what now?", asked Sam with a frown. "We can't leave him like that. He'll turn into a cat."

"I'm not saying that. We can slow down the process with magic and wait until he is fully healed. Then we lift the curse", replied Alabaster simply. "It will take a few days, even with nectar and ambrosia, because the injuries had been frozen in time for too long. Your friend will not stay here. I appreciate that he helped bringing Derek back, but you will send Jackson Junior home. You and your blonde can stay here with Derek, but I'm not tolerating _him_."

"I understand that", nodded Donny and sighed, then walking to Trend, looking up at him seriously. "I know Derek will be safe with you guys. I'll send Rush and Fighter here and you return on your own once Derek is fine. I expect you to call me with regular updates, understood?"

Much to his surprise, Trend pulled him into a hug. "You've grown to become a great leader, Donny. I promise you, I'll bring Sam and Derek back home safe and sound. Very sound, that is."

Donny smiled faintly and nodded. He was glad the other boy wasn't dead, but the brunette didn't like looking weak like that. He had already put up enough of a fight when Trend had carried him here from Zerberus. Donny then proceeded to pat Derek's cat-ears teasingly and hug Sam tightly.

"I'll miss you, be alright. Call if anything happens", mumbled Donny into Sam's chest.

Sam grinned as he returned Donny's embrace. He'd miss him dearly. This long quest had made them all grow closer, to become more than just comrades or even friends. More like a family. With that thought in mind, Donny left again through the shadows, while Trend accompanied Alabaster and Liam outside, the warlocks excusing themselves to get showered and changed. Which left Derek alone with Sam. Finally. All the ruckus had started to drive him crazy.

"We need to talk, Derek", whispered Sam seriously as he sat down opposite Derek. "Before you fell, when you kissed me and said you love me... Trend told me you're in love with me."

"It took all of that for you to realize it after all those years?", sighed Derek and shook his head.

"Because you _always_ flirt!", countered Sam with a glare. "I thought it was just a game to you, the flirting. Something you do with everyone. Why should I be any different, any special?"

"Let's not get started with all of that. It would take me days to list them all", smiled Derek sadly and shook his head. "If that is why you wish to talk, please just... don't. I've come to terms with the fact that you don't return my feelings... longer ago than I care to admit, if I'm being honest. I accept that you're with Trend and that you're in love with him. He... treats you well and I think he may even love you as much as I do. So just spare me the 'It's not you, it's me and let's be friends', yes?"

Derek smiled up at Sam. A sad and pained smile, one that clearly showed that he may have accepted that Sam didn't return his feelings, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt him. The son of Demeter leaned over and grabbed Sam's face, leaning up to kiss Sam's forehead. What he hadn't anticipated was for Sam to hastily move his head up too, so Derek missed his target. Instead, he found soft lips being pressed against his own. They were so tender and truly the softest things Derek had ever felt. They moved against his, slow and tender. And they tasted like honey and love and home.

"Don't... do this to me", whispered Derek pleadingly as he pushed Sam away. "I do not want your pity, Samuel. It's easier not to have if one has never know what it feels like to have, so don't."

"Don't act like a fucking martyr", huffed Sam with a glare. "Besides, I asked you for a conversation, but so far you've been caught up in a monologue. I had to shut you up and get your attention."

"You're right", nodded Derek stiffly. "Go on. Talk."

"Losing you was the most horrible thing I've ever had to endure", whispered Sam. "The one, most horrible thing that ever happened to me. When I thought you were dead, it... it hurt more than anything, Derek. I can't... lose you. And when I lost you, I thought... about it. About how much I really need you. Because I do. I don't just like being with you, I _need_ you."

"Sam...", started Derek with a doubtful frown.

How could his supposed death have been a worse experience for Sam than being raped by his own boyfriend? He knew that Sam valued him a lot, but this? This was just saying pretty words to make Derek feel good. He understood, really. Sam had nearly lost him, had thought he already had lost him, but that alone was no reason to wake false hope in Derek now.

"No. Don't interrupt me", growled Sam with a glare. "I lost you and I lost hope. Don't look at me like that, Trend does that too. As though I'd say things or do things just to please those around me. After... what had happened with Leroy, I... let you and Trend close to help me, even though neither of you really knew what you were helping me with. But when I thought you had died... I... I feel guilty for the way I treated Trend, because I couldn't even let him really close. I was just so... broken. I can't... I _need_ you, Derek. I gotta admit, I never thought about you in _that_ way. Romantically or sexually. But I know I couldn't go on without you and... I know what that means."

"As much as I adore your cute rambling normally, my head still hurts and I'm tired", interrupted Derek with a frown. "Get to the point, please. Because you're _really_ beating around the bush here."

"Crothnaigh mé thú an oiread sin, mo chuisle", whispered Sam softly. "Táim I ngrá leat." [trans: _I missed you so much, my darling. I'm in love with you_ ]

Derek stared at him stunned, unable to answer anything. He knew the words. He understood, but he just couldn't comprehend. It didn't get easier when Sam pulled him into another kiss, holding Derek's face as he scooted closer and closer, deepening their kiss slowly.

"Why...?", breathed Derek against Sam's lips when they parted. "Because you feel sorry for me for nearly dying, or for my unrequited feelings? You've never shown any feelings for me before."

"Because you're my best friend and after I started crushing on Trend, I never wanted to see any of my friends in that light again because it made everything so horribly complicated. Even though it was already too late with Trend. I never _thought_ about you in that way, but after I lost you, I did. And... the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. I've spend so many nights laying in your arms already. I know I love cuddling with you. I trust you with my life and my heart. I always knew I loved you, but until now I always thought it was as a friend, but the pain that losing you put me through made me see things differently, because I can't live without you."

"What does it mean, Sam?", asked Derek with a frown. "You're with Trend. You're in love with Trend. I don't want to be the one responsible for breaking you two up, for breaking his heart..."

"I... uhm... wasn't planning on breaking up with Trend?", stuttered Sam with a blush before hastily adding more. "I don't want you as my affair either! I want both of you. Together. And... so does Trend. We haven't talked about it yet, but I know he never truly stopped loving you. Oh, don't give me that huff and look, I know you two loved each other even though you never really admitted it."

"So... you want what Stella, Victor and Jonas have? What the Zhangs have?", asked Derek cautiously and leaned back on the bed. "You want for all of us to be... together... as one?"

"If... that is what you want too, yes", nodded Sam and blushed, averting his eyes so he didn't have to look at the ridiculed face Derek was making. "I'm just telling you what _I_ want – something you should have done years ago, if I may add – so you tell me what you think about it."

"I think that the both of you ought to sleep now. You've been through a lot. Let's talk about the heavy things in life tomorrow, once you're both well-rested", interrupted another voice.

Trend stepped into the bedroom and walked over to join them in the bed. Sam smiled nearly shyly at his boyfriend as he laid down with his head on Trend's stomach. The quest through Tartarus had drained him a lot and his legs still felt like jelly, Trend was right with that.

"Come here, little space-heater", smiled Trend affectionately and pulled Derek into a short kiss.

He then adjusted the brunette to lay behind Sam. Derek was still overwhelmed and cautious as he wrapped his arms around Sam's middle, but the mohawked boy was more than eager to snuggle up against him. Sighing softly, Derek closed his eyes and bedded his head on Trend's chest.

"I love you. Both of you. I'm sorry for... everything", whispered Derek softly.

"We know", murmured Trend and kissed the top of Derek's head. "Just... get better."

/break\

Donny had a _bad_ feeling when he returned home. He had gone to the underworld to fetch Thea, Jack and Sander, just for Hades to glare at him and tell him he had brought the three home already. The feeling proved to be true when Donny exited the shadows in their living room. Sander and Thea sat on the couch, both staring at the ground, looking guilty. The parental forces of Percy, Nico, Piper, Annabeth, Clarisse and Chris were standing in front of them, all turning to glare at Donny as the boy entered. Even though Percy was glaring at Donny, he still hugged the air out of his son. Before any of the adults could start preaching, Sander was up and pulled Donny away from Percy and into the tightest hug possible, nose buried in Donny's curls as he clung onto him.

"How could you _do_ that?!", exclaimed Sander. "You went to Tartarus, without even telling me! You _abandoned_ me! Do you have any idea how worried I was?! I—I thought I'd never see you again!"

"All of those points also apply to _us_. You know, your parents who have been to Tartarus themselves and know how dangerous it is", grunted Nico with a disapproving glare.

"And pulling my son into this!", added Clarisse with the nastiest glare of all times.

"I know you were worried about your friend, but...", stated Annabeth, faltering. "I'm disappointed."

"We all are", corrected Piper, shifting between glaring at her daughter and Donny.

"I—I'm sorry. It's all my fault! It was my plan!", exclaimed Thea, looking guilty.

"I know, princess", sighed Annabeth and pulled her into a tight hug. "I just... Tartarus is not a place for a... for a short trip. It's the most dangerous place on this planet, Theadora."

"But I was there!", argued Donny with a frown. "I know all the things mamma and papà told me and I called Bob and Damasen to help us and protect us! We were down there for only like five hours, maybe six. I swear it was fine. A—And we did it. We saved Derek!"

"Really? You did?", asked Percy, sounding so excited that Nico elbowed him. "Eh, I mean... Saving your friend does not justify throwing yourself into harm's way like that."

"Exact quote of what Nico told Percy twenty two years ago", whispered Piper a little amused.

Clarisse next to her nodded, snorting a little. She pulled Sander up to her to look at him intensely.

"I know why you did it, I know you're a hero by heart, but you will _never_ do such a thing without counseling me and your father first. Are we clear, Chrysander?", inquired Clarisse sharply.

"Yes, ma'am", mumbled Sander, sounding very small and very guilty.

"And _you_ are grounded until you've graduated, Hades Poseidon", grunted Nico sternly.

"Yes, sir", yelped Donny, looking wide-eyed and equally guilty.

"You're not leaving the house until school starts again, _at all_. And even after that, Nico's words apply to you too, young lady. Grounded until graduation", said Annabeth, looking very serious.

"Of course, mom", nodded Thea, ducking her head and biting her lower lip.

"But that's unfair! Thea's gonna graduate this year. I have a whole year longer", argued Donny.

"Yes. And _you_ went to Tartarus. She only laid the ground-work", grunted Nico unimpressed. "Now, where are Trend Austin and Sam Raser? You said you were successful. Where is Derek Rhys?"

"They're... uhm... with sons of Hecate, to lift a curse. I guess we could have brought Derek here too and ask Lila to take care of it, but those wizards are friends of Sam's", replied Donny softly.

Percy heaved a sigh and pulled Donny into another hug. The three families remained in the living room together a little longer, listening to Donny's tale of Tartarus, before everyone returned home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, Donny is not fine. But we'll get into the aftermath of a visit to Tartarus later. Next chapter will solemnly focus on Trend, Derek and Sam. Talking about their feelings, properly getting together and some naughty teasing! ;)


	89. How They Became His (And He Became Theirs)

89\. How They Became His (And He Became Theirs)

Derek woke up to the feeling of warmth. It felt far better than it had in the past weeks, for this time it was real. The warmth of Sam's body, so close to his own. The curve of Sam's behind, pressing against the hardening length between his own legs. His arms were still around Sam's waist and he couldn't keep from sneaking beneath Sam's shirt, so his fingers could dance over Sam's sixpack, tracing the ups and downs of the firm muscles, causing them to squirm at the teasing touch.

"No tickling, Der", mumbled a tired voice, muffled by Trend's stomach.

Sam buried his face deeper in Trend's shirt as the teasing continued. Hot breath tickled his neck and the fleeting feeling of lips upon his skin vanished as quickly as it came. He frowned.

"Hey?", grunted Sam confused, while his hand found its way to rest on Derek's.

"Good morning", whispered Derek back, sounding a little unsure.

"Feels like a good morning", grinned Sam to lighten the mood, pressing back against Derek.

"Don't tease", warned the son of Demeter. "Don't tease if you're not willing to pull through."

"Who said I'm not willing to pull through?", whispered Sam softly, rubbing his behind slower against Derek's hardening erection. "Ask Trend. I'm not one for teasing and not pulling through."

"Confirmed", grunted Trend and yawned. "Sammy really enjoys morning sex."

"Are... you... serious?", asked Derek softly, resting his head on Sam's shoulder to look at him.

"Well, Trend did interrupt us in the middle of that very important conversation yesterday...", nodded Sam slowly, snuggling more into the warmth of both others. "I told you what I want. I want both of you. I... love you. Which means I'd want to... uhm... h—have sex with you too, obviously. Especially since I, well, never thought about you in _that_ way. I'm... curious. I don't really know what to expect, since I've never really thought about it. So I... kinda wanna see what ya got..."

Derek had to grin when he saw that adorable blush all up close. "Stop being so cute."

"He can't. It's buried too deep in his DNA", stated Trend with a grin of his own.

"Stop teasing me, or I won't put out for either of you for a week", warned Sam embarrassed.

"Well, now that I have Derek, I won't require you for that anymore", teased Trend amused.

His fingers ran through Derek's hair and the dark-brunette actually blushed at that, while Sam glared. Trend smiled a little and leaned over to kiss the son of Ares, pulling him up until Sam was half laying on top of Trend, moaning softly into their kiss.

"You know I didn't mean it, right?", whispered Trend softly. "I will _always_ need you."

"I know how you meant it, dumb-ass", muttered Sam, red dusting his cheeks as he licked his lips.

"Yeah, yeah. Can we get back to the important things in life? Me."

"Derek", huffed Sam and rolled his eyes. "Well, you do owe me an answer. What is it you want?"

"You. I've always wanted you", answered Derek within the second. "I always wanted you, Sam."

Sam smiled, nearly shy as he looked at Derek from beneath his lashes. "And... Trend...?"

"Oh, if I have to", sighed Derek dramatically and grinned. "If I can have you, sweetheart, _and_ the Monstrosity to top it all off, I would have to be a fool to say no to that offer."

"So that means... you're our boyfriend now?", asked Sam, sounding giddy.

"Yes, that means you're my boyfriends now", grinned Derek and nodded.

Trend smiled to himself as he leaned back and got comfortable again. It had taken those two long enough to figure it out. He knew he could have gotten to this point faster by telling them right away what his future self had told him when he had visited the future during his Erotes-coma. Sam had needed to lose Derek to see how much the other truly meant to him. Not even Trend could have forced Sam to confront his deep-buried feelings. The only thing that had kept Trend going after losing Derek was that his older self had assured him that everything would turn out alright. It had been the only thing giving him strength when he had thought Derek was dead and Sam had pulled away from him. From everyone, really. Only the image of a happy, bright future with a smiling Sam and an alive Derek was what had kept Trend from giving up too.

"So... there was some teasing earlier and you said you pull through with those kind of things...", drawled Derek, running his fingers through Sam's hair and down Sam's spine, stopping short.

Trend frowned thoughtful as he watched the movement and saw Derek's hand resting on the smaller of Sam's back. It seemed as though Derek was still doubtful how far he could go. Understandable. Trend remembered quite vividly how long it had taken him to dare and touch Sam.

"It's alright, Derek", whispered Trend softly and took Derek by the wrist, guiding it to rest on Sam's behind. "Believe me, he will tell you when he doesn't want something. What he doesn't want is for me, or you, to be reluctant and walk around intimacy on eggshells. Dare and you will be rewarded."

Derek gulped hard as he had the heart-shaped butt under his fingers. Even if he'd want to hold back, he simply had to squeeze it. Sam laughed softly at the reluctant touch and bucked up against it.

"I was serious, you know?", grinned Sam embarrassed. "I don't know what will happen. I don't have a... picture of what it would be like to have sex with you, so... show me, Der."

"I'm sorry", sighed Derek and shook his head. "It's just that... in the past six years, practically every time I jerked off stared you. I have so many different fantasies about you... I wouldn't know where to start, to be honest. I've been thinking about this – about you – so often now..."

"Please stop talking before Sam's head explodes because of all the blood in it", interrupted Trend.

The blonde was smiling amused as he watched Sam's face grow darker and darker the more Derek talked. How could the son of Ares not have been aware of all of this for all those years, really?

"S—So... choose your favorite", prompted Sam and wiggled his nose a little.

"I'd rather he not. Not right now anyway", interrupted Trend once again, earning him glares from both of his boyfriends. "You're still injured, Derek. You need to heal and rest. No... heavy exercises, so to speak. That aside, there's also the issue of your... features..."

At that, Trend traced Derek's cat-ears with his fingers, rubbing them a little and earning himself a purr from the younger teen. Sam grinned broadly and started patting Derek's head at that, then scratching Derek's chin, Derek leaning into the touch, demanding more.

"I don't see how kitten-ears can keep us from fucking", protested Sam though. "If anything, they're quite encouraging. I think Derek looks hot like that. Like a little wild-cat. Tiny predator."

"Yes. He's a cat, like you were. You can't tell me you haven't noticed. Then again, it had been mostly me doing the jerking-you-off when we had sex", stated Trend a mused. "I had a knot as a wolf. Your cock however... was wired. Spiked. Like a cat's. And so is Derek's, most likely. As much as Derek is dying to be inside of you, I won't have him tearing you open with the spikes."

The blonde grunted as he was hit hard by Derek. "Don't make it sound like I'd take him if that would mean pain for our sweetheart, you bastard. I was... unaware of that predicament. I suppose we will have to wait with the fun-part until I'm recovered and the curse is lifted."

Sam made a face at the idea of having sex with a wired cock. He had noticed it on his own body, thank you very much. It had just slipped his mind in this morning's lusty haze. He pouted a little as he settled down. Even though he didn't want to have sex with _that_ , it didn't change that he'd like to have sex with Derek. He was being cockblocked by Derek's cock, for crying out loud!

"Would you two do me a favor and at the very least get naked?", requested Derek with a slight whine to his voice. "If I am on bed-rest, I want to at least enjoy the view."

"Of course, Der", chuckled Trend and leaned over to kiss the son of Demeter softly.

The blonde sat up and peeled his shirt off slowly. Standing, he unbuttoned his jeans, pushing them off and then shrugging out of his boxer-shorts. Once those came off, he collapsed back on the bed. Derek sighed softly as he snuggled up to him again, stroking Trend's length once as it rested against the blonde's leg. Even soft, the dick was of impressive size.

"I really, really missed you...", whispered Derek softly.

"I missed you too, little one", smiled Trend and started to caress Derek's ears again.

"Who's talking to you?", huffed Derek teasingly and pointed down between Trend's legs. "Him!"

"Yes, I'd miss that too", nodded Sam thoughtful as he stood and grabbed the hem of his shirt.

"Oh. No, no, no. Come here, sweetheart", yelped Derek hastily. "Here. Now."

Sam stopped and frowned, but found himself giddily obeying the commanding tone, blushing at it. "What's wrong, Der? You just said you want us naked. Changed your mind?"

"I want to undress _you_ myself", whispered Derek with a smirk. "Now come here, darling."

Trend laughed to himself as he watched the blushing son of Ares crawling up to Derek. Licking his lips, Derek clawed his fingers greedily into the fabric of Sam's shirt and nearly ripped it off Sam's body in his eagerness. He gulped when all those muscles and the soft skin were so close to him. His hands were actually shaking as he opened button and zipper of Sam's pants. Hooking his fingers into the pants, he pulled them down, just to be surprised that Sam had gone commando.

"You're...", started Derek dumbfounded.

"I like it", defended Sam himself flustered. "Stop staring, Der. It's embarrassing."

"You can't dangle all of that perfection in front of me and ask me not to look", countered Derek. "Come on, let me enjoy the view. Turn around, pretty please, Sammy?"

"No", whined the son of Ares with a glare. "It's _embarrassing_."

Derek cocked one eyebrow, his emerald-eyes resting on Sam's collar. Trend had already told him plenty of how much Sam liked his spankings. He also loved his collar. Maybe a different approach?

"I said turn around", ordered Derek firmly and crossed his arms over his chest. " _Now_."

Sam shuddered at the sound of it, a pleasant shudder. He obeyed the command and turned his back on Derek. The son of Demeter hummed pleased, reaching out to trace Sam's spine and took both hands to properly grope Sam's butt, squeezing it tightly to feel how firm it truly was.

"Good boy", whispered Derek as he kissed Sam's shoulder-blades. "Now lay down. On your back."

Trend raised one inquisitive eyebrow as he watched how Sam laid down. "How did you do that?"

"It's something about the tone of voice and the phrasing", stated Derek with a shrug, leaning down to pat Sam's head in a praising manner. "Good boy. Don't tell me you never tried it. I mean, he likes wearing our collar, he likes getting spanked. You never came to the conclusion that he may be into a little bit of BDSM, oh great son of Athena? Because apparently he is."

"Oh, shut up", grunted Trend with a glare. "We were on one or another dangerous quest ever since we got together. There wasn't that much time to explore kinks. So... Sammy?"

"I don't know", huffed Sam with a bright blushed. "Maybe it's the son of Ares in me, the soldier. I guess I like taking commands. It's... hot. Besides, I _did_ pick two very bossy lovers, so... yeah."

Derek grinned like a lion who was staring down the gazelle, his tail wiping behind his body as he leaned over to kiss Sam. It was hungry and greedy and passionate and Sam was practically melting beneath Derek, his arms around Derek's neck. When they parted, they were both short of breath. Sam's eyes were half-lid as he watched Derek. The catboy liked his lips and leaned down again, this time around kissing Sam's neck, scraping the skin and sucking until he left a mark that promised to darken later on. His lips dragged down, along Sam's collar and to his smooth chest. While one of Derek's hands was fisting Sam's mohawk, the other was resting on Sam's chest. One finger started to circle one of Sam's nipples as Derek's mouth found its way to the other. The little pink knobs hardened fast under Derek's administrations. And while he sucked on one, he twirled the other.

"D—Der", whimpered Sam, arching his back.

"Beautiful...", murmured Derek and placed one soft kiss on each rosy bud.

Trend turned onto his side, head supported by one arm. Blood filled his cock as he watched how Derek went more and more south. How Derek's cunning tongue – oh yes, Trend remembered just how cunning it was – traced every pack of muscles on Sam's stomach. His teeth nibbling on Sam's hipbones. His tongue swept greedily down the smooth path between Sam's naval and cock.

"I've been wondering for a while now if you're as hairless there as your legs are", whispered Derek against Sam's skin. "And I'm positively surprised that that's the case. You're such a good boy."

"Stop saying that", groaned the son of Ares, both hands clawed into Derek's hair.

"Why?", smirked Derek, placing butterfly kisses down Sam's thighs. "It makes your cock twitch. Don't think I haven't noticed. At every command and every praise, your cock twitches."

"That's _why_ ", huffed Sam with a glare. "Don't make me want if I can't have..."

Derek smiled slightly, supporting his weight with one arm on the mattress, while the other ran up and down Sam's soft thigh. Sadly enough, he already felt exhausted though. Stupid wound.

"Here. Eat this", offered Trend, handing Derek some nectar and ambrosia from the nightstand.

"Still a mind reader, I see", snorted Derek and took it before collapsing back on the bed. "Thanks."

"Not a mind reader, just a son of Athena who can read body-language and knows what it means."

"Mh...", hummed Derek thoughtful, tilting his head. "Sweetheart, straddle Trend. I want to watch you kiss. _Really_ , really deep. You, make our cutie blush hard, okay, Trend?"

"Can do that", nodded the son of Athena and pulled Sam up on top of him.

Sam came to rest with his knees on either side of Trend, forearms resting on Trend's chest. The blonde on the other hand had his arms around Sam's waist. It was incredibly hot to watch them making out, how their bodies moved, their low panting and skin flushed with excitement.

"You two are so hot, it should be forbidden", muttered Derek and shook his head.

The two parted and turned to grin at Derek. Rolling his eyes, Derek squeezed in between them, laying curved against Trend's side, with his head on Trend's shoulder. He adjusted Sam so the son of Ares was half laying on both of them, one leg still on Trend's other side while Derek pulled the other leg to lay on him so Sam was laying spread-legged on them. His hand wandered up Sam's thigh again, to cup the mohawked boy's cheek. His fingers sneaked between the crack, causing Sam to yelp. Trend laughed, the arm Derek was laying on draped over Derek's shoulder, the other laying on Sam's back, tracing Sam's spine. Forest-green eyes glared heatedly down at Derek.

"What? Are you going to deny me this?", asked Derek challenging. "I want to... play with you."

Sam heaved a defeated sigh and got comfortable on Trend's chest, turning his head so he could stare into Derek's eyes. The son of Demeter leaned in to seal Sam's lips in another kiss. This was all he had ever dreamed of. One finger slid over Sam's entrance before backtracking and pressing down some. Sam whimpered into the kiss at that and Derek took it as an invitation. He eased his way in with one finger, wiggling it a little. His teeth caught Sam's lower lip teasingly before letting go.

"You're so beautiful, all flushed and wanton", noted Derek and licked his lips.

"You're aware that I start feeling neglected here", teased Trend, amused by Derek's behavior.

"I've had you before. For months even. Sorry, but right now, I'm too busy exploring what is new", smirked Derek and tilted his head up to kiss Trend. "You're not really feeling neglected, are you?"

"It's actually quite... nice to watch the two of you", admitted Trend and shook his head. "It's fine. I understand. Sammy's body _does_ beg to be explored more thoroughly."

"Would you two obsessive stalkers _stop_ it now?", groaned Sam embarrassed.

"But you're ours, how could we not be obsessed?", grinned Trend, kissing the top of Sam's head.

"This is how we'll spend the day", declared Derek happily.

"With your finger up my ass?", grunted Sam and cocked one eyebrow.

"Finger _s_ ", corrected Derek with a smirk, adding another finger. "I for my part _am_ a tease."

Sam groaned and buried his face in Trend's chest. Not that the blonde had any mercy on him. He liked that kind of tortured look on Sam's face and Derek's sadistic face was quite hot too, as long as he wasn't on the receiving end of it, of course. Derek surely would prove to be a good addition to their relationship. He had some great ideas that Trend would love to explore.

/break\

Liam was sitting on the kitchen-counter, legs dangling over the edge. He watched with ice-blue eyes how Alabaster cooked dinner. The three teens had been holed up in Sam's room the whole day and even though rest was good for Derek, they didn't need to starve up there. That aside, Liam wanted to spend some time with his nephew and his favorite non-family-member demigod. Jumping off the counter, Liam placed a chaste kiss on Alabaster's cheek before heading upstairs.

"Boys? Boys, are you awa-", started Liam as he entered after a short knock. "Oh."

"Uncle Liam!", yelped Sam wide-eyed, practically his whole body turning red.

Trend hastily pulled the sheets up to cover them all, even though it was already too late. Liam had seen far more than _any_ of them were comfortable with. Sam turned to glare at Derek heatedly as the son of Demeter still didn't take his fingers out. Huffing and pouting, Derek obeyed.

"What is it?", snapped Derek. "We're very busy here, you know?"

"I... see that", muttered Liam and shuddered. "Please get dressed and come downstairs for dinner."

Closing the door again, Liam ran downstairs again where he practically jumped Alabaster. The older son of Hecate didn't exactly appreciate that and turned to glare at his brother, at least until he saw how much Liam was practically glowing, his face all red but still smiling brightly.

"You'll never guess where Derek just had his hand! Wait, no, you don't want to guess that. That was a stupid intro. Anyway, I just walked in on Derek, Sam and Trend. Like, all of them."

Alabaster nodded slowly. "Go and set the table, love."

He wasn't as enthusiastic about other people's love-life as his lover was, but still, since he could count the people close to him on two hands and Derek was one of them, he was glad to hear that Derek had apparently gotten what he had wanted for years now. Sam. And thanks to Liam, Sam was now on Alabaster's list too. After all, Liam loved that boy as though he was his own son, which meant his well-being and happiness had priority for Alabaster too.

"Uhm... what's for dinner?", asked Sam reluctantly as the three teens rounded the corner.

"If it would go according to Derek's plans, most likely you", stated Alabaster nonchalantly. "Well?"

"We... kinda-sorta... are a thing now", confessed Sam awkwardly. "That... okay?"

"I _told_ you that Derek is perfect for you!", exclaimed Liam and kissed Sam's forehead as he guided the boy over to a table before turning serious and hard eyes onto Trend. "You. You're now responsible for two of the people I care most about. You better watch over them, are we clear?"

"Yes, sir", nodded Trend honestly as he helped Derek over to the table.

At least the son of Demeter was allowed to walk again, albeit with Trend's support. Derek sat in the middle, between Sam and Trend, resting one hand on a thigh of each of them. Liam and Alabaster sat down opposite them as they started eating in silence.

"Would you like to join us for a movie tonight?", offered Alabaster after a while.

"We're not quite fluent in German", pointed Derek out and made a face.

"We own DVDs. German DVDs _always_ have the original English dub too", explained Liam.

"Well, then what do you have to offer?", grinned Sam eagerly. "A cozy night of cuddles on a couch and a movie is exactly what I need after all those quests. Just... cuddles, please."

"Mh... cuddling my sweetheart does sound tempting", agreed Derek with a grin. "And popcorn?"

"But both your hands will stay above Sam's waistline", warned Liam with a glare.

"Yes, sir", chorused both Derek and Trend obediently.

"But you're not taking them away from me, right, uncail?", asked Sam.

His eyes were wide and his lower lip was quivering. Liam groaned when the kitten-eyes of doom were aimed at him. Sam furrowed his brows and bit his lower lip, whining a little.

"Okay, okay. The boys can stay in your room", sighed Liam in defeat.

"I'll put earplugs onto our shopping list", sighed Alabaster annoyed. "And lube and condoms."

The three teens blushed furiously at that, even though they were grateful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be another one of the di Angelos - this time, Bianca Maria. Because when there is something wrong with Donny, the first person at his side is his big sister. So prepare for the sibling-fluff with a lot of Sonny-fluff and worried-parental!Nicercy ;3


	90. Bianca Maria's Hunting Party (Di Angelos Part VI)

90\. Bianca Maria's Hunting Party (Di Angelos Part VI)

Cleaning up after a quest was normally not in the job-description of a huntress. This however was a matter of nature. The nymphs were still disturbed and distraught, Tartarus had leaked a lot of monsters in Germany that still needed to be taken care of. And such things were business of the huntresses of Artemis. And what respected huntress would decline a full-out monster hunt throughout Germany? They had split up in groups of three. Bianca Maria was with Calandra Rodriguez and Thalia Grace, the other older huntresses, those who had been with Lady Artemis since the ancient times, had also taken two of the younger huntresses under their wings to lead this quest. Atalanta's team was also around somewhere in their vacancy to cover Northern Germany, Bia knew that. Callisto and Hekaerge had gone East, Polyboia and Phylonoe had taken their teams to head West and Oupis and Loxo had gone South. Lady Artemis had taken her half-sister Britomartis to go to Olympus and report to their father about the fight and the outcome of the quest.

Bianca Maria had often wondered why Atalanta wasn't Artemis' lieutenant, why Zoe Nightshade and then Thalia Grace had been chiefs. Thalia had once explained it to her, that Atalanta used to be the lieutenant, but after a couple of centuries on the hunt and losing so many comrades, she had stepped down. That, Bianca Maria could maybe relate to. Too much suffering made it hard to stand strong and tall and lead someone. She still dreaded the day she would outlive her parents and siblings, then even future nephews and nieces. It had only been a faint concept in her mind at the beginning, but the longer she was a huntress, the more she dreaded that moment. And she knew she wasn't the only one. She knew Cally felt the same way about her twin-brother Sander and their little sister Carry. And their parents. They were only teenagers, the thought was a scary one.

"How are you holding up?", asked Thalia as she sat down behind Bianca Maria.

"Good. A few scrapes, but nothing serious", replied the half-Italian with a small smile. "Where's Cally gone to though? Lunch is nearly ready. I don't want it to get cold."

"I am _so_ glad your father taught you how to cook", hummed Thalia delighted and tried to steal some, just to be hit by a wooden spoon. "Ouch. Cally's gone to IM her brother. If you want, I could take over steering while you go and get her. Wouldn't want the food to get cold."

She grinned at Bianca Maria and wiggled her eyebrows. Bia just rolled her eyes in reply. She knew all that Thalia wanted was a moment alone with the stew. Handing the spoon over, Bia stood.

"I hope there'll be something left when we return", warned Bia sternly.

Thalia just nodded with the largest, most innocent grin possible. After the past months on the hunt, Bia was _not_ fooled by that. Still, she left to go and retrieve her best friend. What she found at the lake was not exactly what she had been expecting though. Cally looked concerned and worn-out, talking to Sander. Sander, who was talking far too fast and looking short of crying.

"Is... everything alright?", asked Bia softly as she approached the twins.

"No! Nothing is alright!", replied Sander with wide, nearly fearful eyes.

"...Okay?", nodded Bia slowly, going to sit down next to Cally. "Calm down, Sander. Deep breaths and then start at the beginning, nice and slow so we can _understand_ , yes?"

Cally turned her head enough to offer Bia a grateful smile. She had never been very good with overly emotional situations and Sander was _very_ overly emotional at times. He was filter-less, as Bia liked to put it. When he felt something, he showed it and expressed it and spoke it out loud.

"Donny", was the start, instantly catching Bia's full attention. "Ever since he returned back home three days ago, he's been having nightmares. And your mom has gone to visit his own parents in New York together with Jack and your dad has something to do in the underworld, because of our quest. And Thess and Percy aren't sure what to do, because it's been the second night that Donny has had nightmares, but they don't want to bother your parents, because your mom has been so worried about Donny lately and now that he _finally_ left to take some time for himself yesterday after he hadn't left Donny's side for like five minutes the whole time since we returned, they don't want to bring him back here to worry even more and your dad is very busy and Thess doesn't want to distract him and Donny is silly, because _he_ hasn't said a word about it yet! Not even to _me_! So Thess called me today, because it got worse last night and he doesn't think it's just a fluke, like they thought after that first night, and he said Donny's been trashing around and crying and screaming. I asked Donny if I could stay the night, to... to help, but he won't admit that something's wrong so he said no because he doesn't want me to know a—and... doesn't he trust me? I just... I love him and I want to help him and _I don't know how to help_. Please... tell me what to do..."

Bia frowned deeply as she observed Sander. It was one of his most endearing qualities. When he was at a loss, he called his 'big' sister for advise. And it figured that Donny wouldn't go to someone for help. He had their mother's stubborn pride, not willing to bother others with his problems. Thess and Percy were still young, only fourteen years old. Of course they had no idea what to do and how to help either. They were just children. Standing up, Bia straightened her silver robes.

"Cally, breakfast is ready. Tell Thalia I'll join you again in the morning", announced Bia to her best friend before turning to Sander. "I'm on my way. I'll take care of things, don't worry."

And Sander smiled, because he knew if she said so, then it would be so. Bia always took care.

/break\

A slightly sad smile hung on her lips as she emerged in her old bedroom. It was still all-black, but with a lot of new goth-motifs. And there was Percy, sleeping peacefully in her bed, arms wrapped around Kitty Ellen's waist, both of them naked. Shaking her head, Bia took the discarded sheets and threw them over the two girls. Percy grunted in her sleep, burying her face in Kitty's neck.

She left the room on silent feet, not wishing to disturb the two girls. After all, their summer wouldn't last much longer and sneaking around while the parents were out of the house, they had to use it to their advantage. Before she went to Donny's room however, she had the urge to also check on her other siblings first. After all, she heard no screaming or crying so there wasn't an immediate situation. So there was time to check on her other beloved siblings. In the room next to her old/Percy's new room was Thess. Now that Percy had moved out, it really was considerably neater and way brighter. He was sleeping in his princess bed with the blue see-through silken-drapes around it. Approaching the bed, she pushed the drapes aside to see her sleeping brother. His longer hair was braided so it wouldn't be so much of a pain in the ass in the morning.

"What are _you_ doing here? Not here to give me the big-sister-speech, eh?"

Blinking slowly, she turned to the blonde who was spooning Thess from behind, nose buried in Thess' neck. His shifty eyes stared at Bianca Maria, changing color from light blue to a darker brown. Thess had once explained them to Bia. Light blue was the carefree one, brown was when Luke was concerned or upset and green meant he was enraged ('Like the Hulk!', had Jack claimed excitedly back then). She smiled amused by his worries and continued caressing Thess' hair.

"I'm not here for you, Lucas", chuckled Bia. "At least not as long as you take good care of Thess. He has the biggest heart I've ever seen. I love all of my siblings, but... even among them, Thess has the purest heart. All of us have a sliver of selfishness in us, but... not him. Protect him, okay?"

"Always", huffed Luke, like he was wildly offended by the fact she had to ask for that.

"And don't do anything inappropriate", added Bia with a cheeky grin. "Not without protection."

That gained her an incredibly bright blush from the blonde and another glare. Leaning down to kiss Thess' forehead, she stood. She wouldn't want to wake him, because she wasn't here for a lengthy chat. Getting out of the room, she checked the last bedroom. That of the younger twins. She had to suppress a laughter when she saw them. They had a bunk-bed, yet still both were laying together on the lower bunk, with Basty Ellen draped over Jimmy from one side and Silly on the other, both clinging to him like he was the cutest teddy bear possible. Which he may be. Andy Cage, Silly's best friend, was blissfully sleeping in the upper bunk, not minding the insane trio below.

It were moments like these, that Bia regretted having joined the hunt. Seeing her siblings in those daily, normal settings, being happy and leading a peaceful life. But then she remembered the thrill, the adventure and the magnificence of the life of a huntress. She couldn't live without it.

Tip-toeing out of the room, she headed to her true destination. Donny's bedroom. When she entered, she was a little amazed by the dozens of new photos on the wall. Pictures of their quest, of him laughing together with Sam Raser, kissing Sander, playing chess with Thea, of Thea and Herc snuggled up together, Marshall Mikaelson and Trend Austin training together, Nico together with her Roman friends Joe and Sara hanging in the ropes of the Argo II, a very pretty brunette girl with flowers braided into her hair whispering with Derek Rhys and Donny himself. There were so many people in his life now, so many people Donny cared about. And it filled Bia's heart with pride. She still remembered the scrawny, scared little boy who always hung off her skirt, hiding half behind her. The only friends he had ever made had been her friends. Thea and Cally, her closest friends growing up. And Sander, Cally's twin-brother. That were all the people he needed, he had always claimed. She was glad he realized that hiding behind what he knew wasn't always the best course of action, that new things and new people didn't have to be something bad.

An upset frown marred her features as she drank in the sight of her brother. He was trashing uncontrollably, whimpering softly to himself as he fought against invisible demons in his sleep. What worried her the most however was the thick, black aura around him. Like a living shadow clinging onto him. It looked like a black flame, licking upwards and wavering. She knew it. She recognized that darkness from their father. When she had been younger, her powers hadn't been developed enough to see it, but as she grew older and realized not everyone had this kind of darkness to themselves, she had asked their father. And he had explained it to her. Had told her that he had gone to Tartarus on his own, that Tartarus latched onto those who visited. Aunt Annabeth had the same darkness to her, but hers was lighter. So Bia had asked why was that. And her father explained that her mother had been to Tartarus too. That a child of the underworld ruled over darkness, all matters of darkness. And that regardless of how cruel and heavy the burden of this darkness was, Nico was willing to carry ten times its weight if that meant taking the pain off of Percy. This kind of love was what Bia had admired all of her life. Others had their movies and fairy tales to dream of True Love, but all Bia had to do was look at her parents.

"Donny, sh, Donny, calm down, fratellino", whispered Bia soothingly.

She grasped his face, pressing her forehead against his. Closing her eyes, she concentrated. She was the perfect union of the underworld. Death, riches, darkness. All three aspects of the underworld were at her beck and call. It was why her grandfather valued her so much. So if her father, whose main realm was death and who only had limited access to darkness and wealth, could extract the darkness from her mother, then surely she could make it go away from her baby brother.

She knew the darkness couldn't just dissolve, it needed a host. From Tartarus, to Percy, to Nico. She had _no idea_ what to expect. Her father at least had known his own darkness, the burden he had carried since his own downfall into the bottomless pit. Not that it mattered to Bianca Maria though.

Donny was her most precious person on this planet. She loved her parents dearly and would always be grateful for what they had done for her, for loving and raising her, she loved her other siblings and she held all her friends close to her hear, as well as her new family of hunters. But Donny... Donny was different. Donny had been the first. The first tiny little baby she had looked at and known to be her sibling. The first one she had been responsible for – because big sisters look after little brothers, her aunt Thalia, her best friend Cally, even her father had taught her that. And Donny more so than any other di Angelo had _needed_ her, had always needed her. Sought her out, trailed after her like the adorable lost little puppy he used to be. He hadn't been a fighter, had been scrawny, defenseless and frightful. He had needed her to protect him and she did so gladly.

Would always do so.

Donny was her little brother and he would forever be that frightened little child with the large green eyes that cried whenever something scared him and hid behind Bia for protection. And she would always aid him and protect him from whatever was threatening him, even if it was Tartarus itself.

"Mh... B—Bia...?", mumbled a tired and frightened voice.

Putting some distance between them, she looked into her brother's eyes. He looked rather confused, but that look suited him better than frightened and scared. Smiling, she kissed his forehead and settled down more comfortably on his bed, one arm draped over his shoulders.

Percy and Nico would always do everything to protect all of their children, but Nico was already carrying the burden of both himself and his husband. Bia loved her parents and she wouldn't want to put that onto her father too, he had already been through so much. Donny was hers to protect and she was far stronger than some may want to give her credit for.

"Sander called Cally", started Bia casually, caressing Donny's upper arm with her fingers in that soothing way she always used to get him back to sleep after a nightmare. "He was... very close to tears. You know he loves you very much, don't you?"

"Y—Yeah", answered Donny with a blush and a small, happy smile.

"And... you love him as much", stated Bia as she saw the look on his face. "Then you're doing something entirely wrong, fratellino. True love works the way our parents work. With _trust_. Even if you have a lot to carry, you shouldn't be afraid to share it with the one you love. You need to be truthful and tell him when you're not right so he can help, to his best capability."

"I... know...", sighed Donny and averted his eyes. "I'm just... still new to this... relationship-thing and I don't want to worry him. He always worries so very much about me, it makes me feel so bad, like... like all I do is worry him and he deserves better than that..."

"And _that_ is rubbish", chided Bia, ruffling his curls. "Silly boy. He loves you, that is why he worries so much. Because he wants you to be happy and safe and if you're not, he worries. Just like I worry, just like our parents worry. But keeping everything bottled up only makes it worse."

"Yes, sorellona", mumbled Donny, looking like a guilty puppy.

Bia hummed pleased and kissed the top of his head. "Good boy. Now, from now on you will tell Sander when something is wrong, because he thinks that you don't trust him and that only upsets him even more and you wouldn't want that, right? Perhaps you should take the time to have a lengthy conversation about relationships and marriage with mother before your wedding, mh?"

"Yeah, probably", chuckled Donny with a half-smile. "It's all still so new, I guess. But... Why are you here? I mean, thank you for... for what you did. I know what you did. I did the same for Sam, Trend and Derek when I parted ways with them, before the... effects of Tartarus could settle."

"You and your big heart", sighed Bia, making it sound like a great suffering. "I suppose it is the curse of us di Angelos, huh? Doing everything for the people we love. That's why I'm here. I know for a while you thought I joined the hunt to abandon you all, but... I did it to _protect_ you. As a huntress, with my training and experience, I will be able to watch over this family. Back before you were a hero as you're now, with mamma and papà retired from being heroes and our siblings were just too young and innocent. I will always watch over our family. All of you."

Donny nodded, with a look on his face that clearly said he completely believed in her. "I can just see it. Fifty years from now and my grandchildren will look up to their guardian angel, huh?"

For a little while, they settled comfortably with each other, just staring out the window in silence and watching the stars and moon. They used to do that a lot as children. Donny had always had a lot of nightmares, he used to wake up crying, but he felt too guilty to wake their parents most of the time, knowing his smaller siblings already took so much sleep off the couple, so he'd sneak into Bia's room. She'd tell him stories and they'd watch the moon until Donny fell asleep.

"So... tell me about Sander", prompted Bia when she noticed he still wasn't asleep.

"Huh? You know Sander", grunted Donny extremely confused.

"Ah, I know Cally's twin-brother Sander, I know Camp Half-Blood's hero Sander, I know mamma and papà's godson Sander... But I don't know my future brother-in-law Sander", replied Bia with a cheeky grin. "Now, tell me about your boyfriend, fiance and future husband."

"He worries too much", started Donny with a flat voice and a matching expression. "Like, _really_. I mean, I know I'm weak and I can't really take care of myself, but... I don't want him to get hurt on my behalf, you know? He's just... too amazing to be hurt because of me."

Bia's expression turned into a pained one as she pulled Donny some closer. He had been teased all his life and even though Bia tried desperately to protect him, she couldn't be everywhere. She hated the image it had left in his head. That he was weak and not worth the trouble. And she hoped that Sander's love and the friends and reputation he had gained this summer would help with that.

"Well, if he really loves you that much, then he'd be incredibly hurt if you'd gotten hurt just because you didn't want to drag him into things", offered Bianca Maria with a thoughtful frown.

"...I hate when you make sense", huffed Donny with a pout he had perfected over the years.

"That's what big sisters are for", chimed Bianca Maria cheekily.

"You won't stay long, will you?", asked Donny with hopeful eyes.

Bia heaved a sigh and shook her head. What she was doing was to protect her family. As a huntress, she could prevent bigger monsters from coming close to New Athens – the demigods probably weren't even aware that the huntresses protected them and their cities. She would always offer everything to protect her family. A trade she had from her father, or so her mother said.

"I can't. Someone has to clean up after you", replied Bia with good-humor, before turning serious. "I'll be back whenever you need me though. You know that, right? Even though I'd prefer if you'd start seeking out help on your own. Sander is a good guy, let him take care of you when you're not alright. I know you've been taken care of him while he was a... puppy...?"

"Y—Yes", nodded Donny and blushed furiously. "He's been _so adorable_. I could have eaten him up, really. Gosh, I just wanted to cuddle him all day long! You should have seen him!"

Bia turned thoughtful as she thought about Cally as a puppy. Well, a barking dog was more like it. The thought made her grin in amusement. Of course Donny would enjoy that state.

"He's always been smitten with you, you know?", whispered Bia softly.

"Mh?", grunted Donny confused, head resting on her shoulder.

"Since the day you were born", elaborated Bianca Maria. "Or, well, the day you first met, actually. Or so mamma used to tell me. How jealous I'd grow whenever he would use you as a teddy bear because, quite obviously, you were my brother! What right did he have to cuddle you?"

"There's enough of me for everyone to cuddle", grinned Donny, hugging his sister.

Bianca Maria's smile turned reminiscing at that. Things had changed so much. Maybe that was part of the reason why she had become a huntress, because... change was a strange thing. Part of her didn't want to give up how things were and as a huntress, things didn't change. They didn't age, they didn't have to go to school, graduate, go to college, find work. They just hunted. It was blissfully free of responsibilities. She would never voice it out loud, but in a way, the huntresses were cowards, all of them and she included. Running from the world and life to be immortal and to abandon all responsibility. Some people just weren't meant for normal and ordinary lives.

"Mamma went to New York with Jack and left you in charge so shortly after your trip to Tartarus?"

"Mh. Unwillingly so. But he's been fretting over me for like... at least thirty hours without rest. It was the best course of action to send him off", grinned Donny with a shrug.

Bia laughed softly. Knowing their mother, that was probably true. Not much later, both were sound asleep, arm in arm. The moon was watching over them, waiting for Bia's return in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally Bia got her time in the spotlight! Next chapter will feature Sam, Trend and Derek returning home. Not without making a short stop in New Rome to tell and show their Roman friends that Derek is fine too. Though there is that one Roman neither of them wants to see again, least of all Sam... How will he handle that unwanted reunion?


	91. There's No Place Like Home

91\. There's No Place Like Home

It had been days now and as much as Derek enjoyed the company of Alabaster and Liam as well as the alone time with his new boyfriends, he would prefer to get home. If only for the privacy. There was also the matter of his raging hard-on, because Sam was a _tease_. The most delicious kind.

"So, doc, what's the verdict?", asked Derek irritated, tapping his fingers on his knees.

"Liam, get the potion! The kitten is ready to turn human again!", called Alabaster out loudly before turning back to Derek. "That answer enough for you? We already prepared the potion the day after you arrived here, to save time. So you just have to take it and let it work its magic."

"Wonderful!", groaned Derek and collapsed back onto Sam's bed. "Get my boy toys."

Alabaster snorted and rolled his eyes. Leaving the room, he went to the kitchen. Sam was wearing a red apron and cooking dinner. The teens had been over since Sunday and not it was Thursday evening. As much as Alabaster had been against having the kids over at first, by now he really liked Sam's cooking. Smirking amused, Alabaster leaned against the doorframe and watched how Trend was quite obviously watching Sam. The blonde pretended to read the newspaper, but his eyes were completely transfixed on Sam, observing his every move (not to mention the fact that the newspaper was German). They were quite adorable. Trend and Derek basically never let Sam out of their sight. They were rather overprotective and loved him.

"Your kitten gets to be human again", stated Alabaster simply. "He'll take the potion, we eat dinner, because he'll need the energy and then he'll have to rest tonight. Tomorrow, you can leave."

Sam's eyes lit up and Alabaster understood yet a little better why Liam adored the boy so much. He was so full of feelings and his eyes shone so intensely. It was incredible to watch and made Alabaster smile against his consent. Nodding slowly, he walked over to the table.

"Trend! We need to pack!", ordered Sam giddily, kissing Trend full-force on the mouth.

The blonde made a stunned grunt, staring wide-eyed and returning the kiss right away. "Okay."

"And I want us to go to New Rome before we head home, yes?", inquired Sam thoughtful.

"No. What? No", grunted Trend with a frown. "No. Why?"

"Because Sara wanted to spend some more time with Marshall before school started, but then this whole... thing... ruined everything and I want to pick her up and Herc, Nico and Joe will want to see Derek alive too. I think we really should visit them, tell them in person", explained Sam. "Please?"

Trend didn't like it one bit, because of quite obvious reasons and he wondered if it had actually slipped Sam's mind due to everything good that had happened lately. But it was hard to deny those large begging kitten eyes anything when Sam threw them at him. He nodded slowly, gravely.

/break\

Derek stretched, happy that he wasn't as agile as he had been a few days ago. As much fun as being a catboy had been, he was glad to being back to regular demigod human. Trend was fastening the bags on the saddles of Fighter and Rush, while Sam was busy hugging the life out of Liam.

"This is not the last you'll seen me", promised Sam, face buried in Liam's neck. "Now that I know you weren't... abandoning me because you were sick of having me following you like a lost puppy or something... I'm just... I'm gonna be back here, okay?"

"We got a room for you. You'll always be welcome", replied Liam, ruffling his hair. "And tell your mom that when she's back home again, she needs to call. Maley misses her."

Sam grinned when he saw the way Alabaster cringed at the mention of Sam's aunt. Also hugging Alabaster, Sam then finally climbed onto Fighter's back, with Derek right up there behind him. The two sons of Hecate stood in their backyard and watched how the two pegasi lifted off.

/break\

Leo Zhang was not a happy camper. Or mother, for that matter. Sammy Marie was out with Thyl, Milly was on one of her adorable dates with her boyfriend JP (so, basically, his two middle children were hogging the Graces) and his youngest, sweet little Claire, was currently sitting on Leo's lap, staring confused over at her oldest sister. Claire was already six years old, but she was still very innocent and more childish than most children of her age. Wiggling her nose, she curled up to Leo.

"What's wrong with big sister?", asked Claire softly, staring up at Leo.

Leo heaved a sigh. The two of them were sitting in the kitchen, at the counter. Nico was curled together on the couch, legs thrown over Joe's. Joe sat back to back to her best friend Sara, who was asleep. The three girls had been sulking at the Zhangs' for the past four days now. Leo understood it, losing a friend was hard, losing a friend on a quest seemed so much harder. And Leo hated that he couldn't help his beloved daughter. He also hated that they couldn't do what they _should_ right now – celebrate the successful quest, working together on fixing the Argo II to bond, like they always did, or maybe celebrating that Nico _finally_ had a sweet girlfriend who Leo totally approved of.

"Kids, it's such a wonderful day, why don't you want to go out?", asked Leo hopefully.

The three looked at him like zombies and Leo couldn't help but wonder – was this how _his_ friends had been while they had believed him to be dead? It made his heart ache so badly and he made a mental note to call up Piper and Jason to hang out next weekend, just the three of them.

"Yeah, you're right, mamá", sighed Nico and peeled herself off the couch. "We could go see Herc."

"Mh. Good idea", mumbled Sara. "I could use a sparring partner..."

Leo heaved a sigh as he watched them leave.

/break\

Herc had been sparring with Sara for two hours when the two pegasi approached the arena. It was a good way of coping with things. Derek had died on their quest. Herc needed to become stronger, he needed to be able to protect his friends. He needed to be a better hero. Sara felt the same.

"Deirfiúr! Yo!", called a loud and cheerful voice out. [trans: _sister_ ]

It sounded like Sam, but Sam clearly wouldn't be that cheerful. Not after what had happened. Still, as the four Romans turned around, they saw a largely grinning Sam, having one arm around _Derek_. Their swords fell to the ground with a rattling sound. Trend was on Sam's other side, smiling.

"W—What? H—How?", stammered Herc stunned.

"Well, we took a quest, went to Tartarus, got Der back, healed him. The usual", chimed Sam.

He was being jumped by his little sister, who basically suffocated him in a hug, sobbing silently. She then turned around to motion for Derek. It was weird for the brunette. He had two tinkerers hanging off his neck and now Sara wanted in on the hugs too. It got even more weird when Herc wrapped his arms around his waist and actually lifted him up in the air. He wasn't the liked kid. He was the popular kid, the sassy gossip queen and head cheerleader, yes, but he was _not_ liked. Aside from Stella, Mel and Sam, no one was happy when he came. They were expectant of new gossip or a bitch fight, but they weren't genuinely happy. He wasn't really sure what to do with this.

"We're so glad you're alive", sputtered the girls as they hugged him.

"I'm... uh... glad to be alive too?", offered Derek confused.

"So, I'm starving. I mean, we spend hours flying from Munich to New Rome", declared Sam, large grin on his face. "Can we go to the _Happy Dragon_ and eat and we tell you all about the quest?"

"I'll call dad and mom!", exclaimed Nico, eyes sparkling.

And half an hour later had the seven teenagers gathered around a table with basically all the dishes the _Happy Dragon_ had to offer. Jason, Reyna, Leo and Octavian were sitting one table over, observing them with different degrees of fondness. Sam and Trend were telling the story, that is, Sam was telling it and Trend occasionally supplied some calmer facts.

"I really gotta use the bathroom", declared Sam, cheeks red and eyes sparkling as he stood.

"Be back before I miss you", ordered Derek, slapping Sam's butt teasingly.

"And now you're gonna explain _that_ ", giggled Sara wide-eyed, pointing at Sam.

Sam was highly flushed as he made his way to the toilet. Somehow, he felt drunk. He wasn't though. It was more like a happiness-overdose. He had his Derek back and even though Derek had been an utter perv during the whole ride, whispering dirty nonsense into Sam's ear, he had enjoyed it. A lot. And now he had his little sister and the others back. Celebrating. _Finally_. After relieving his bladder, he went outside to get some fresh air. It was pretty loud and full inside the restaurant, he needed a moment to himself. Taking a deep breath, he stared up at the already full moon. It would be morning by the time they'd get back home, probably. He took another deep breath.

"Well, if it isn't little pretty."

Sam's breath got hitched in his throat as his eyes widened. _"Stop being such a pussy, little pretty", grunted Leroy, grabbing Sam's wrists tightly. "You'll enjoy it too, I promise. I'll make you learn to enjoy it. But now be a good boy and stay put."_ A shudder wrecked his body as he forced himself out of his flashback. He was frozen in place, could only stare wide-eyed at the bulky blonde who was just walking up to him from down the street. That same self-assured smile. Sam wanted to... to do so much. Punch him in the face, kick him in the balls, scream at him, or scream for help. He was strong, he could probably easily knock Leroy out. But he was so... afraid. He just really wanted to hide, hide with Trend and Derek and _not be here_. He really didn't want to be here. But here he was, all alone with Leroy, feeling like that weak twelve-years-old again. He didn't want to be alone.

"Sammy? You'll catch a cold if you spend so much time outside without a jacket!"

A wave of relief washed over him as Trend walked out of the restaurant with a scolding look, carrying Sam's red leather jacket. He frowned confused when he saw the expression on Sam's face. Laying the jacket over Sam's shoulders, he leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"Hey", whispered Trend tenderly. "What's wrong, my love?"

Unwillingly, Sam's eyes were drawn back to where Leroy stood, now more in the shadows opposite the street. Trend's arms around his waist tightened as the son of Athena followed Sam's line of sight. Sam's fingers were clawed into Trend's arms, trying to hold onto his blonde tightly. It made him feel safe to have Trend with him, but he knew he'd feel far better if Derek would also be with him. Derek always made him feel good, had comforted him oh-so often in the past. Leroy shot him a last look before turning away, apparently hopeful that the blonde holding Sam hadn't noticed him yet. He was stopped by the bushes that suddenly started to grow and wrap around his arms and legs.

"I thought I told you not to come close to my sweetheart ever again."

It was strange. He could _see_ Leroy. Leroy stood there, right opposite of him, but in that moment, he wasn't afraid. Derek stepped up to them, taking Sam's hand and intertwining their fingers. There was a hateful gleam in his eyes as he had one hand raised up high, causing Leroy to stay put. Now that he was out in the light, Trend realized _why_ his Sammy had looked so panicked. A murderous intend was manifesting in Trend's mind as he made a mad dash for the blonde. Killing Leroy Jones was the last satisfaction he yearned for. Apparently the commotion caused by them was enough to lure the others out. Sara and Herc looked ready to pummel Leroy to death too. Due to them all basically hiding away at the Zhang household, neither of them had seen Leroy since their return. By the time Sam caught up with the situation, Sara, Herc and Trend were already merrily punching Leroy.

"S—Stop it!", exclaimed Sam when he saw what condition Leroy was in.

The three froze and stared at him as though he had lost his mind. Joe and Nico were on either side of Sam, resting their hands on Sam's shoulders, staring at him with concern. They all stared at him.

"Sweetheart", started Derek doubtfully. "I know five years ago, I said that death was too kind for him, but he didn't learn his lesson. I think the punching bag look suits Jones quite well."

"I—I don't care!", exclaimed Sam. For the first time, he felt as though he could see clearly. And what he saw, he didn't like. Trend, with bleeding knuckles, ready to kill Leroy for what he had done to Sam. And so were their friends. "I don't care. It's not... n—not worth tainting your conscience. I don't want you to kill someone. I don't want you to kill anyone, I don't care who." Sam paused, staring at Trend with pleading eyes. "I... I hate him more than any of you do, but... I also love _you_ more than pretty much anything and I don't want him to take anything from you. Which he would. He would take something from you if you'd kill him. I don't want that. _I don't want that_."

His fingers were clawed into the shirts of both Derek and Trend and he was looking at them both pleadingly. This was true. He knew that taking a life changed a person – it had changed his mother too, it didn't matter if the person someone killed was bad or good. Sam didn't want that. Derek and Trend were the best people he knew, he didn't want them crippled with this.

"Kids! Kids, I _really_ hope you have a good explanation for all of this!", barked Octavian out.

Apparently they had been out for too long and they had been too loud, because the adults came checking on them. While Frank, Hazel, Leo, Reyna and Jason looked pretty surprised, Octavian just looked constipated. Which he always did when he had to deal with teenagers, aside from Danny.

"He's... He...", started Herc and faltered, knowing it wasn't his place to tell them anything.

"What's going on, my boy?", inquired Reyna with her stern mom-voice, grasping his bleeding knuckles and caressing them concerned. "You're not the kind to pick fights, Hercules."

"Sammy, sweetheart, please", whispered Derek, placing his hands on either side of Sam's face. "I can't let him walk around like that anymore. I know he keeps haunting you. I can't... I know you love your little sister Sara, I want you to be able to freely visit her without fear, my darling."

Jason turned from his wife and son toward the other teens. He saw the boy they had beaten up, saw the anger and rage flaring in the eyes of those kids he valued so much. Those kids he knew to be heroes. And then he saw Sam Raser. And he remembered. He remembered the frightened little boy, who had been so clearly abused. Nico had called from New Athens the other day, if he remembered correctly, asking about exactly that case. And even now when he looked at Sam, he saw that fear. If this beat-up boy was the one who had hurt Sam back then, then Jason was pretty sure this hadn't just been about bullying as he had thought back then. He walked over to Sam, grasping his shoulder.

"Samuel?", asked Jason softly. "That's the boy who hurt you, isn't it? That's why your friends are so furious. But there's something I don't know yet. Do you want to tell me, mh?"

Sam blinked in slow-motion. Jason Grace. Head of the Roman DPS. They were more than child protective services, they were nearly equal to police around here. His eyes wandered, very slowly, from each of his friends to the nearly unconscious form of Leroy Jones, back to Jason. He didn't want his boyfriends and friends to kill Leroy, but Derek was also right. He didn't want to live in constant fear whenever he was in New Rome. He wanted to be able to walk around freely.

"H—He...", started Sam and hiccuped softly, clinging onto Trend and Derek tightly. "Raped me."

There was a moment of stillness from everyone present. Frank was the first to move, rolling his head which made some nasty sounds caused by his neck. He grasped Leroy bruisingly tight.

"Consider yourself arrested", stated the Canadian eerily calm, teeth clenched tightly.

"I'll hopefully see you before tomorrow, Rey", whispered Jason and kissed his wife before turning back to Sam. "We'll... need a statement from you, but if you feel more comfortable, you can talk to Nico di Angelo in New Athens, mh? It'd also be helpful if you had... other witnesses."

Derek and Sara straightened their backs at that and Jason noted that with a nod. The blonde man then helped Frank carrying Leroy off. Sam could feel Trend wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Can we... g—go home now?", whispered Sam softly. "Please. I just wanna go home."

"Yeah. Let's go home", agreed Derek and kissed Sam tenderly.

/break\

The ride to New Athens was rather solemn. All four of them needed the time to contemplate things for themselves. Trend's eyes caught every so often his still sore knuckles. Missus Grace had given him nectar for it before they had left again. He couldn't say he regretted it. Not many things had ever felt as good as punching Leroy Jones and if the punches would have ended the smug bastard's life, then Trend wouldn't have felt sorry either. The bastard had raped his Sammy. And he wasn't even sorry about it, he had smirked at Trend when Trend had thrown the first punch – as though the Roman still wanted to taunt him, to say he had Sam first. Bastard, hadn't even said a word the whole time. But Trend could respect that Sam didn't want the burden that his lovers had killed someone in his name.

"If I never have to fly again, it would still be too soon", groaned Derek as they landed.

He stretched and made a face at the sounds his back made. Trend slowly gathered their bags while Sam said his thanks and goodbyes to Fighter and Rush. By the time Trend had all their bags shouldered, Derek was tightly wrapped around Sam's waist, nose buried in Sam's chest.

"Where do we go now?", asked Trend, looking at his two lovers.

Especially after what had just happened in New Rome, he didn't want to leave them. Sam, with one arm around Derek's back, turned to look at the blonde. His eyes were still so vulnerable and broken.

"Der's place? Cuddles?", requested Sam, voice soft and borderline pleading.

"Brilliant plan", agreed Derek and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

/diary|entry\

_So... we just returned from our quest. Like, for good this time. Derek's in the bathroom, IMing our Greek friends so they're informed too. I can hear Philly cry from here. He wants to gather everyone for brunch at Katie's tomorrow, to celebrate. And Trend left to go and get us takeout. Comfort food._

_I got Leroy arrested. I know it's just the beginning. I know I'll have to make a statement, I'll get my friends dragged into this. I'll have to face Leroy again, go through everything again. But maybe... others will come forward too. I wasn't the first and probably also not the last. It's only a bit comfort though, to know it'll help others too. First of all, I feel awful and exhausted and terrified._

_But deep down, I have my Trend and my Derek. That's all I need today. Tomorrow will be another day entirely. Brunch with my boys and girls. And next week, school starts again. Huh. Can't believe it. This summer had been such an up and down of emotions and adventures. And now it's over. But it's only the end of one chapter, I guess. I gotta talk to Mister di Angelo, get Roy behind bars, finish my last year of high school with Trend and the others and then it'll continue further, I guess..._

/entry|end\

"What are you writing there, sweetheart?", asked Derek, hanging upside-down over Sam.

"My... uh... journal", muttered Sam and blushed a bit, clutching it to his chest. "It's Donny's fault."

Derek just laughed and leaned in to kiss Sam's cheek. "Cutie. Come now, blondie brought dinner."

Sam scrambled off the floor and climbed onto Derek's large bed. It was why they were at Derek's, because nearly his whole apartment was taken in by his bed, so that gave the threesome enough room to cuddle together comfortably. Derek and Trend were already sitting together, but they happily scooted apart so Sam could fit snugly between them. Heaving a soft sigh, Sam closed his eyes and cuddled up to them both. Every now and again, he would allow Trend or Derek to feed him a fork full of what-ever-they-were-eating. But mainly, Sam let his thoughts drift and enjoyed the white noise of the movie they were watching in the background. He'd take one day at a time and see where it was leading him. As long as he had Trend and Derek, it would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have the last di Angelo interlude - a chapter on all of them, finally getting to have a normal day at home. It'll have Luke and Thess cuteness, Jackie and Jimmy being adorable, Nico and Percy being awesome parents, Kitty being a perv when it comes to Percy Junior, Silly being up to no good - and since that is a lot to happen in one chapter, the chapter will be twice as long as regular chapters! ;)
> 
> I'll also soon start a new story that will span over the time between "A Very Half-Blood Marriage" and "Chasing Firelfies", giving an insight into how the family grew - both in numbers and also how they grew together. So watch out for that in the semi-near future (like, in two weeks or so)!


	92. The Return of Normality (Di Angelos Part VII)

92\. The Return of Normality (Di Angelos Part VII)

Thess was laying on his back, arms crossed behind his head. Saturday nights were family movie night and after finishing _Big Hero 6_ for what felt like the third time this month (it was only the fourth of the month), Donny had gotten a message from Derek. Family night slowly dissolved after that, because papà got a call from uncle Jason after that. So now Thess was laying on his bed, staring at the constellation of the Huntress that was put up there with glowing little stars. Rolling over, he let his head hang down over the edge of the bed. Under the bed, he was hiding his rope latter. The one he used so his Romeo could sneak in at night. But the last time Luke had been over, they had noticed it was slowly coming apart by the seams. It was too risky to put it out tonight. Frowning upset, he reached out under the bed and pulled it out. It was fixed. He could see the new rope woven in to strengthen the porous, old rope. Someone had fixed his latter. Someone knew of his latter. He let go an involuntary, high-pitched scream. Who would have _done_ this?

Only moments later did Nico enter the room, heaving a sigh. "Okay. Where's the spider?"

Nico's frown deepened when he noticed the wide-eyed expression and silence of Thess. Okay, this was going to be the mother of all spiders. Rolling up his sleeves, Nico knelt down and followed Thess' line of sight. The spider-under-bed thing had happened before. It most of the time ended with Thess camping out in the living room for a couple days out of protest. When he didn't see anything initially, he pulled the latter out of the way to look behind it, eliciting another yelp from Thess.

"What? Where's the evil spider, bambino?", asked Nico confused.

But Thess was just staring at the latter in his father's hand. His father had taken the latter with such casualty as though it didn't surprise him at all. It didn't surprise him at all. His eyes scanned his dad's hands. Rope burns. He had noticed them two or so days ago, but he had tried very hard not to think about them (he had walked in on his parents having sex once. He still tried to forget it). But now that he saw his latter was fixed and that his dad knew, he concluded something else.

"Y—You... know about my latter. You fixed my latter, papà", whispered Thess stunned.

Nico's frown deepened as he stared at the latter. "Of course I know about the latter. Who do you think makes the parquet all sparkly and shiny? It sure ain't the polishing fairy and have you ever seen your mom clean up? He's the one making the messes, not cleaning them up."

Thess flushed in embarrassment. That made sense. A lot of sense, actually. He never questioned why the house was so beautifully clean all the time. After all, he was normally the one cleaning up. Aside from his dad. Now he cursed himself for having been so dumb.

"Of course you know", groaned Thess, hiding his face. "But you never said something..."

"Well, where's the fun in that", grunted Nico and put the latter back under the bed. "Your mother finds it incredibly romantic that you and Luke sneak around like Romeo and Juliet. At the same time, we are also utterly disappointed that you'd feel the need to hide this from us and lie." Thess didn't say a thing for a while and Nico stood. "Well, if there's no vicious spider to be slayed, I'll be on my way then. Your mother has a craving for chocolate pudding, so I'll go and make him some chocolate pudding. You should call it a night soon, school starts again on Monday."

Thess stared after his father with wet eyes. Nico had used _the word_. Thess' heart felt heavy. Once the door closed behind his father and he could hear his father's steps leading downstairs, he rushed out of his room and headed straight to his parents' bedroom. His mother was laying on the bed, enchanted reading-glasses on as he read some fantasy book.

"Oh. Hello, honey. What's wrong?", asked Percy concerned and put his book aside.

Just as he sat up some, Thess crashed into him, arms tightly wrapped around Percy, face hiding in his mother's neck as he started sobbing and stringing together a haste apology. It only worried Percy even more. Frowning confused, Percy started to caress Thess' back soothingly.

"Hey, baby boy, sh, it's alright", whispered Percy softly. "Whatever's wrong, mommy will fix it."

After a while, Thess was calm enough to stare at Percy with large eyes. "Papà found my latter and he said you know about it and he said you're disappointed that I never just... talked about it with you and I'm sorry for lying and sneaking around and I should have been honest with you and asked you if Luke could stay over for the night, but I was embarrassed and feeling awkward about it and didn't know how to say or ask and stuff... I'm sorry I lied to you, mamma."

Percy shushed him and continued to caress his hair soothingly. "It's alright, sweetling. I think it's cute how you two were playing romantically sneaking around. And, honestly, I... I can understand that you were shy about asking. Most parents don't exactly approve of their kids' boyfriends or girlfriends staying over. But I know that Luke treats you right and that you two are being safe, so I see no problem in him spending the night here. I guess I was as awkward about it as you, huh? I mean, I never had to have that conversation before, not even with my own mom because by the time I had my first boyfriend who actually stayed over, I was living in New Rome together with Leo."

Thess hummed and cuddled up more comfortably with his mom. "You were living with uncle Leo in New Rome when you and papà got together? I thought you were in college in New Athens..."

"Well, your mamma has always been a bit jumpy", laughed Percy sheepishly. "I started college in New Rome, moved there to get a fresh start after the Giant War. And because I had a Roman boyfriend. Your dad... Your dad is my first big love, but I've had other crushes and boyfriends in my life before. I was... unstable, I guess. After the wars. That's why I was so afraid for your brother when he received this quest, because... I don't want any of you to _ever_ feel that way, to ever see any of you as lost as I felt back then... I just want all of you to be together and happy and safe."

Thess only grew more guilty at that, closing his eyes tightly. Sometimes, when his mom was being just so strong and loving and caring and wonderful, he forgot what Percy Jackson had been through before he became Percy di Angelo. It always amazed him. Sometimes, he'd really want to meet his mom and dad when they had been teenagers. They must have been amazing, even back then.

"Tell me more about your first boyfriend", prompted Thess softly, playing with his hair. "You and papà rarely talk about your time as teenagers. Camp, the wars, how our aunts and uncles used to be as teens, how _you_ used to be as teens. About your relationships before you got together."

"Well, your dad doesn't exactly _like_ that there were others before him", grinned Percy amused, eyes sparkling mischievously. "My first boyfriend's name was Mike. Ironically enough, he's now dating your dad's first boyfriend. He's a son of Venus, I first met him during the Giant War, but it's not like we had a connection or anything. We met again after the war, in Hawaii. His home, my first vacation out of New York. It was, I guess, just what we both needed. Neither of us was looking for true love or years of commitment, we just wanted to have fun, have someone to be with."

"So... when did you and papà fall in love then?", asked Thess curiously.

"Oh, I fell in love with your papà during the Titan War, back when I was still dating Annabeth because I was too afraid and insecure to come out", replied Percy casually, wrapping his arms around Thess' waist and resting his chin on his son's head. "But we only got together years later."

"Why?", asked Thess confused, tilting his head up. "Why did you wait years to get together? Why did you date this Mike before dad, even though you were already in love with dad?"

"Back when I fell for your father, I was still... I wasn't ready to be who I am. Things changed in the past thirty years, Theseus", whispered Percy softly. "Especially for homosexuals. It was a different time back then and I was afraid. When I got together with Mike, I was sure who I was, but at the same time, I was... very, very broken. The Titan War, followed right away by the Giant War, they did a number on me. On all of us. Nico and I, we both needed to heal first. Getting together then, trying to make a relationship work, would have taken too much concentration and time off from healing. I needed the time to digest what I've been through and so did your father. We got together with others, we tried and experimented to see where we stood with _ourselves_ , before we wanted to see how we stood with each other. Only when we were ready, did we become a _we_."

"So... you think Luke and I won't work out? I mean, he's my first boyfriend", asked Thess afraid.

"I'm not saying that", laughed Percy and shook his head. "Everybody is different. Your father and I had completely different circumstances. Most of all so the wars, but even with them, others dealt differently. Luke's parents, for example. Piper used to date Jason, Annabeth used to date me because she was also too afraid to admit who she was until she met Piper. When I was gone, Piper became Annabeth's pillar and helped her through one of the most difficult phases in her life. It forged their relationship and made them come out of the Giant War together. But you and Luke, you don't have to face a war, you don't have to overcome some kind of obstacle. I'm not saying you'll be together forever, but I'm saying that that's entirely up to _you_. How good a relationship works and how long it lasts depends on how much you love each other and how much work you're willing to put in."

/break\

Nico just finished up the chocolate pudding, rasping a red chili over it. When Percy wanted a pudding as a midnight snack, then Nico went and made him a pudding. Clarisse, Piper and Lou liked to make fun of him for it, calling him whipped. He didn't really understand that, to be honest.

Sure, it may seem that way to someone looking from the outside that Nico jumped whenever Percy asked him to. They just didn't see the other side of things. They didn't see that, when Nico had to pull an allnighter in the office, Percy would come and bring Nico some kind of delicious, home-cooked meal – leftovers from dinner – to remind him to eat and not just work. Percy never complained about Nico's after hours, he just accepted that sometimes, the job sucked Nico in like that. He never complained that it came without a warning, he never complained that he was left alone with all of their kids, that he had to do the household work on top of his own job, he never accused Nico of thinking his job was more important than Percy's. Percy would just smile at him softly and make his favorite food for dinner, then dropping it off at Nico's office.

So the very least Nico could do was go downstairs and make his husband a damn chocolate pudding when he wanted chocolate pudding. It had nothing to do with being whipped. It was how a healthy relationship worked. Supporting each other, loving each other, doing those little things for each other. There wasn't just one who demanded and took, while the other was just a servant. A good relationship meant giving and taking. Taking the pudding, Nico went back upstairs. Just to be hit by a pillow square in the face upon entering the bedroom. Frowning, he put the pudding down.

"Uhm... I'm sorry I took so long?", offered Nico confused.

"No. Idiot", snorted Percy, keeping his voice soft and motioning to their son who was deep asleep in his lap. "You used the forbidden word! You know exactly that I do not want to hear that word in this household and you went and used it on the one most sensible to it!"

Nico winced and made a face. Other parents didn't curse around their children, well Percy didn't mind that, but what Percy forbade in their house was the word 'disappointment'. It had confused Nico at first, but then he realized. Growing up, his mother had worked a lot and he had often been alone with his stepfather, who had called him a failure and a disappointment often enough to make the young boy believe it, until he had met Chiron and Camp Half-Blood. Nico hadn't even meant it like that, it had just been a phrase he had used. But oh well, he was not sleeping in his bed tonight. Grabbing his pillow and placing a kiss on Percy's cheek, he left their shared bedroom. He had agreed to it, after all. Not to use the forbidden word, especially not on their children.

Considering that Thess was apparently sleeping in their bed tonight, Nico decided that he didn't have to sleep on the couch. Heading to Thess' room, he flipped down on the boy's bed and crossed his arms behind his head as he stared up at the glowing stars. How that boy could sleep with those shiny things right above him, it was beyond Nico. But he liked the sentiment. Thess had put them up after Bia had joined the hunt, said that the huntress – Zoe Nightshade – would watch over them both this way, it'd be something to connect him to Bia. Sighing softly, Nico tried to relax. Well, that in itself wasn't hard. Thess' bed was heavenly. The boy only wanted the best of the best – and he deserved it too. He was a good kid. One lie didn't blemish that track record, really. And maybe Nico had been too harsh to call him out on disappointing his parents, but... it had been a great disappointment. Out of all of their children, Thess was the only one Nico had trusted to never lie to him. Donny had often lied already, mostly about not being bullied so he wouldn't worry his parents. It was still not quite trustworthy to always question whether or not Donny was telling the truth or trying not to worry his parents. Percy Junior lied _all the time_. It was actually already amusing, really. That girl didn't exactly give a damn about the truth. And Jimmy and Silly often lied about the pranks they pulled, or they lied to protect each other from getting into trouble. Okay, so Jack had never lied before either, but that was simply because that boy had no filter. He didn't stop to think whether or not a lie would save his hide or anything, he just blurted things out the way they were.

His musings on his family were interrupted by grunts and groans coming from outside. And something that worryingly enough sounded like the white wooden grid outside the window, the one where Nico's prized roses were growing on. Glaring, he turned his head toward the window to see a lanky body climb in, clinging onto the window-frame for support.

"Good evening, Lucas", greeted Nico in a monotonous voice. "If you stepped on a single rosebud on your way up, I will personally escort you to a weekend trip in the Fields of Punishment."

The boy yelped and fell out of the window, face-planting onto the parquet. Great, Nico had just polished it two days ago. Now it had Luke's face smeared all over. Rolling his eyes, Nico sat up.

"H—Hello, sir!", yelped Luke and tried to gather himself, staring up at Nico.

"Don't call me 'sir', we're not in the army", snorted Nico and rolled his eyes. "And I'd rather you _not_ climb up my rose grid again, please. We have a perfectly fine front door, you know."

"R—Right. Uhm... I... can... use it?", asked Luke curiously, ruffling his own hair embarrassed.

"You should try it sometime", stated Nico simply. "It may be much less 'romantic' than your sneaking around, but it sure is safer. If you want to see Thess, he's asleep in my bed."

"Oh. Uhm... okay", nodded Luke, looking around a little lost. "So..."

Nico snorted amused and looked toward Thess' television. "Wanna go for a round of Mario Kart?"

Luke was still staring at him a bit lost, but after a moment of contemplation – it was already thundering outside, it'd probably rain before he'd get home and if he was being honest, Fred and Mattie had gotten onto his nerves today – he nodded and grabbed the two controllers.

/break\

Percy glared at the wall as she heard the sounds of Mario Kart. "Can't Luke and Thess have sex, like normal people? Do they have to play Mario Kart at like... two in the morning?!"

"What can I say? Your brother is freaking weird", snickered Kitty next to her.

Kitty rolled over, hands on either side of Percy as she hovered above her girlfriend. A large grin was on her face when she leaned down to kiss Percy's lips softly. Kitty hummed in appreciation, she could taste herself on her girlfriend. Their breasts touched as Kitty leaned down to deepen the kiss. As always, Kitty shuddered at the contact to Percy's nipple-piercing. She reached down to cup the palm-sized breast, pinching the silver knob. It elected a soft moan from Percy, who arched her back.

"Don't be a tease", whined Percy, glaring at Kitty with those impossibly bright, green eyes.

"Aw. But you know that's what I do best", grinned Kitty and rolled off her lover to lay spread-eagled on the bed. "Though I guess you're right. Three times in a row are probably enough."

"No kidding", grunted Percy and snuggled up to her sweaty lover. "I can't even feel my legs."

Kitty grinned, more than pleased with herself as she picked up the double-dildo and the vibrator to put them back into the nightstand. They should probably also change the sheets before tomorrow, because after the second orgasm, Percy tended to squirt. Which was the main reason why Kitty never went under three rounds with her girlfriend. That and because it took a lot of effort to properly knock a di Angelo out. Resting one hand on the spot between Percy's bellybutton and the beginning of her slit, Kitty rolled onto her side, the other arm folded under her cheek.

"We should probably sleep. Tomorrow is Sunday. I don't wanna miss Nico's famous pancakes."

"Mh... yeah...", purred Percy with a dopey grin, snuggling into her pillow some more. "Night, Kit."

"Night, SP", smiled Kitty and kissed the corner of Percy's mouth. "H."

H was their code. H for heart. Heart for love. They used to leave notes in each other's notebooks with a simple 'H' and they each knew what it meant. Huh. Percy wondered if they'd do that again now that she would enter high school. Starting Monday, Sally Persephone would be a freshman at high school, which meant she'd have her classes in the same building of the Athena Academy as Kitty, which meant that even during the short breaks between classes, they could see each other. The time was never really enough to get from the middle school building to the high school building. Sure, sometimes they'd see each other in the cafeteria building at the heart of the Athena Academy complex. She also wondered if she'd still be in one class with Thess then. With that thought in mind did Percy slowly drift off to sleep, nose buried in Kitty's wild curls, inhaling her shampoo's scent.

/break\

Donny had a large smile on his lips as he still laid awake at four in the morning. Not because of nightmares. Bia had taken care of that. It was more the excitement buzzing in his head. But he was still unable to sleep and had a snoring five-years-old curled together next to him – because apparently Jack had to make sure that the bad nightmares didn't return to make his big brother suffer. It was endearing, really. Smiling, Donny caressed Jack's hair and reached for his diary. He could as well write an entry if he couldn't sleep. After all, he hadn't gotten to do it in a while.

/diary|entry\

_Hello journal, long time no see!_

_Derek called earlier, to tell me that they're back. I told you how worried I was about leaving Sam, Derek and Trend in Munich, even though I know that Sam's uncles would take good care of them. But it's still better to **know** that they're safe. He invited me to brunch with the others tomorrow – Thea, Sander, Trend, Sam, Derek, Phyl, Marshall, Sara. Huh. So many names. It's strange, still. Having so many... friends. Good strange though. So, they took Sara with them back here and she's staying with Marshall, apparently. I was a bit confused at first, I mean, I thought that she'd stay with her brother, but... Apparently, Sam got Leroy arrested yesterday. Wow. I'm totally amazed and so proud of him. I've been urging him on to do it for weeks now, I'm glad he actually found the courage to do so. He needs to put this past himself to properly move on._

_Sara needed Marshall to calm herself, because apparently she, Trend and Herc were beating up Leroy yesterday, right before the arrest. I can only picture how put out Sander will be for having missed that opportunity. But Sam wasn't a fan. Well, not a surprise. He is too good for that, he wouldn't want his friends and lovers to do something that may weight them down forever._

_Tomorrow will be our chance to properly celebrate that we finished the quest, we'll also get to celebrate that Sam took this big step and we'll get to celebrate that Derek lives. An all-around win. And I'm... just so proud to be part of it. Not just the quest, it may have started out as a quest, but... but now we're friends. I have these amazing friends now and I'm part of something bigger._

_I never really understood why my mamma was pushing me so much toward enjoying camp. I always thought that Thea and Sander were all I needed. But now I understand. I understand why mamma always talks with so much pride about his quests. It's an amazing feeling to accomplish such a thing together with friends. It forges a bond that I doubt could be made any other way. And I'm grateful._

/entry|end\

The only ones in the house who were sleeping in their proper beds that night were the little twins. Only because they were having the time of their lives in their dream. Jimmy had inherited their father's dreamwalking ability and since he disliked being apart from his twin, he normally spend his nights inside of Silly's dreams. Silly had a beautiful mind, filled with color and adventure. They were in a palace under the sea, but not the one from grandpa Poseidon. It was large and blue and decorated with diamonds and shells and Silly was a proper mermaid princess and Jimmy was a proper merboy prince. They were riding along, Silly on a dolphin and Jimmy on a shark.

"What are you thinking about, Jimmy?", asked Silly concerned as they reached the end of the rainbow (underwater, yes) and climbed off their respective animals. "You look worried."

"I'm glad Donny is back, but... he's so different", said Jimmy, frowning confused.

"Yes. He's braver. Like a real hero. And he has friends – I told him for years he needs more friends!", agreed Silly with a bright smile and sat down on a coral throne. "Come here."

Jimmy obediently sat down next to his sister and allowed her to braid his hair and decorate it with pearls. "I dunno... It's just not... It's so different, you know? I'm worried about him. He changed for good, but what if it's too much at once and now he's confused what to do? Like when he had the bad nightmares and didn't tell us and tried to deal with it on his own. Having friends and being happier isn't good enough if we can't trust him to act that way too, right?"

Silly smiled brightly and kissed his cheek. "That's really smart of you, Jimmy. You're right. But I'm sure he'll learn. He's smart too, you know? And he loves us. He'll learn."

Jimmy hummed and leaned back some, allowing her better access to braid his not so long hair into tiny braids. He reached out to pat the dolphin, who was resting his snout in Jimmy's lap. He liked Silly's dreams, because they could do and be everything they wanted in them.

"Do you think we can have blueberry pancakes tomorrow?", asked Jimmy then, curiously.

"I'm sure", giggled Silly, adding a gray pearl to Jimmy's curls.

"And do you think we can go to the park with Andy and Basty?", continued Jimmy.

"Mh... I have different plans for us tomorrow", mused Silly with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Jimmy liked that glint. She was normally a good girl and often rolled her eyes at Jimmy and Basty when they played pranks and did something mischievous. So seeing that look in her eyes meant fun.

/break\

As every Sunday, Jack was the first one to wake up. Partially because he was anticipating his papà's pancakes. But also because he had been sleeping in his big brother's bed last night, which meant that if he woke up, he would get Donny cuddles before breakfast. He frowned when he saw that his brother had his face planted on a book. Curious as he was, he took the book and looked inside.

"Donny Rodriguez?", read Jack confused. "No. That's wrong. It's Donny di Angelo. Silly Donny."

Shaking his head, he put the book aside and snuggled up to Donny, clutching his middle tightly. The older di Angelo yawned widely and laid his arms around Jack's small frame, pulling him closer. Jack liked lazy Sunday mornings. Most of the time, he would sneak into his parents' bedroom for cuddles, but sometimes he'd also go to one of his older siblings. As long as he got cuddles, he was happy. And since Donny wouldn't eat family breakfast today because he wanted to be with his friends, Jack had to get his daily dose of Donny early on so it would last him.

"You really don't like Donny Rodriguez?", asked Donny softly once he was more awake.

"You're my big brother. How are people supposed to know you're my big brother when we have different last names?", inquired Jack upset. "It's daddy's name and we all share it. Even Bia."

And that was what really drove it home. Bia would outlast them all and some day, when Donny and Sander would be gone, their children or grandchildren would still have Bia. And maybe Jack was right, di Angelo was what connected him to his family. But so did Rodriguez for Sander.

"What about Donny Rodriguez di Angelo?", suggested Donny thoughtful. "Or Sander di Angelo?"

"Yes!", exclaimed Jack excited. "We make Sander a di Angelo! Then he's part of our family too!"

Donny laughed softly. He had to have that conversation with his Sander at some point too. Were they going for double names? Each keeping their own last name? Or would Sander really want to become a di Angelo? Well, that was a conversation for a later date. Right now, he had a Jack to cuddle. Hugging the little boy some closer, he kissed the top of his head.

"I love you, Jackie. You know that, right?", whispered Donny softly.

"Of course", nodded Jack happily and leaned up to kiss Donny's cheek. "Love you too."

Donny smiled kindly at that and buried his nose in his little brother's wild hair.

/break\

Percy was always the second one awake in the house. No one beat Jackie to it, but as the mother of the family, Percy made a point of being awake before most others. Especially so his dear husband. Worming his way out of Thess' hug, Percy tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen. Nico wasn't a morning person, not at all. And with their energetic and loud children, it was hard for a not-morning-person to properly wake up, so Percy made sure to be up before Nico and get the coffee going. He himself was more of a hot chocolate kind of person – if you're not addicted to coffee, you can't miss it during pregnancies, he had come to that conclusion years ago and stopped drinking even the occasional coffee. Besides, he was always already energetic enough without the caffeine. Once the coffee machine was running, Percy started to prepare everything for Nico to make pancakes. As the pans, eggs, milk, butter, flour and tools were set, Percy started to make himself a hot chocolate.

He was feeling a bit bad for Nico for sleeping on the couch, but rules were rules. And how could they possibly expect their kids to follow rules if they themselves couldn't? When someone broke a rule, then they had to be punished in some kind of way. And Nico knew how important it was for Percy that their children didn't have to hear the words 'disappointment' or 'failure'.

He liked this ritual of his. Sitting in the silence and solitude of their kitchen, the one time their children weren't running around, screaming for attention. Just sitting there, nursing his chocolate and letting his thoughts wander. He'd look at the drawings that lined the wall, from all of their children, or he'd just stare at empty space, remembering one thing or another that had happened there, something cute their children did. The coffee machine signaled that the coffee was done.

Pouring a cup of coffee, Percy took it and made his way to the living room. He was a bit surprised to find the couch empty. When Nico hadn't slept here, where had he been? Frowning thoughtful, he remembered the sleeping teen in his own bed. With Thess there, maybe Nico had decided to hijack their son's bed? It wasn't exactly a secret that Thess had the most expensive and comfortable bed.

Jumping up the stairs, Percy went to Thess' bedroom. A large grin broke out on his face at what he saw. Nico sat at the foot of the bed, head lolled back to rest on the mattress, controller in his lap. Next to him was Luke, with his cheek planted against Nico's shoulder, both of them deep asleep in front of the still running television. They must have played half the night and then fallen asleep at some point. Putting the cup down, Percy went over to Luke and carefully gathered the blonde boy up in his arms to carry him over to the bed. The floor really wasn't a place to sleep. After tugging Luke in, Percy went back to the cup and brought it to Nico, kneeling down in front of the Italian.

"Buongiorno, amato marito", whispered Percy softly, kissing the spot below Nico's earlobe.

Nico groaned softly. Being woken up to Percy's tender voice and words of love, as well as the smell of coffee, that was the best way to wake up. Opening his eyes, he wrapped his arms around Percy's waist and pulled him down onto his lap. Percy grinned and offered the cup of coffee while adjusting himself to be more comfortable. Instead, Nico dove in to steal a kiss from his husband.

"My everything hurts", grunted Nico, rolling his head and shoulders. "And that damn kid beat me."

"You're so cute", laughed Percy and rested his forehead against Nico's. "Are you in any shape to make your famous pancakes? If not, you could go and take a nap and I take care of breakfast."

"No way", grunted Nico, sipping his coffee. "Like I want to face the sad puppy eyes of doom that Jack would aim at me if there aren't Sunday morning pancakes on the table. Not happening."

Percy laughed softly at that and got up. Time to face another day at the di Angelos'.

/break\

When Thess woke up, he knew he had the perfect opportunity. He was in his parents' bedroom and apparently both of them were already out and about to make breakfast. Which meant he was free to use their bathroom and get ready with all the time in the world – no Jack banging on the door because he had to pee, no Percy or Silly demanding to get in so they could properly pretty up, or Jimmy wanting to take a shower and clean up after he _somehow_ managed to take a mud-bath in the morning already. Just the privacy of a bathroom. When he and Luke got their own place, they so needed a private bathroom too. His cheeks turned pink when he realized what he had just been thinking. Taking a long, nice shower, he stole his mom's blue bathrobe and made his way to his room. Closing the door behind himself, he shed the robe and went to his large wardrobe.

"That's a nice sight in the morning. I wanna be greeted by that more often."

Thess' eyes widened incredibly as he froze in place, hand on his favorite blue shirt. Turning around slowly, he came face to face with a sleepy Luke. The blonde had the cute messy sleepy-hair, eyes half-lid as he grinned up at Thess. Oh. They had agreed that Luke would come over last night. He had completely forgotten about that. Yelping softly, he hastily grabbed the long-sleeved shirt and pulled it over his head, ears red. The shirt reached his mid-thighs, sleeves covering his knuckles and the collar being wide enough to just barely not slip off his shoulders, baring his collarbones.

"W—Wait. Have you spend the whole night here?", asked Thess surprised, grabbing underwear.

Luke stretched out and nodded. "Yeah. Been kicking your dad's ass at Mario Kart."

Thess blinked a couple of times before he laughed and sat down next to his boyfriend. "Good morning. So... are you coming with me downstairs for breakfast then?"

Luke hummed in agreement and pulled Thess down into a soft kiss.

/break\

Jack, Silly and Jimmy were sitting together in front of the television, watching _My Little Pony_. The three youngest always spend their Sunday mornings watching cartoons together while their parents were preparing breakfast. Though Jack was sad that he had to stop cuddling his Donny. But Donny wanted to get ready so he could go and meet his friends and Jack guessed that was okay.

"Hey, my three little rascals", greeted Percy as he stuck his head into the living room. "Breakfast is nearly ready. You wanna come? Otherwise I'll eat all the pancakes alone."

The three gasped scandalized and hastily got off the couch, running up to Percy. He laughed softly and ruffled their hair as his youngest rushed past him. Junior and Kitty were already sitting at the table, heads hanging low and noses practically dipping into the coffee mugs in their hands. Those girls were even worse than Nico without coffee. Percy smiled as his kids gathered.

"Are your mothers _ever_ complaining that you're basically never around at home?", asked Percy.

"Naw. Ma's mostly happy to have mom to herself and mom is busy enough with Basty", replied Kitty with a shrug. "Besides, they both work so much. It's not a problem, really."

"Good... morning", greeted Luke awkwardly from the doorway.

"Oh. So he decides to join us for breakfast instead of sneaking out the window?", teased Percy Junior with a large grin. "Wow. What an upgrade. I'm so proud of you, Thess."

"Shut up", muttered Thess embarrassed as he took Luke's hand.

"Sit down before the pancakes get cold", ordered Nico mildly amused. "All of you."

Luke and Thess obeyed and took their seats opposite of Percy Junior and Kitty. It was only moments later that Donny came rushing into the room. He looked around wide-eyed and locked in on the first cup of hot chocolate that he found, claiming it to be his and emptying it in one go.

"Hey!", complained Percy with a glare at his son. "That was mine, thank you very much."

"Sorry, mamma", grinned Donny sheepishly and kissed his mom's cheek. "Gotta run. Wouldn't wanna be late. We meet in half an hour and I wanted to pick Sander up on my way. Bye, family."

Percy smiled fondly as his oldest ran out of the kitchen again. This felt good, seeing his son so up and about on a Sunday. Normally, Donny would just curl together on the couch on Sundays, because Thea spend them doing homework and Sander had special training sessions with the other Sons of War. And those two used to be Donny's only friends. Now Donny had all those friends and he seemed so radiant with happiness. This was all Percy had ever wanted for his son.

"So... Who has great plans for today? Aside from the busybody who just left", asked Nico.

"I wanna spend the day with Percy", declared Silly with a bright, brilliant smile. "And Kitty!"

Percy Junior nearly choked on her coffee and stared stunned at her little sister. Silly had been pretty cold to her since the whole nearly burning the house down business. She was the best at the cold treatment, even better than any other di Angelo. So this? It made her happy and suspicious.

"Can I have Basty over then?", inquired Jimmy with a frown, wiggling his nose.

"...Yeah, Lou's kids really do spend more time here than at home", muttered Nico lowly.

"If they can have their witches, can I have my tricksters?", asked Jack with the large, begging eyes.

"...And so do the mini Stolls", added Nico and rolled his eyes.

"Let's look at it from the other side. It's never boring in our house", grinned Percy amused.

He leaned in to kiss his husband before taking the first batch of pancakes to the table. Nico smiled fondly at the thought. It was true. Their home was never silent or boring. There were always people here, laughing and talking and living. It was amazing. Remembering his past in Venice, Nico relished in having family around. Finishing the next batch of pancakes, he listened to the conversations and voices of his family. Yes, this really was the household he wanted.

/break\

Sally Persephone regretted trying to mend things with her little sister by the time she sat in the little twins' room, wearing a bright, baby-blue summer dress and having Silly finish her makeup. Silly was smiling brightly and humming happily. And Percy couldn't even make a face! Because, well, Silly was putting on Percy's mascara at the moment and Percy would rather not lose an eye.

"Stop it with the long-suffering sighs", ordered Kitty next to her, mischievous grin on her face.

"How are you okay with that? She's de-punk-ifying us!", hissed Percy with a pout.

"Well, unlike you I don't owe the little princess a debt and I'm still here. For you", pointed Kitty out, smiling softly. "Besides, as much as I love your regular dark, badass self, seeing you all dolled up like that is a real turn on too. We're so going on a date after this, babe."

"I'm not going out of the house looking like _that_!", disagreed Percy with a glare.

"Mh... but... I thought I'd have this... certain... bait...", drawled Kitty out slowly, eyes half-lid.

Percy blushed furiously as she realized what her girlfriend had in mind. Roleplaying was so not their regular thing, but she knew that look on Kitty's face. Apparently, Percy being 'dolled up' really did a number on the other punk. So she'd play princess today, to please her little sister as well as her girlfriend. At least she'd gain forgiveness from Silly and hot sex from Kitty afterward.

"You look like really totally weird, sis", commented Basty at that, frowning.

He and Jimmy were sitting on Jimmy's bed, playing cards and occasionally glancing down at their sisters. Jimmy smiled broadly. He liked that his big sister looked like a pretty princess, even though it really was weird. And even more so, he loved that Silly seemed to be happy about this.

"It's not weird. It's girly and pretty", corrected Silly and glared up at the witch-boy.

She rolled her eyes as Basty stuck his tongue out at her. Such childish behavior. It was really too bad that this boy's presence made her Jimmy so happy. Well, at least she finally got her payback on Percy. Mommy had wanted her to make good with Percy again, so this was good. She got something out of it and the fact that Percy let her do this meant it was really important to Percy that Silly would forgive her. And that in return meant a lot to Silly. That aside, it was hard to come by a girl to dress up around here since Bia had left. She occasionally borrowed Thea, or Amy whenever Silly was over at Andy's, or Lizzy when she was over visiting Thess.

/break\

Jack was really, really happy. Papà always complained about the 'mini Stolls', but he still always went to pick up Heist and Hunt for Jack. So right now, Jack was with his tricksters, building an awesome Lego ford for Poker. The bunny looked mildly confused while the three little children were building a castle around him. He kept hopping closer to Jack, sniffing his hand.

"When we have lunch break, you will come and sit with us, right?", asked Heist softly.

Jack looked up and frowned. "Of course. But only if Mattie can sit with us too."

"If he doesn't try to steal you away from us", argued Hunt, pouting. "I don't like when he does that."

Jack giggled at that and nodded. He was really looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow was the first day of school – the first day _ever_. He was going to be a first grader, starting tomorrow. Sure, he was a little scared, because Bella and Mattie would already be second graders by then and Heist and Hunt would be third graders, but it would be okay, because he'd still get to see them during recess and mommy had promised him he'd make other friends at school too. It would be awesome.

/ break\

While his family had a completely normal Sunday morning at home, Donny had an extraordinaire Sunday morning at Katie's. He had never done this before, going out with friends, laughing and casually chatting and joking with them. He was holding Sander's hand beneath the table, watching how Phyl was clinging onto Derek's arm, listening to her best friend telling her what she would have to do when tomorrow school would start again. Trend was feeding Sam bacon and running his fingers through Derek's hair occasionally. Thea was butting into the conversation between Phyl and Derek, telling Phyl that cheerleading wasn't everything and that she should join the student council. Marshall all the while was silently listening to the fast rambling of his girlfriend, who was talking to Sam with about a mile per minute – normal Sara speed, that was.

"Hey, you're so silent, my Dark Sea", whispered Sander concerned, nudging his fiance.

"It's nothing", replied Donny with fond eyes. "I'm just... enjoying the moment."

"Rather than observing, you should join us, princess!", ordered Sam with a large grin.

"You know what you should join? The cheerleading squad!", corrected Derek sternly.

Donny blushed at that and laughed softly, shaking his head. This school year would be great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely loved writing Nico in this chapter. *laughs sheepishly* So, next chapter will have the next day - the first day of school! Jack is very excited to finally be able to go to school, Thess and Percy are looking forward to becoming high school students (and being able to sneak around with their respective lovers) and Donny - well, Donny will finally have friends in his class!


	93. First Day of School

93\. First Day of School

Percy and Nico were a well-oiled machine as they prepared breakfast and lunch packets for eight people. Thess was upstairs in the bathroom and Silly was in the downstairs bathroom, with their respective twins banging on the door because they wanted to get ready too. Jack was jumping around the kitchen, setting the table while already wearing his school bag. He was very proud that mommy and daddy have gotten him a blue school bag with pegasi on it.

"Do I look good?", asked Donny as he entered the room, trying to smooth his hair down.

Percy frowned at that and put the pan with the eggs down before walking over to Donny and ruffling his hair for good measure. "There. That's better. You have such cute curls, don't smother them. I know you're trying to look extra-pretty because this year will be different, but don't try to be different. And if your pants get any tighter, you'll break a leg in them."

Donny blushed and ducked his head as he started to help Jack with setting the table. Another ten minutes later and eight labeled lunch boxes and a filled table with breakfast were set and ready for the family. One by one, the little ones came to join them. First was Thess, followed by Jimmy and Percy Junior, while Silly was the last one. Thess and Donny made themselves a tea, while Percy Junior and Nico inhaled their second cups of coffee. Jack smiled brightly as his mommy handed him a hot chocolate while taking one for himself too. Jimmy and Silly were more the orange juice kind of drinkers. There was only one thing the family agreed on when it came to breakfast – and that were Percy's famous blueberry-pancakes. Jack's happy chatter about elementary school and what he expected it to be like was filling the room. Just as they barely finished breakfast, the doorbell rang. Seeing as the kids were on a tight schedule, Percy was the first to get up and open the door. He was a little surprised when he saw who it was. Sam was grinning broadly at him, still with that spark of fanboy in his eyes as he looked at Percy. Derek stood next to him, one arm around Sam's waist, hand in the back-pocket of Sam's jeans. Trend was on Sam's other side, one arm around Sam's shoulders in a possessive way. Percy had to grin amused at that. On Derek's other side stood the pretty daughter of Persephone and on Trend's other side was Marshall.

"Good morning, children", greeted Percy curiously. "Can I... do something for you?"

"Good morning, Mister di Angelo", replied Sam, voice a little giddy. "Uh, we're here to pick the Disney Princess up for school. I mean, we normally always go and pick up San, but since you live right around the corner, we figured we should come and pick Don Don up too."

Percy laughed softly and stepped aside, motioning for the children to follow him. Silly and Jimmy had already fled the kitchen to get their packs and get ready for school, while Jack had gone to check for the fifth time if he really-really had everything he needed on his first day at school. Donny blinked curiously as he saw his former quest-mates standing awkwardly in the kitchen.

"I'll head out. I wanted to go and see Luke before classes anyway", declared Thess, grabbing his lunch box and kissing his mom's cheek. "Percy, you coming with me?"

His twin sister nodded and followed him out. Now that the table was nearly empty, the teens could sit down. Nico served them all some of the left-over pancakes and they were more than eager to dig in for a self-made second breakfast. Most of them ate a toast for breakfast, but getting home-made pancakes was something hard to deny. Sam, of course, was staring longingly at the bacon.

"Would you like some?", inquired Nico amused, cocking one eyebrow.

"Yes!", yelped Sam with sparkling eyes before blushing embarrassed. "Uh, if it's not a bother..."

"You're so cute", whispered Derek next to him and leaned in to kiss Sam's cheek.

Sam blushed brighter and glared at the son of Demeter. The glare melted off his face as Donny pushed the plate with bacon closer to Sam. Sam hummed pleased and devoured three pieces at once. Trend heaved a sigh as he accepted a cup of coffee from Nico. Donny grinned broadly as he watched his friends. This was so odd. Sometimes, Thea and her mothers would come over for breakfast on Sundays, but something like this? Having a table filled with his friends? It was new.

"So, why are you all here?", asked Donny curiously, tilting his head a bit.

"We came to pick you up, duh", huffed Sam as he gulped down his bacon. "Mh, this is really awesome, Mister di Angelo! Anyway, since I normally always pick Sander up anyway, I figured we should make it tradition to pick you up too. So, once we're done here, we'll head to Sander's."

"Though we normally eat breakfast at Sammy's", stated Derek, playing with Sam's mohawk.

"But we don't object to a second breakfast", said Trend casually. "Thank you very much, sirs."

"It's Percy and Nico", corrected Percy, raising one amused eyebrow. "If you want to come over, you need to stop calling us Mister di Angelo or sir. And you're always welcome to join. We do tend to make more than necessary. It's better to have left-overs than nagging little kids."

"Oh, princess, I brought you something", chimed Derek with a large grin.

He got a sheet of paper out of his green leather bag and laid it out in front of Donny. Donny frowned as he read it before he blushed brightly and yelped, shaking his head wildly.

"No. Fuck no. I am not signing up for cheerleading! That is just so not happening!"

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a say in this", snickered Sam with a large grin.

"You've never signed up for _any_ clubs or extracurricular activities before", stated Percy in his best concerned mom voice possible. "Nothing at all. And it would look very good on your record. You're a junior now, after all. You need to do more than just the necessary."

"Oh. We could look for something together", offered Phyl shyly. "I don't know what to do either."

"Right, it's your first day here", nodded Sam thoughtful. "Well, this is gonna be an awesome year."

"And if you don't want to be late to your first day, you should leave", advised Nico amused. "And Percy and I need to get going too. We need to bring Jimmy, Silly and Jack to school."

Sam gathered the last crisps of bacon before the boys headed out of the house.

/break\

Donny was sitting next to friends. He had never gotten to sit next to true friends. Yes, he still had Amy Cage on one of his sides and he did consider her a somewhat friend, but having Derek on his other side, who kept making snide remarks and gossiped with him, it was somehow different. On Derek's other side was Phylicia and it was so nice to have them as his friends. On a five minute break between classes did Derek got out some pamphlets to spread them out on his table.

"You two need to find clubs", declared Derek, nudging both next to him.

"I don't wanna", whined Donny and hung his head, causing Amy next to him to giggle.

"I've been bugging you to join the book club for years now", declared Amy with a grin.

"No offense, Cage, but the book club is more for you, Trend and Thea", huffed Derek and rolled his eyes. "No, for you two, I have the _perfect_ club. Aside from the obligatory cheerleading squad."

Donny wanted to protest about the cheerleading, but then he saw the pamphlet of the other club. The gardening club. He had to laugh a little at that. Well, it was probably a good fit for both him and Phyl. Donny had wanted to join it before, but then he had seen that Derek was the club president and due to their previous animosity, that had kept Donny from signing up.

"Okay. That may actually be a good idea. But not cheerleading", declared Donny with a frown.

"You know, you don't have to wear a skirt", snorted Derek and rolled his eyes. "We boys wear shorts. You may be good with your powers by now, but you lack the coordination and the bodily discipline. Cheerleading isn't just hopping around and waving pompons. It's hard work and good training. The kind of training you could use to compliment your current skills."

"...He's gonna force me to join anyway, right?", muttered Donny and made a face.

"I think so", confirmed Phyl with a small smile.

/break\

By the time lunch rolled around, Phyl, Derek and Donny went to pick up their friends so they could eat together. When they entered the seniors' classroom, Donny had to smile a little. Thea sat with Marshall and Trend, talking rather animatedly with the blonde while Marshall just nodded occasionally and Sam was playing what looked like Connect Four.

"Hello, my sweetheart", greeted Derek, right away zooming in on Sam.

The son of Ares grinned a little as Derek laid his arms around Sam's neck and placed his chin on Sam's mohawk, looking utterly content. Sam beneath him grinned happily and kissed his arm.

"Hello, Derek. So nice to see you", called Trend out, raising one unimpressed eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, love you too, blondie", said Derek dismissively, nose buried in Sam's mohawk. "But isn't our sweetheart the cutest thing ever when he's winning?"

Donny's eyes softened when he saw the slight pout on Sander's face, indicating that yes, Sander was winning. So Donny walked over to them and sat down next to Sander on the desk, leaning down to capture Sander's lips in a tender kiss to rid them of the pout. Sander hummed happily, laying his arms around his fiance's neck. Donny giggled as he was pulled down into Sander's lap.

"Hello again, mio eroe", whispered Donny against Sander's lips.

"Hello again, my Dark Sea", replied Sander with a dopey grin, stealing another kiss. "Love you."

"Are we going to eat lunch, or will they just keep smooching the whole break?", asked Thea with a dramatic sigh and gathered her things up. "Because I want to enjoy the sun while it lasts."

The others nodded in agreement and followed the girl outside. Once outside, Derek took the lead, pinkies linked with Sam and Phyl, while Trend had one arm draped over Sam's shoulders. Derek led them to the school's garden, where they all sat down together beneath an apple tree. Donny smiled as he sat down on Sander's lap, curling together against his boyfriend's chest.

"You know, Chuck is the captain of the swim team", mentioned Sam casually as he wrapped his arms around Derek's waist and pulled the son of Demeter close. "Pretty sure the team would be happy to have a legacy of Poseidon. And maybe some competitive training would do you good."

Derek hummed in agreement as he snuggled up to Sam, throwing his legs over Sam's to rest in Trend's lap. Donny frowned as he watched them. The swim team? He loved swimming, but he had always been kind of afraid to participate in an actual tournament. All that pressure. Though he had just led the most important quest in the past twenty years, so the pressure of winning a swimming competition? That was nothing. Who knew, maybe now was the time for him to actually live.

/break\

Thess loved high school. It felt so much more mature. When lunch came, he and his twins were running as fast as they could from their classroom to where they knew to find the sophomores. Luke and Kitty were already waiting for them, grins on their faces. The middle school and the high school didn't have lunch at the same time – otherwise the cafeteria would be bursting, after all – so the four of them had never gotten to spend lunch together. It was perfect timing that now that they were two couples, they would have the chance to spend time together at school.

"Woah, hey. Someone is energetic", laughed Luke as Thess collided face-first with his chest.

"I love that I get to see you more often now", declared Thess with a large grin, kissing his blonde.

"Oh. You two are freshmen now, right?", asked a very excited Latina next to them.

Percy raised one eyebrow as she got comfortable on Kitty's table, her feet on either side of Kitty and the young witch resting her arms crossed over Percy's lap, chin on top of them. Kitty turned to look at Luke with one eyebrow raised. Luke rolled his eyes with a grin while the excited Latina closed in on them. Stella Ribeiro, daughter of Aphrodite. Luke knew her well, from camp where they did share a cabin after all, and he was quite fond of her, but she was very pushy.

"Yes, we are", confirmed Thess confused while linking hands with his boyfriend.

"That. Is. _Perfect_!", exclaimed Stella excitedly, jumping up and down. "Because Der made it clear we need new recruits for the cheerleading squad now that the old captain and so many others graduated or resigned because they want to focus on their senior year. So, are you in?"

"Hades no", snorted Percy and made a ridiculed face. "Come on guys, let's go."

"...Cheerleading...?", repeated Thess slowly, frowning thoughtfully.

"Yes!", yelped Stella, eyes sparkling. "You'll love it! This afternoon at three, try outs!"

"I'll be there", nodded Thess with a grin as he stood to follow his twin.

"You will?", echoed Luke and Percy stunned, though out of different reasons.

Thess grinned teasingly at his boyfriend, causing the blonde to blush as the four left.

/break\

Donny was shifting uncomfortably in the uniform. Shorts and the sleeveless shirt with their school's logo on it. Phyl stood next to him, looking more livid than he had ever seen her. Apparently, she was truly looking forward to this. Then again, being part of a team was in a way also a means of feeling more secure, having a spot where they belonged. He understood why she wanted it, especially since all the friends she had made previous to the quest – Derek, Melissa and Stella – were cheerleaders. Grinning at the daughter of Persephone, he linked their pinkies.

"Go Philly, go Donny!", yelled someone very loudly.

Donny and Phyl turned, just to blush incredibly brightly. On the stands, among the many bystanders who gathered every year to watch the cheerleading try-outs, were their friends. Sam and Sander were holding up a rather embarrassing sign that said exactly what Sam had just yelled. Between the two proud Sons of War were Marshall, Thea and Trend sitting, though those three were more subdued and just waving with kind smiles. Donny shook his head embarrassed.

"Hey, big brother!", called someone from the other side.

Donny blinked slowly as he saw Thess jogging up to him, wearing the same embarrassing uniform as Donny was. Right, Thess and Percy were in high school now too. And apparently, Thess planned on also joining the cheerleading squad. He grinned as he hugged his younger brother.

"Okay now, time for our newbies to try out!", exclaimed Derek, clapping loudly.

He had unanimously been voted the new captain of the cheerleading squad. Some of the other members sat with him at the table, Stella and Melissa on either side of him. The Unholy Trinity of their high school were grinning broadly as they watched the newbies trying out. It was always fun to watch them making fools of themselves. There were some kids of Aphrodite, Apollo, Iris and Harmonia, who weren't half bad. A daughter of Nike and some others were making spectacular fools of themselves though. There was only one newbie who truly impressed Derek and that was Thess di Angelo. Then again, according to himself, Thess had been taking dance lessons for years. Derek was relieved that Donny and Phyl didn't do too bad themselves.

"Okay. Thanks everyone for trying out. We'll hang out a list with all new members by tomorrow, after we discussed everything among ourselves", announced Derek loudly by the end of it.

He high-fives Melissa and Stella on either side of him, both girls grinning mischievously at him as the trio watched the newbies squirming. This kind of power was so much fun for them all.

/break\

After the try outs and a shower, Donny and Phyl had gone with their friends to a park, because the Sons of War usually had their private training sessions scheduled Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays after class. By the time they reached the park, they were surprised to find a blanket spread out with various take out containers from Katie's Salad Bar, with Stella, Melissa and Derek gathered around them. Trend, Marshall, Sander and Sam were paired up and sparring already. When Donny and Phyl were heading out of the school, they had run into Thea, who had been in some student council meeting – she wanted to take on as much responsibility as possible in her senior year. Donny sighed relieved as he sat down next to Derek, bumping shoulders with him.

"What do you think you're doing there, slow pokes?", inquired Sam, raising one eyebrow. "No rest for the wicked, you slackers. Move your asses over here and join us, hop hop!"

"Don't groan. Derek with Donny, Thea with Phyl", declared Trend, adjusting Sander's stance before patting Sam on the butt in a praising manner. "And you two gooses don't need to laugh. It would do you some good to be able to defend yourselves too, you know?"

Melissa and Stella froze and stared mortified at him. "No way, Trend Austin! No! This kind of thing is dangerous! Something could happen! I could _break a nail_!"

"Way to be a stereotype, Stella", snorted Derek and rolled his eyes. "Come on, up you go."

Reluctant and displeased did the two other girls get up to walk over to Trend. The son of Athena walked around to position everyone so he and Marshall could oversee them. They trained slow, to give Stella and Melissa a chance to catch up, as well as teaching Derek, Thea, Donny and Phyl the steps. After a while, they took a break to eat the take out together and catch their breath.

/break\

By the time the sun was setting, Sander and Donny were walking home arm in arm. Their other friends were heading home themselves, though their apartment buildings were in the other direction. Both were too exhausted to talk, but that was okay. It felt content and wonderful to just lean against each other and enjoy the chill of the evening air. When they reached the Rodriguez house, Donny pulled Sander close to place a chaste kiss on his fiance's lips, causing Sander to grin in that adorably dopey way while waving him goodbye. By the time Donny reached his home, he was positively exhausted from the long day, happily smiling to himself as he opened the door.

"I'm home!", announced Donny loudly.

"My little cheerleader!", called Percy out from somewhere before he came rushing toward his oldest son, engulfing Donny in a tight hug. "Thess already told me all about today! I'm so proud of you both! And I'm especially proud of you for finally coming out of your shell."

Donny ducked his head and blushed embarrassed. Percy just smiled encouragingly at his son as he led the way to the kitchen, where the whole family was already gathered around dinner. Donny felt a bit guilty about making them wait without a warning. His siblings were loud and excited as they all tried to tell mom and dad about their first day at school. Percy got another plate out of the cabinet and motioned for Donny to sit down before serving him.

"So nice of you to join us, Hades Poseidon", drawled Nico displeased. "You do remember that you're grounded, right? So please, enlighten me where you were the past few hours."

"We had try outs for cheerleading and afterward, I met with the others – but, uh, not for fun, for training. San and the others, they meet for training in the park after school three times a week", replied Donny hastily looking guilty. "I should have asked permission first, I'm sorry."

"Training, mh?", grunted Nico with a frown. "I suppose that could be an exception. We're still adding another two weeks to your grounding for just assuming you could meet your friends."

Donny pouted a little, but he knew his dad was right. His mom smiled and ruffled his hair. Before long, Jack took over the dining table with his stories of how awesome elementary school was and what adventures he had had with his Hoods. Donny grinned as he listened curiously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will focus on something I am looking particularly forward to writing - the first time between Trend, Derek and Sam as a threesome. And it will also feature a little bit of Halloween celebration! ;)


	94. The Jock, the Nerd and the Cheerleader

94\. The Jock, the Nerd and the Cheerleader

Halloween was rolling around and when Sam and Sander approached the cheerleaders after training, they could just see the scheming oozing out of Derek. It was always disturbing and not a good sign and actually, Sander really wanted to turn around and run away again. But next to Derek sat Donny, offering Sander a blinding and happy smile. So there was no turning back. Sander practically collapsed into the open arms, kissing Donny softly and wrapping his arms around Donny's waist. After a moment of adjustment did the quarterback have his cheerleader sitting on his lap. Donny grinned happily as he snuggled up to his fiance, causing Thess, Phyl and Stella to coo and Rainbow, Mel and Derek to make gagging noises. Sam huffed and hit Derek's chest.

"Don't be mean, Der", chided Sam before leaning down to steal a kiss. "Hello, Der."

"Ah, hello, my sweetheart", grinned Derek, wrapping his arms around Sam.

He slid his hands into the back-pockets of Sam's jeans. Too bad his sweetheart wasn't wearing his uniform anymore, but he was still damp from his shower, causing his shirt to cling to his body, so that was appreciated too. Even though he had been in the middle of making incredibly important Halloween-plans. Donny had offered that they could use the dojo for a large party this year, so there was even more planning involved than when they held their little party in the park and went trick or treating through New Athens. This year, they wanted to dance, drink and make out with their respective partners, so a warm place to hold the party sounded like a brilliant idea.

"Why don't they get gagging noises?", complained Donny with a pout.

"Because Derek isn't bothered by others making mean gestures", replied Mel and shrugged.

"I for my part think that all of you are adorable!", sighed Stella with sparkling eyes.

"I second that!", agreed Thess with a large grin. "I'm really happy for you, fratellone."

Donny ducked his head and blushed as he leaned over to ruffle his little brother's hair. Joining the cheerleading squad really had been a good decision, not that he was going to admit that aloud in front of Derek. He did not need to stroke that ego any more than it was already getting stroked by Sam. But the squad had brought him more friends and it had helped greatly in deepening his relationship with Thess. It was also really good training for him.

"Ugh!", grunted Derek, catching the attention of the others as he was being thrown over Sam's shoulder. "Sweetheart, behave yourself! Put me down this instant, or you're in a world of trouble!"

"Yeah, no", snorted Sam unimpressed. "We've been back from Munich for a solid month now and I've tried being subtle and all that shit since you've been more than well-healed for a couple weeks now, but you're even shittier at picking that up than Khan. So since neither you nor Trend got work on Fridays, I took the liberty to cancel our afternoon training. Because we're gonna fuck. Now."

Derek stared stunned over at his friends, blinking in slow motion, before waving. "Uh, okay. Well, bye-bye guys, see you all on Monday. It seems I have important business to attend to."

The others just laughed as they waved the boys off. Donny was blushing incredibly as he shook his head at Sam's bluntness. Intertwining his fingers with Sander's, he tugged on his lover's hand.

"Come on, let's head home too. I'm still grounded", sighed Donny with a pout.

Sander grinned and leaned in to kiss the corner of Donny's mouth. He knew that Donny's parents would sooner or later soften and lift the punishment. After all, it had only been a month and a half since Donny had pulled his little stunt of going to Tartarus without informing Percy and Nico. They had every right to be frightened and angry, so he understood why they did it. But he also knew how much they loved Donny. They wouldn't keep this up until graduation, not really.

/break\

Derek was only half-amused at being carried to Sam's apartment, though he was greatly relieved when he was dumped on Sam's bed, right next to a waiting Trend. The blonde put his book down and raised one eyebrow as though he wanted to ask Derek 'Oh, so you finally understood it?'.

"Don't mock me, blondie", hissed Derek and hit Trend's chest.

"Why are you two still dressed?", asked Sam annoyed as he returned from closing the door.

"You could say our sweetheart is a tad agitated that you haven't tried to get into his pants in the past few weeks", drawled Trend out and sat up. "Which brings on the question; Why haven't you?"

"...I didn't want to look like I only wanted sex from him", admitted Derek and averted his eyes.

He blushed an untypically awkward shade of red, causing Trend to chuckled. Sam heaved a sigh as he pulled his shirt off his torso, laying all that very distracting bronze-skin bare. Both Trend and Derek couldn't help but stare and appreciate while Sam unbuttoned his pants.

"Don't be an idiot, Der", chided Sam with a frown. "You went and _died_ for me. I think it's pretty clear this isn't about a quick fuck, you dumbass. Now, again, why are you two still dressed?"

"I just felt as though I was... a bit pushy, when we were still in Munich", added Derek softly.

"A thing Sammy said to me before our first time; Don't over-think everything", advised Trend with an amused smile, grasping Derek's shirt by the hem. "Now, do you _want_ this?"

Derek gave Trend his very best bitch-face. "That's like the dumbest question ever, blondie."

He lifted his arms so Trend could pull his shirt off. Sam's jeans all the while hit the ground. It didn't take them long until they all were naked and sitting on the bed together. Sam was fidgeting with a bottle of honey-scented lube, now that they were so close to it, he was blushing in slight nervousness. He wanted this, very much, but it was going to be his first time with Derek and that fact did make him all nervous all over again. Trend reached out for him, squeezing his shoulder and then slowly running his hand down Sam's biceps until he could grasp his boyfriend's hand.

"Calm down, Sammy", whispered Trend softly. "Der, why don't you try kissing his nerves away?"

Derek hummed in agreement and knelt on the bed to reach out for his Sammy. He laid his arms around Sam's neck and did what they had done countless times in the past weeks. Passionately kissing, with a bit of groping. Derek's arms slid down to squeeze first Sam's biceps in delight and then rest his hands on Sam's perfectly shaped bubble-butt, pinching his cheeks.

"Der!", yelped Sam and broke the kiss to glare down at Derek.

"What?", asked Derek innocently. "It's mine now, isn't it? So I get to pinch it."

"Trend!", complained Sam with a pout, turning to the blonde. "Do something!"

Trend grinned down at the son of Ares and kissed him before also pinching Sam's ass. Sam jumped slightly and glared at them both, causing them to laugh. As their laughter calmed again, Trend grasped Derek by the neck and pulled him into a deep kiss of their own. Sam huffed a bit before he knelt down behind Derek and started to kiss along his lover's shoulders. His fingers danced down Derek's spine, while his teeth scratched over Derek's shoulders, causing the son of Demeter to shudder in delight. Derek moaned softly into his kiss with Trend, feeling the blonde's giant cock hardening and poking his thigh. He had to admit, he really had missed Trend's dick. Honestly, during their relationship, Trend's cock had been a bit too much. Not that he hadn't enjoyed it, but Derek was the kind of person who enjoyed all aspects of sex – oral, anal, topping, bottoming. With Trend, it was bottoming all the time and for a giant cock like that too. Put simple, it had been a bit dull. Though now it had been a while since Derek last got a ride on the Monstrosity and he found himself very much excited for it. He hissed when Sam bit his neck. Right. Today featured more than just the Monstrosity. A downright wicked smile spread over Derek as all of a sudden, a rush of adrenaline shot through his veins. After all these years, he was going to conquer Sam Raser today. He whirled around, back now against Trend's firm chest as he grabbed Sam's face and pulled him into a hungry kiss, lips clashing while Derek's hands wandered down, scratching Sam's back and front greedily. Sam moaned softly into the kiss and gave up to Derek as the son of Demeter pushed him onto the bed. The son of Ares was panting hard and licking his swollen lips as they parted.

"How do you want this?", asked Derek softly, only a millimeter between their lips.

"Mh...?", grunted Sam a bit dazed, blinking slowly.

Trend, who had laid back and slowly stroked his cock into hardness while watching his lovers making out, chuckled amused. He was really happy to have those two as his lovers. For so long, he had thought all he wanted and needed was Sam, even back when he had had Derek. Only after he had lost Derek and gained Sam, he started to notice that he missed Derek and actually _loved_ the arrogant, ignorant, egocentric, exhausting, bitchy son of Demeter, because he was also kind, caring, wickedly funny, beautiful, loyal and he loved with all of his heart and soul.

"We're going to have sex and I want to know how you want this, sweetheart", explained Derek with an amused little grin. "Do you prefer it on your back, on your belly, on all four, standing, kneeling, riding – feel free to interrupt me and answer me at any time, my darling. Do you want condoms or no condoms – I am clean, if that is what you prefer and according to Trend, it _is_."

"Right, yeah", nodded Sam, slowly regaining his bearings. "Uh, like this. I want to look at you. And yeah, without the condom. I mean, as long as we're both clean and neither of us has powers like Donny, there's nothing that speaks against it, right? And I want to feel you, to really feel you."

"Good. Good", whispered Derek and nodded sharply, taking the lube from the bed.

"Not to bother you, but am I supposed to do anything?", inquired Trend amused.

"Right. There was something else", nodded Derek and grinned over his shoulder. "Oh, this is gonna be perfect. You are going to fuck me while I fuck our little sweetheart here."

While explaining to Trend, Derek lubed his cock up and then handed the lube over to Trend. He braced himself on one hand next to Sam's head while his other hand sneaked between Sam's legs, curiously teasing Sam's puckered hole with his slick fingers. Sam willingly spread his legs farther and bucked up, trying to urge Derek on to enter. Derek however was waiting for Trend's first move and he was also savoring the picture of Sam, spread-out and wanton beneath him.

"How can you be so gorgeous?", whispered Derek, punctuating every word with a tender kiss.

"Shut up, asshole", huffed Sam embarrassed, laying one arm over his eyes to hide.

"And he's so kind", chuckled Trend amused, nibbling Derek's neck. "Spread your knees some, Der."

Derek obeyed and took a wider stance so Trend had better access to the brunette's entrance. Derek kept teasing Sammy until he felt Trend's fingers slip in. Trend knew him, knew how Derek liked it and how much time he needed to adjust. They had enough practice at this, after all. Enjoying the touch, Derek leaned down to kiss Sam again when he entered the son of Ares for the first time.

"So _tight_ ", moaned Derek, biting Sam's lip. "Such a good boy, hold a bit stiller for me."

Sam moaned involuntarily, glaring at Derek heatedly. This 'good boy' stuff that Derek always pulled send weird shudders down Sam's body and he hated how much he loved it. Derek added a second and third finger at once, cunningly distracting Sam. Trend all the while was up to four fingers. He watched from over Derek's shoulder how Sam fell apart under Derek's touch. It was gorgeous. Pulling out of Derek, Trend grasped the brunette's hips for a moment to squeeze them.

"Why don't you enter first while I get the condom on?", inquired the blonde.

Derek twisted his body enough to kiss Trend deeply while still fingering Sam. Yeah, he was pretty sure this was the definition of Elysium. That moment, Sam moaned especially deliciously as Derek teased his prostate, sounding like he was agreeing to Derek's thoughts.

"Ready?", whispered Trend softly, running his thumb over Derek's cheek.

"I don't think I've ever been more ready for anything", huffed Derek and turned back to Sam.

He leaned down to kiss his sweetheart lovingly, arms hooked around Sam's legs to spread them some more so he could ease his way in with better access. Sam made a cute hiccuping sound.

"What was that, sweetheart?", asked Derek amused, kissing the corner of Sam's mouth.

"Just... uh...", mumbled Sam a bit embarrassed. "You just feel so different from Khan, that's all."

"That a good or bad thing?", inquired Derek, finally inside Sam to the hilt.

"...Neither?", replied Sam cautiously. "I mean, it feels great. And so does Khan. I like both?"

"Gosh, you're so cute", groaned Derek, passionately clashing lips with Sam again.

Trend all the while took Derek's distracted state and the fact that Derek was currently taking his time to let Sammy get adjusted to the intruder as his perfect opportunity to push in. He grasped Derek's hip and very slowly entered Derek's tightness. Oh, he had missed this. It took a bit for Trend to be fully inside Derek, but once he found himself completely united with the son of Demeter, he took a moment to look over Derek's shoulder and just watch Derek and Sam kiss. Really, it would have never occurred to him just how hot those two _together_ could be.

"Okay, okay, enough with the kissing! We do the kissing all the time! Get to the fucking!"

"So bossy, my sweetheart", whispered Derek delighted, tilting his head. "Blondie, you heard him."

"So bossy", snorted Trend unimpressed and pulled out some.

He thrust back in in one sharp motion. He repeated the action, this time pulling out more than before. After three or four hits, Derek started to move with him, slowly pulling out as Trend did just to thrust back in harshly. Sam was so tight and warm and perfect around him.

"You're so tight, sweetheart, so _good_ ", groaned Derek in a praising manner, peppering Sam's face and collar with kisses. "Such a good, good boy. Come on, look at me, sweetheart. Be a good boy."

"Dún do bheal", hissed Sam embarrassed, tilting his head away from Derek. [trans: _Shut your mouth_ ]

Derek blinked slowly and turned to give Trend a quizzical look, though the blonde just shrugged. "He slips into Irish when he's in the throws of ecstasy. It's pretty adorable."

"Goitse, mhuirnin", murmured Derek a bit more firmly, one hand on Sam's cheek. [trans: _Come here, sweetheart_ ]

The mohawked boy slowly turned his head to look at Derek with a frown. "Bí grá agat dom." [trans: _Love me_ ]

"Is ea", laughed Derek, planting a tender kiss on Sam's lips. "Is tusa cuisle mo chroí." [trans: _Yes. You are the pulse of my heart_ ]

"Yeah, I'm taking language classes", huffed Trend behind Derek.

Derek laughed at that, picking up the pace of his thrusts. Trend followed his lead until the bed was squeaking between the vigorous fucking of the three boys. Sam grasped Derek's hand and placed it on his cock, giving the other brunette a look. Derek grinned in return and wrapped his fingers properly around Sam's dick, slowly moving them up and down, tracing the vein on the underside of Sam's cock, circling his head. His free hand was spread over Sam's chest, now moving along so he could twist one of Sam's nipples until he got a borderline painful whimper from his sweetheart. Derek moved his lips from Sam's lips, kissing along his neck and collarbone until he reached the unoccupied nipple, wrapping his lips around it and biting it cautiously.

"C—Cac", hissed Sam and arched his back under all the stimulation, coming all over his stomach. [trans: _S-Shit_ ]

Derek smirked, more than pleased with himself. He took a moment to just enjoy the sounds from Sam and the thrusts from Trend, because he could feel his climax building up. After a few more hits from Trend, well placed on Derek's prostate, did Derek pick up his own thrusts. They were sharper, deeper, harder, trying to get as much out of those last moments as he could before he exploded inside the son of Ares. As he came deep inside his sweetheart, he stole another deep kiss from Sam. Staying as deep inside Sam as possible, he rode out his orgasm, enjoying how Trend's thrusts accompanied him. This was definitely his favorite position when it came to sex. Getting to fuck a cutie while being fucked himself. Joy and pleasure on all accounts. While Sam was pretty much knocked out and sprawled out on the sheets, panting hard, Trend was enjoying the feeling of Derek's contracting muscles. Getting close himself, he picked up the pace once more, nearly squishing Derek between himself and Sam, not that Derek seemed to mind. The blonde growled and bit down on Derek's shoulder as he came and filled the condom. Trend slowly loosened his teeth from Derek's shoulder, wincing a bit when he saw the mark he had left, before pulling out. He rolled the condom off, tied it up and threw it into the trashcan. He collapsed on the bed, right next to Sam, and laid one arm around the son of Ares. Sam happily snuggled up to him.

"Der...?", whispered Sam softly, flushing. "Uh, could you... stay? Inside, I mean."

Derek snickered in a very wicked way and after a moment of awkward adjustment, Derek was spooning Sam from behind, arms tightly wrapped around Sam's waist and nose buried in his neck. Trend stretched some so he could have his arm around them both, with Sam's head on his chest and Derek's head on his shoulder. His other hand fished for the blanket to drape over all three.

"That was... definitely something I could do every day", mused Derek softly and yawned.

"Let's rest some before repeating though", suggested Trend, kissing the top of his head.

"I love you two", whispered Sam, laying his hand to rest on Trend's sixpack.

"We love you too", chorused Trend and Derek, both kissing whatever they could reach of Sam.

/break\

Donny was sitting on his bed, reading a book. Or staring past the book out of the window. He had wanted to invite Sander to cuddle some, but sadly dad had already been home from work and he took the whole being-grounded-thing entirely too serious. Mom wasn't as hard on him (then again, mom had suffered the 'You're not allowed to up and go to Tartarus' treatment before too).

"Yo, Disney Princess!"

Turning his head to look at the blue fountain next to his bed instead out of the window where he had been enviously watching Thess and Luke being cute on the Hollywood swing. Sam stared at him from the rainbow with a giant grin, by the look of it sitting in a bathroom. Donny blinked slowly.

"Everything alright, Sam?", asked Donny concerned, putting his book aside.

"I just had sex with Der and Trend!", blurted Sam out, the grin on his lips growing even more.

Donny had a feeling that those conversations were something he'd have to get used to. He briefly wondered if he was going to do the same once he and Sander would have sex. He blushed furiously at the mere thought of having sex with Sander, hastily shaking his head to focus on Sam.

"Yeah, you announced that after training", chuckled Donny amused, folding his legs under his calves and getting more comfortable. "So, I take it, it was good then, yeah?"

"Uhu", nodded Sam wildly. "I mean, it was the first time having sex with Der. And he's a freaking tease, but also so... uh... tender. And even though he's a total ass at times, he makes up for it by knowing exactly what he's doing, like _wow_. And Trend all the while was fucking Derek, who really seemed to enjoy himself too. And then we cuddled some and they fell asleep, but I always have problems falling asleep after sex and I wanna share, so I figured I'd give you a call."

"You're adorable when you're happy", laughed Donny, eyes sparkling.

"So... What about you?", drawled Sam out, tilting his head. "I mean, not the sex. I know you and San want to wait until after the wedding and all. But what with classes and our time-consuming boyfriends and football and cheerleading and you being grounded, we kinda don't get to talk as often as we did on the quest, which is kinda weird considering we were busy saving the world. So, how have you been doing in the past weeks? How's your mom doing, what with the pregnancy?"

"Good. He's enjoying that papà would basically carry him on his hands for the next half year", said Donny with a grin. "And I'm fine. You're right though, I'm busier than ever before. For me, it was always just... classes, Sander, Thea, family. Now I got training with Trend and you guys and the cheerleading training and squad meetings and the gardening club and I think I'm kinda befriending Stella and Melissa right now, then there are Phyl and Der who I'm spending so much time with and of course Sander. It's... I guess I still need to adjust to having so much going on in my life."

"You'll find the right balance", assured Sam with a grin. "Besides, it's good, right? Having friends to hang out with, a lover to cuddle, hobbies to enjoy. I think it does you good. You've been laughing more than I've ever seen before. And I saw a lot, thanks to Sander stalking you for years."

Donny blushed, but he still laughed. Sam was right, life right now was pretty amazing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have the Halloween chapter and I promise I'll make sure to have it up and ready by Halloween! Derek and Donny throw a magnificent party! And so do Percy and Nico ;)
> 
> On a slightly different note, if you ever wanted to know what my OCs actually look like, I've started a series of illustrations on them. You can find them on my DeviantArt profile - my name there is Takara-Phoenix


	95. Horribly Happy Halloween

95\. Horribly Happy Halloween

Donny was taking a deep breath, straightening his hair and clothes again. He had an important mission ahead of him and he wanted to look presentable. Halloween was right around the corner. Actually, today was Friday and Halloween was this Sunday. School and practice with the Sons of War had run a little late today and Donny had only arrive home just in time to take one shower before dinner. He could hear mom, dad and Thess working and laughing in the kitchen.

"Donny, Donny, Donny! Mommy says dinner is ready!", called Jack out from the hall.

"Coming. Just a second, Jackie", replied Donny and looked himself up and down in the mirror.

Okay, he could do this. He could totally do this. He had saved the seasons, overcame his social anxiety (well, for the most part. Big crowds still freaked him out and when someone new talked to him he just... froze up, but he got his new friendships going, so that was a plus) and he got himself a hot, amazing, adorable, sweet and caring boyfriend. Opening the bathroom door, he headed downstairs and to the dining room. Percy Junior and Silly were setting the table, while Jimmy and Jack were crouching on the ground, handing out treats for the family's pets. Poker the black bunny was happily munching on a carrot that Jack was offering him while Jimmy filled the bowls of Mrs. O'Leary and Small Bob. Donny offered his sisters a grin and ruffled Jimmy's hair in passing before entering the kitchen. Mom was preparing the salad, Thess was stirring the soup and dad was busy with the main dish – spaghetti quattro formaggi. When Donny entered the kitchen, Thess turned to him with a beaming smile. Unsure, Donny got the salad bowl out of the shelf.

"Mamma and papà said that I can go to Derek's party with Luke! As long as I'm home at midnight, that is. But that's okay! Derek Rhys' parties are _legendary_ and I wanted to go for ages!", exclaimed Thess, bouncing on the balls of his feet before turning a little pink. "L—Luke said we'd... uh... dress up in a couple outfit, as Arthur and Merlin. He... made the costumes himself. He's _so_ cute."

Percy raised one eyebrow as he watched his sons interact. "Thess, honey, why don't you bring the salads out? And check what everyone wants to drink, yes?"

Thess nodded obediently and left the kitchen. Nico all the while threw a quizzical look at his husband. Percy offered him a grin and started serving the soup. Donny just stood there, nervous.

"What is it you want to talk about, tesorino?", asked Nico suspiciously.

"Uh, I, ehm... I mean, since Derek and I organized the party a—and you allowed for it to take place at the dojo and I mean, all my friends are going to be there, but I know I'm still grounded and I know it's probably not gonna happen, but I wanted to ask if I could maybe, perhaps... go?"

His dad had that crease on his forehead, the one that said 'You're being a pain to deal with and I'd love to leave this up to your mother, but I know he'd make the wrong decision'. "You do _not_ deserve to go to any parties, Hades Poseidon. You've been incredibly irresponsible since your grandmother bestowed that quest upon you. And you know that Herc's and Nico's birthdays last month were exceptions because, well, it were their birthdays and we can hardly punish them by taking one of their friends away on their birthdays. I don't quite see how Halloween qualifies as such an exception. _But_ your mother has convinced me to go to New Rome for a Halloween party that Leo is throwing. Thess somehow managed to convince your mother that it's a good idea to let him and his twin attend the juniors and seniors' Halloween party out of reasons I may never know, Lou Ellen bribed her younger half-sister and current cabin head of Hecate Cabin to take Basty trick or treating and she agreed to take Jimmy and Silly with her too, while we're taking Jackie to New Rome with us, where Danny, bless her heart, wanted to go trick or treating with the little ones. Which would leave you completely unsupervised, so no one could make sure if you even _stayed_. Since we've been testing our limits with you in those past months, we'll simply allow you to go."

"Niccoló, stop it", chided Percy with a frown, elbowing his husband. "Don't make it sound like we don't trust him anymore. I mean, okay, this whole getting engaged and then getting kidnapped by the Erotes because you decide to go on a bar tour while on a quest and _then_ going to Tartarus without telling anyone... Yeah, your recent track-record is not good, young man. So, don't think this is a privilege or a reward of sorts. You got a lot to make up for on the trust front."

Donny gritted his teeth and nodded. "I know. I just... A lot happened in the past half year. A lot of unexpected stuff that I didn't know how to handle and I know I didn't always handle everything good or right, but... but both of you have been thrown into quests too, that first time, and you ended up making mistakes. I didn't do it to hurt any of them, or you. I did it because... it was the best I could do at the time. And I always... I went and told you about dating Sander and about the engagement and I came to ask for your help when I didn't know what to do. I may not have done the right thing at all times, but I did everything I could, as good as I could."

Percy smiled knowingly as he turned to look at his husband, who heaved a long-suffering sigh before ruffling Donny's hair. "I know, Donny. We both do. Most the times, you did the best you could. And then you went to Tartarus without telling anyone. And _that_ is what you're being punished for and what you will be punished for for a while longer. But you also did the best you could before that and maybe you can look at the party as a reward for the quest. _Maybe_."

Donny looked up from beneath his lashes and smiled a little at his dad. "Thank you."

"Okay, enough mush. Let's go and eat dinner", ordered Percy, patting them both on the shoulders.

/break\

"Please? Pretty-pretty please?", pleaded Derek with large, begging eyes.

"I've been telling you for two and a half weeks now: No", grunted Sam with a glare. "I am not wearing a dress. Not for Halloween, not ever. Now, any other costume ideas?"

They were in Sam's apartment, as always. Derek was pacing in front of the bed, Sam was sprawled all over Trend, with the blonde holding a book and reading while caressing Sam's mohawk. Trend looked up from his book to watch Derek in amusement. Derek just glared at him viciously.

"Don't give me that look, blondie", huffed Derek with a pout. "Urgh. This sucks. Okay, fine. Not a dress then. But we're keeping the idea. We are _so_ keeping the idea. I'll just rush over to the Beauty Pearl Boutique to get something to replace the dress, even though it'd look amazing on you, Sammy. I'll be back in half an hour, tops. Don't think you can escape me, you two."

"Sure, sure. Bye-bye, Der", chimed Sam, waving a little and grinning as he watched Derek leave the apartment. "Gosh, he's so cute when he's so frantic, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is", agreed Trend amused, kissing the top of Sam's head.

/break\

Jack was smiling brightly as he held onto his mommy's arms. Mamma and papà had offered that Lila Lovegood from Hecate Cabin would pick him and his Hoods and his Mattie up, but Jack was eager to seeing his most favorite cousin ever again as soon as possible, so he had begged until his parents had agreed to take him to New Rome, where Danny would pick him and Claire up.

"Mommy, you look pretty", chimed Jack as they approached the _Happy Dragon_.

Mommy and daddy were going to their very own Halloween party with uncle Leo and uncle Frank and auntie Hazel. But Jack guessed it was okay for mommy and daddy to spend time with their friends, because Jack was allowed to spend tonight with his friends.

"Thank you, sweetling", smiled Percy and kissed the top of Jack.

This year, Percy and Nico had let themselves be inspired by a friend of Percy's and had gone Egyptian. Both were wearing traditional Egyptian clothes and jewelry and the symbols of the gods they decided to represent. And Nico looked really adorable as Anubis with his jackal mask. Percy had found himself the perfect choice too – Wadi-wer, god of fertility and the riches of the water, who so happened to be depicted as a pregnant male. At this point, Percy's bulge was already a bit prominent, causing Nico to touch at every opportunity and marvel at it. One thing that hadn't changed over the past six pregnancies and also one thing Percy enjoyed very much. Somewhere in Boston, Carter Kane was dressed up as Zeus, the thought making Percy snicker a bit.

"Di Angelos!", exclaimed an excited Leo as he opened the door to the restaurant.

While the Latino hugged Percy, his wife went on to embrace her brother. Hazel smiled happily at Nico as she pulled her brother inside. Nico was more than willing to oblige, having looked forward to this party and to getting to spend time with his sister and his Roman best friends again, as well as some no-children time with his beloved husband. He smirked as he noticed Leo's curious look.

"And why didn't you dress up for Halloween, Jackie?", asked the Latino confused.

Now it was Jack's turn to stare at his uncle Leo in confusion. "I am! Halloween is dressing up as really great heroes, so I dressed as the very-very best hero ever! I dressed as mommy!"

And oh, did Percy puff out his chest in pride at that. Jack was wearing blue jeans and a Camp Half-Blood shirt, as well as Percy's old camp necklace, holding a plastic replica of Riptide (it had made Percy blush furiously to see that a toy store in New Athens actually sold those because of _him_ and because little children idolized him enough to want such a thing to play with) and a cute black plush pegasus that most likely was supposed to symbolize Blackjack. Now that Leo knew what Jack was dressed as, coupled with the fact that Jack had Percy's sea-green eyes, messy dark hair and sun-kissed skin-complexion, Jack really did look like a miniature version of the Percy Leo had first met.

"My, you look adorable", cooed Leo, patting Jack's head.

Percy grinned broadly, silently agreeing to that as their little group headed deeper into the restaurant, where Frank, Jason, Reyna and Octavian were already sitting. Annabeth and the other Greeks would come here together with the Argo II as the ship returned to New Rome after dropping the teenagers off to attend Donny's and Derek's party. Octavian turned to run his eyes over Percy's body in slow-motion, partially to appreciate the sight and partially to rile Nico up. It was a hobby at this point, really. Provoking the son of Hades. One of the few joys left in his life.

"You look delectable as always, Perseus", complimented Octavian lowly.

"I would enjoy skinning you alive, Simmons", warned Nico with a growl.

"And I would enjoy not being an orphan, uncle Nico", chimed Danny in as she approached them.

Percy's face brightened as he hugged her. She would forever have a special place in his heart and the hearts of them all, because she had been the very first child of their generation, the first little one their generation had gotten to spoil and watch growing up. And she had grown into such a beautiful and kind young woman, as well as a very fair and good augur.

"You look amazing, honey", complimented Percy with a smile. "Luna Lovegood, right?"

"Since I'll be trick or treating with Lila, I figured it'd be a good way to tease her. After all, those two do share a last name", grinned Danny brightly. "I'm looking forward to seeing her again. It's been an awful lot of weeks since we last saw each other face to face..."

"Danny, Danny, Danny! Can we go see the Greeks now, please? Please, please, please?"

Danny smiled kindly as she turned toward the two youngest Zhangs. Milly, a good big sister, was holding Claire's hand, as she had promised their parents she would do when they went trick or treating today. Claire stared up at Danny with the largest eyes possible, jumping up and down like the hyperactive little ball of energy she was. On Claire's other side stood her best friend Phin DeVorut, a son of Venus. On Milly's other side was her boyfriend JP Grace.

"Yes. Let's head out. Loki and the others are probably already waiting for us", agreed Danny.

"Nico spend _hours_ in our bathroom to get ready", sighed Frank and nodded. "And then she dashed off right away, babbling something about going to meet Joe beforehand to get the ship ready, like getting the ship ready with Joe is the best thing ever. I don't get that girl."

"...You're aware that our Sparky and Joe are dating, right?", asked Leo slowly.

Frank nearly fell over with his chair, staring wide-eyed at his husband. "W—What? Our baby girl? Dating? No. No, that's not right. And... Joe? But they're best friends!"

"So were we before we started dating", offered Hazel amused, turning to Danny. "Hush you go. The others should already be on board and wait for you. And don't forget having some fun yourself."

"But not too much fun, young lady!", called Octavian out, looking stern.

"Of course, dad", smiled Danny and kissed his cheek. "And same goes for you."

Octavian snorted amused and shook his head as he watched his adopted daughter leave with the little ones, Jack and Claire being the loudest as they talked at the same time yet somehow managed to hold an actual (albeit high-pitched and fast-paced) conversation.

/break\

Sam was blushing furiously as he tugged on his clothes. So he had avoided the dress, but the red hoodie was still very tight and also kind of frilly (and there was _Trenderek's_ written in silver letters over his chest). Derek next to him looked very pleased in his cute little hunter outfit – dark green just was his color, it brought out his emerald-eyes. He was holding Trend's hand behind Sam's back, herding their red riding hood along. Looking at Trend send shivers down his spine, he looked so much like he had in Munich when he had been under the curse. Golden wolf-ears on his head and a golden wolf-tail tied around his waist. Red riding hood, the huntsman and the big, bad wolf. Leave it up to Derek to turn a fairy tale naughty. Sam's blush darkened incredibly as he thought of the naughty things Derek had whispered into his ear on their way. How the big, bad wolf was going to chase little red riding hood into the bed and ravish the poor, poor little thing, until the strong huntsman would come to join them. All of that translated to Sam being very sore in the morning.

"Oh my gosh, you guys look so cute!", exclaimed the vampire lord opening the door for them.

Sam had to grin as he saw Donny's get-up. Fake fangs, a black cape to his black and dark blue nineteenth century clothes, red contacts and a... leash? Frowning curiously, Sam followed the leash with his eyes to find what was a very embarrassed werewolf. Sander had a faint blush on his cheeks, the fake, fluffy puppy-ears helping his sheepish look. Donny and Derek really were a match.

"Loving that idea", gasped Derek enviously. "I should have come up with that! Two cute werewolves to follow me around. Damn you, Disney Princess, I didn't expect that from you."

"What can I say? Puppy Sander was so adorable", shrugged Donny, not even looking sorry.

"We are really, really whipped", mumbled Sander as he looked at Sam, who just nodded wildly.

"Who else is already here?", asked Sam as he pushed to get inside.

His red hoodie was sleeveless, seeing as Derek had an obsession with Sam's arms, so he was shivering a little. Trend laid one arm around him, rubbing his upper arms softly. Donny and Sander led the way into the dojo. Derek and Donny had outdone themselves with the spooky and realistic deco. Partially so because Donny had summoned actual ghosts and zombies. Sam looked a bit bewildered as Trend handed his coat to a zombie butler, who seemed in charge of watching over the coats and bags. The largest training room of the dojo was decorated with fake spiderwebs and spiders, pumpkins, candles and garlands, there was the surround system that Chuck had put up for dance and with pillows and cushions laid out in the corners to sit and talk. The room next to it held the buffet, with pumpkin pie, pumpkin cupcakes, punch with lychees that looked like eyeballs and a gigantic bowl filled with gummy bears, as well as plates with about ten different kinds of pizza.

"This looks awesome", acknowledged Sam, ruffling Donny's and Derek's hair in a praising manner.

Derek cooed and leaned up to kiss Sam's cheek, while Donny finally got around to answer. "Chuck and Mel are already here, or they were until Mel noticed that there's no alcohol, so she took Chuck, Erik, Jonas and Victor to go and get her personal stash of wine. Stella is here and she is a gorgeous Sleeping Beauty. She's with Thea and Rainbow outside, I think."

Herc stood at the bar, together with Nico, Joe, Sara, Kara, Blance and Loki. Donny smiled happily. Uncle Leo, Nico and Joe had repaired the Argo II and the Roman teens had taken it to fly over for the Halloween party too. The smile on Donny's face widened as Sara spotted Sam and dashed over to jump him. He grunted at the impact and laid his arms around her as she laid her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She looked adorable, dressed in her black cape and witch-hat.

"Big brother!", exclaimed Sara happily. "Have you brought my Shally?"

"Marshall was nice enough to go and pick up Phyl", replied Derek amused. "Since I was busy perfecting my boyfriends – and aren't they both masterpieces – and she has a horrible sense of direction. So he's being a darling, that boyfriend of yours."

"I'll leave my werepuppy to you guys for a moment, gotta play big brother", declared Donny.

He handed the leash over to Sam, who grinned amused at the forsaken look on Sander's face. Grinning and placing a last kiss on Sander's lips before heading out to the balcony where he knew to find his younger siblings. And oh, were they adorable. Thess was a beautiful Merlin, in the blue medieval clothes, hanging off King Luke Arthur's arm. Next to them were Kitty, dressed as Morgana, and Percy, dressed as Guinevere. Thess was practically glowing, looking so happy as he laid in his boyfriend's arms and got to chat with his best friend, because Lizzy Mason had also come all the way from New Rome and she looked very beautiful dressed as the Lady of the Lake.

"Sorry to interrupt you guys", chimed Donny as he pushed in between Percy and Thess. "Just, uh, I'm responsible for you two and my friend Mel will be bringing alcohol. I can hardly control a daughter of Dionysus, but... You two are _not_ drinking, am I understood? You're fourteen, you're not allowed to drink yet and I'm already enough in papà's bad graces as it is."

"And we all know you're talking to Percy", chimed Luke amused. "Because my little Merlin here is entirely too well-behaved and virtuous to drink before he's twenty-one."

He said it teasingly, but there was a fondness in his eyes as he kissed Thess' cheek. Donny smiled softly as he looked at them. He really did approve of Luke, because Luke loved Thess the way he was – even though he wanted to wait with sex until he was more mature, even though he wasn't interested in alcohol or partying too hard. Instead of trying to change Thess, he rather adored those things and that in return made Luke a very, _very_ valued kind of boyfriend.

"Yes. We all know I'm talking about Percy", agreed Donny and turned to his little sister with the best stern expression he could muster. "I can't stop Mel from bringing alcohol and I can't stop you from drinking it, but... I will be the one held responsible when you come home drunk and I hope that you love me enough to not give dad any more reason to be disappointed in me."

Percy made a face and nodded reluctantly in agreement. That was such a cheap, low blow. But when her brother smiled at her again and kissed her cheek, she thought that maybe, no booze tonight wouldn't hurt. And when Kitty's hand wandered so far south that it could squeeze Percy's butt, she knew she would be easily entertained otherwise. And after all, this was the first high school party she and Thess had ever attended and if she misbehaved today, it would also be the last, because their parents would be grounding her until kingdom come.

/break\

Seeing as Jimmy adored his big siblings, he had decided to copy them. After all, Thess had been binge watching that really-really old BBC show _Merlin_ with him and Silly this summer. And since there was nothing more awesome than kings and dragons and knights, Jimmy was dressed as King Arthur. He was looking so awesome that even Thess had said he was tempted to keep Jimmy as his own Arthur, which made his chest swell with pride. But he already had his own Merlin waiting for him – and Basty had been totally enthusiastic about dressing up as the greatest wizard ever. With that, Silly declared that she would of course be Queen Guinevere, because she was a queen.

"Thanks for taking us, big sis Lila!", exclaimed Basty from where he held Jimmy's hand.

Silly huffed and grabbed Jimmy's free hand, glaring viciously at Basty and sticking his tongue out. Lila was the head of Hecate Cabin and she really did adore the children of Lou Ellen, she used to babysit Basty a lot over the years. With Basty Ellen came the younger di Angelo twins, as well as Andy Cage, Carry Rodriguez and Fred Chase. And apparently, Danny had agreed to Leo's begging to take Claire Zhang trick or treating, soon leading to more of her friends being handed over to Danny. She had agreed to chaperone the slightly older Romans until they'd meet up in New Athens with Lila, who in return had also agreed to take the slightly younger kids – the Hood twins, Bella la Fey and Matt Chase – until Danny would arrive. Trick or treating with the kids was a lot of fun, especially since the little ones all told her stories in their enthusiastic voices, trading candy and being happy about it. Lila adored children, she had always earned extra money with babysitting and she planned on becoming a kindergarten teacher after graduation next year, so in a way she saw this as a trial and error phase. That aside, Lila was giddy to see Danny again. Summer was always busy for the augur, especially when there was a quest going on, so Lila hadn't gotten to see her at all.

"What are you dressed as, Lila?", asked Carry Rodriguez, curious and confused.

"As the greatest witch ever, of course!", exclaimed Lila proudly. "Hermione Granger!"

"...Who now?", grunted Carry, even more confused.

"How have you _still_ not seen Harry Potter?", complained Fred Chase next to her with a pout.

"I'm not into nerd stuff and those movies are old. Like... seriously _old_ ", argued Carry.

"It's not called old, it's called classic!", disagreed Andy Cage with a frown.

"And my big sister is dressed as the greatest witch ever", added Basty, glaring a bit. "Morgana!"

"But Morgana is a villain. And great means good", argued Fred, shaking his head.

"Villainy is such an argumentative word. It's always a matter of perspective", offered Hunt.

"Urgh, stop babbling about uninteresting stuff like that!", chided his twin-brother Heist and rolled his eyes, grabbing Hunt's hand. "I wanna go and get candy and see what Jackie is dressed as!"

Matt Chase next to them rolled his eyes, never ceasing to be annoyed by the Hoods. He himself was dressed as Green Arrow, because he had already discussed this with Jack weeks ago, that they'd dress up as their favorite heroes, which would mean that Jack would dress up as Green Lantern, so they'd both be green and DC and the Hoods would _not_ be part of them and that made Matt proud.

"Mattie! Hunt! Heist!", exclaimed a very excited voice.

The self-assured grin on Matt's face slipped when he saw Jack. Okay, maybe they should have talked about the specifics. Jack wasn't dressed as a superhero, he was dressed as his mom. Jack jumped Matt, who ended up at the bottom of a puppy pile as Phin and Claire eagerly joined and the Hoods wanted to get some Jack-cuddles too. While the little ones were busy marveling at each other's costumes and talking about their trick or treat tour plans, the slightly older kids were talking and greeting each others too, JP and Milly being happy to meet up with all their Greek friends.

"Okay, that's...", started Lila before making a headcount. "...Fifteen kids. That's a lot."

"You'll have to face more than that once you're a teacher", teased another voice.

Finally, after all the eager children, Danny reached her. The blonde Roman smiled teasingly as Lila jumped her and hugged her, no less eager than Jack had been moments ago. Danny laughed amused as she laid her arms around Lila's waist and kissed the brunette witch's cheek, causing Lila to blush. They hadn't known each other for long, not compared to the legacies around here who grew up with each other since they had been in their diapers, yet the two of them were pretty much inseparable. Even though Danny had been the first child of the great heroic generation, she had grown apart from them over the years. The five years between her and the second oldest hadn't seemed large as little children, but with high school, they had grown apart, had found different friends. Even more so when Danny entered college and was swamped with real life problems instead of teenage drama. No, Danny was training to become a doctor, working to make her dad as proud as possible. Lila knew it was because she was trying to make up for their lack of a 'proper' family. She tried to be his everything, because she knew he had a hole in his heart for the love he had lost during the Titan War, a well-kept secret of Danny's seeing as she was aware that Octavian made a point of hiding his feelings from others. Lila was probably the only one Danny had confided that in.

"What do you say, kids? You wanna split up or stay together?", asked Lila cheerfully.

The children, who had all been babbling at the same time, making plans in pure excitement, now turned toward the two adults. Milly frowned, still holding Claire's hand as she had promised her mommy. Fred looked over at his little brother Matt, who seemed upset that the Hoods were yet again hogging his Jack. Surely the younger Chase could use his big brother's help here.

"No! We wanna stay together!", exclaimed Jack, looking from his Hoods, to his Mattie and his cousin Claire and his big siblings Jimmy and Silly. "I wanna go with everyone!"

"Uhu", agreed Milly, looking all serious like the tiny future Roman general she was going to be. "I promised mommy to watch Claire, because the little tinkerer always makes trouble."

"Uhu", nodded Claire in agreement, large and proud grin on her face. "Like mamá!"

"Well then...", drawled Danny out with a grin. "Let's go and get some candy!"

That earned her a cheer from every little child and a smile from Lila. The witch and the augur linked pinkies as they started herding the kids toward the next decorated house to start their hunt.

/break\

Three hours of dancing – with his Sander, with Sam and Sara, with Derek and Phyl, with his younger siblings – had Donny collapsing completely exhausted in the lap of his lover. Somehow, he was grateful that Kitty and Luke had taken over the twins' attention so Donny could flee into Sander's unsuspecting arms. The brunette blinked slowly and looked down at the lap full of cuddly vampire he now had. He smiled brightly and laid his arms around Donny's waist.

"I am _so_ exhausted", gasped Donny, resting his chin on Sander's shoulder.

"Really? I wouldn't know. I was only allowed to dance for an hour", butted Sam in.

Not that he really looked as though he minded. He was sitting square on the laps of both Trend and Derek, while talking animatedly with Sara, who sat on Marshall's lap right next to Trend, and Sander, who sat on Derek's other side. Donny grinned knowingly, exchanging a look with Derek, who looked increasingly pleased with the son of Ares on his lap.

"Where's Philly?", asked Donny as he adjusted to he could face their friends.

"Stella, the darling, went outside with her so she can get some fresh air after nearly stripping on the table earlier", replied Derek amused, raising one eyebrow. "Note to self; more drinking for Phyl."

"Who would have thought the poor girl can't handle a bit wine?", snorted Sam.

"Poor thing", sighed Donny and made a face. "Shoulda stopped Mel..."

"Donny, honey, I'm aware you're naive, but don't be _that_ naive", chided Derek, the 'honey' dripping with sarcasm. "No one can stop a child of Dionysus from bringing alcohol. And even if you can, you are aware that they can literally turn water to wine, right?"

"...So... Jesus was a son of Dionysus?", whispered Sander, a seriously thoughtful look in his eyes.

"I always assumed son of Poseidon, what with the walking on water stuff", threw Donny in.

"Guys, I'm not drunk enough to let you talk smack about Jesus", warned Sam with a glower. "He's the son of God. _The_ God, not _a_ god. The definite article."

"You're so cute when you pretend that religion is more than silly bedtime stories", cooed Derek.

The glare Sam aimed at Derek really only said one thing: Be glad I love you. Derek just grinned winningly as he leaned in to kiss the son of Ares deep enough to distract him from his thoughts. Donny huffed amused and shook his head. Being friends with Derek had turned out to be quite the interesting experience. Turning away from the others again, Donny snuggled up to Sander some more, making the brunette more than happy. Tilting his head up, he kissed Sander's jawline.

"Let's get outta here for a bit", whispered Donny softly. "It's so loud and stuffy and I wanna check on Philly to see if she's better or if she needs a lift home. You coming with me?"

Sander nodded hastily, causing his cute fluffy ears to bounce back and forth in a very adorable way. Donny grinned at that and got up, taking Sander's hand. The couple waved at their friends before heading out into the small, Japanese-style garden. The water in the pond reflected the moon in a beautiful way. Next to the pond, on a little stone-bench, sat Stella and Phyl. Phyl was leaning against Stella's shoulder, listening intently at Stella rattled off the plans for prom – they planned an early winter prom to celebrate the change of seasons between autumn and winter. Occasionally, Phyl hummed in agreement, or groaned in pain from the light stomach-ache.

"Hey there, how are you doing?", asked Donny as they approached them.

"Throwed up three times", mumbled Phyl, burying her face in Stella's shoulder.

"The poor deer", cooed Stella playfully, patting Phyl's head.

Phylicia's costume was Bambi – with beautifully done make-up, fake ears and antlers and a tail, as well as a flowery spring-dress. She looked truly adorable, though right now she looked like Bambi when he hadn't been able to get up alone with the whole forest waited and watched. Donny smiled kindly as he and Sander sat down next to the girls. He reached out and rested a hand on her forehead to check her temperature and make sure she was alright.

"Do you want to go home?", offered Sander concerned. "Me and Donny could bring you."

"No", groaned Phyl, clinging onto Stella. "I'ma stay. You stay. Is your party. You're my fri—iends. I like you. I wanna stay here, with you. Dun't wanna leave."

Donny's smile turned into one he knew from his mother. When Percy knew his children were in trouble, but he also knew it wasn't anything serious and that they'd be fine.

"How about you go and lay down in my mamma's office for a bit?", suggested Donny.

"Yeah. You could rest some, drink lots of water and then come join us again", agreed Sander.

Stella grinned as she nodded in agreement, slowly getting up. "C'mon, I'll bring you, Phyl."

"Oh, my tea", mumbled Phyl, making grabby-motions for a can that stood next to the bench. "Der made me tea earlier! For my stomach! Even though he coulda made out with Sam in that time. Is so sweet of him, right? An Stella was watching me, even though her boyfriends are here too. Is also so sweet. And now you. Aw, you're all really-really great friends. I'm so—o happy to have you."

Stella threw Donny a look that clearly said she'd take it from here. Donny nodded gratefully. Sure, he had been more than skeptical about befriending the cheerleaders at first and when Trend had tried to make the girls join training too, a kind of rift had been created. Though now that Stella and Mel had gone back to just watching and providing picnic food, things had settled. And ever since Donny had joined the cheerleaders and had befriended Derek, the transition had been easier. In a way, he felt just like Phyl. He was eternally grateful for all the friends he had gained.

"So, Derek told me something interesting", started Donny slowly as the young couple sat in silence for a little while under the silvery moon. "Something that made me wonder why you didn't tell me."

"Huh?", asked Sander confused, laying his arms around his fiance.

"You were dating Sam", replied Donny, raising both eyebrows as he stared at his Sander. "Well? How come I've never heard of this? I thought I knew about all your relationships. I mean, I knew about Stella, I knew about Derek, I even knew about all the little flings you had on the sidelines, or at least I think so. And I'm not even really asking as your boyfriend or fiance, but as your _friend_. You and me, we've been friends since we were in diapers. So... Wanna tell me about it?"

Sander started sweating, eyes wide in slight panic. This was a conversation he had been dreading for the past weeks since getting together with Donny. Though the slightly wicked and curious look on Donny's face was kind of not what Sander had expected.

"It's a kinda-sorta secret, I guess?", offered Sander nervously. "H—How does Derek even know?"

Donny lowered a look at Sander, very unimpressed. "It's _Derek_. I start feeling as though he just knows everything, really. And I also have the sneaking suspicion he just told me to try and provoke our first fight as a couple. He'd make an excellent son of Eris, really. But I'm not baited that easily. After all, I was on a date with Sam too. So, tell me your side of the story."

"It started when Sam became a hero and we went on quests together. He and me and Cally and Bia. It's just, uh, I mean, we kinda weren't really dating, actually. It was just that he, well you saw that during our quest, he gets horny after a fight. Back then, it was just us and the girls. And Cally had kind of the same problem as Sam since she's a legacy of Ares, so... we all sorta just... spend the post quest part in our respective quests. It was just... it started off with jerk-offs and then became blowjobs, but that was all it was, really. I mean, it went on for... uh... t—three years, so in the end, we decided to try out going on a—a... date. But it was just one date and we noticed we really were just... friends. Best friends. We didn't really have a romantic interest in each other."

"But you were friends with benefits for _three years_?", asked Donny a bit stunned. "Wait, wait, wait. _When_? It has been five years since Sam was dating L... since Sam had been in New Rome."

"It kinda started the summer after Sam was in New Rome and ended when he got together with Chuck last year", answered Sander and ducked his head like a puppy who had just accidentally ruined his master's best slippers. "A—And it's not like it was a constant thing. It was always just kinda... a quest-thing, you know? A—And only when neither of us was in a relationship, really."

"You are _so_ cute when you're trying to defend yourself", cooed Donny with a gigantic grin, grasping Sander's neck to pull him down into a kiss. "Please calm down. I'm not angry or anything. I mean, as I said, I was on a date with Sam too. And you two, you've been close for years. I was just a bit... confused, I guess. That you never told me about it."

"We promised to never-ever talk about the date", shrugged Sander, ducking his head some more. "And the friends-with-benefits thing, I don't know, I guess I was always a little afraid of how people would judge me, us, for it. I mean, it's kinda... not so... just sex and all... and not even _real_ sex..."

"So. Cute!", gushed Donny and giggled, kissing Sander again. "I love you so much, mio eroe."

"Love you too, my Dark Sea", replied Sander with a dopey grin.

"Yo! You two plan on being disgustingly cute out there any longer, or are you coming back in?", interrupted Nico loudly as she poked her head out to stare at them. "Sam and Sara decided it's time for karaoke and now they're singing _Let's Get Down to Business_! You're missing out on epic!"

Sander and Donny exchanged a look before getting up and following the Latina back inside, eager to go and join their friends again and participate in whatever else shenanigans they'd be up to.

/break\

Their children had a good age at the moment. All of them could be send out to be occupied otherwise, so Percy and Nico got to spend an evening together as adults. Not as mom and dad, but as husbands. Fine wine, dinner that did not include some kind of noodles but instead a delicious, bloody steak – having their oldest be a vegetarian and his younger brother eagerly copying him resulted in not too much meat in the di Angelo diet. Percy enjoyed having Nico's hands on him, he enjoyed having adult conversations with the Zhangs, the Graces, the Chases and the Masons.

"I love this", sighed Percy heavenly as he rested his cheek against Nico's chest.

"How long until your chariot turns back into a pumpkin?", asked Annabeth amused. "We have a deal with Thea. Seeing as she is still grounded technically. She's allowed to be on your son's party if she's back by nine so she can watch Matt and Fred when they get back home."

"Nine? That is an awfully early curfew", threw Reyna in, raising one eyebrow.

"Well, how are _you_ handling it?", challenged the blonde daughter of Athena with a glare.

"Thyl is not much of a party person. She and Sammy Marie are at the Zhangs' place, having a movie marathon, so when Danny drops the little ones off, our two responsible praetors will watch them and we're free to stay as long as we want", replied Reyna with a pleased grin on her face.

"Yup. Thyl and JP can stay the night at ours", confirmed Leo amused. "Milly and Sammy Marie are very happy about that. Coincidentally, that covers Milly and Claire, so we can stay too."

"I for my part want to trust Thess to be back home in time to tuck Jimmy, Silly and Jack in, but the other half of Thess is Junior and I trust her to to go on a joyride with the mayor's car and end up naked on top of the school building", stated Percy with a deadpan.

"...I'm the mayor", pointed Annabeth out, staring at her best friend expectantly.

"I'm aware", chuckled Percy knowingly. "I just know my children."

"You have seriously little faith in that girl", questioned Jason with a frown.

"She nearly let the twins burn down the house not too long ago", snorted Nico and took a sip from his beer. "The kids think we don't know, but Mrs. O'Leary told me all about it."

"And... you allowed her to go on a party?", asked Hazel slowly, looking skeptical.

"We know she'd deserve to be punished for it, but as much as we disapprove of them lying and her neglecting her duties as babysitter for her little siblings, we appreciate the... bond", replied Percy. "Our kids banded together to fix _everything_ before Nico and I got home. And since then, I do feel as though they're... closer. Thess showed real leadership qualities, apparently, and the little ones are looking up to him even more. And... I think Junior already learned her lesson. She's been more responsible since then. Not completely, she will never be like her twin brother and we're aware of that, but I think she realized that her actions affect more than just herself."

"Makes sense", agreed Leo thoughtful.

"Yeah. I'm just glad when everything works out without much effort", declared Percy with a grin.

"Don't make it sound like you don't do anything", chided Nico as he pulled Percy some closer to kiss his neck. "You're an amazing mother and your intuition when it comes to our children and what they need have certainly saved my neck a couple times. I feel so lost so often as to what to _do_ with them, but you're just... such a natural. Have been ever since Bia's birth. You're amazing, love."

"...Well, someone is aiming to get laid today", commented Jason amused.

"What can I say? With the children out all evening, our little ones will be out cold all night. Thess is responsible enough to watch over them all, so I was hopeful and booked a hotel in New Orleans."

"New Orleans?", echoed Will confused. "That would not exactly have been my first idea."

"New Orleans on Halloween? That's something you need to see", disagreed Hazel seriously.

"Which is why I booked a hotel for us too", stated Frank, looking mighty proud of himself.

He was positively beaming when both Leo and Hazel threw themselves at him. Nico grinned amused. He had suggested it to Frank, actually, but for Frank's sake, he was going to keep it to himself. The son of Hades got more comfortable, offering Percy a better opportunity to cuddle up.

"That's the plus-side of having responsible teenaged children", said Nico pleased.

"You know what also helps? Having only one child", offered Will, raising one eyebrow. "With Lizzy staying in New Athens, we have the whole house to ourselves and when we return home tonight, we can just have sex wherever we want. Remember what that's like, di Angelos?"

Percy rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Will while Nico flipped him the bird. Percy tugged on Nico's sleeve to get his attention. Once Nico's head was turned his way, Percy placed a deep, loving kiss on his husband's lips. It would only be a one night getaway, but Percy was looking forward to the colorful parade and to having sex in a fancy hotel room. Nico hummed into their kiss in appreciation, securing his hold on Percy's waist as their kiss deepened. As much as they both loved their children, it was important to take time to focus on their relationship too.

/break\

Thess was pretty darn proud of his twin-sister by the time they packed up to leave. No whining about wanting to stay, she wasn't even overly drunk and she hadn't touched the weed Erik Anderson had brought with him. They were walking together with Luke, who had decided to have some pity on his big sister. After all, she was three years older than him but had to be home two hours before him – he had been allowed to stay until eleven. But seeing as his boyfriend had to leave at ten, Luke decided to go with them. To ensure his Thess would arrive home safely and to spend some time with Thea afterward. Thess appreciated it. Both, that he was such a caring brother and that he accompanied Thess right now. Luke's arm was warm around his waist, hand firm against his lower back. Thess' one arm was around Luke and the hand on his other side was linked with Lizzy's, who had been allowed to stay over night at the di Angelos'. Walking slightly behind the three of them were Percy and Kitty, whose mother was very worried about those kind of things and had thus demanded for her to be home 'way too early' too, according to Kitty herself.

"And you're fine with leaving already?", asked Thess worried, tilting his head up to look at his boyfriend. "I mean, those two have been complaining for half the way now, but you _could_ stay."

"Could, but don't want to", replied Luke and shrugged before leaning down to kiss Thess' nose. "It's not much fun without my boyfriend or my best friend, you know?"

"Aw, I feel the love", called Kitty out from behind them, snickering.

Thess laughed softly. He understood that reasoning, he guessed. With Thess, Percy, Kitty and Lizzy leaving the party already, all of his inner circle of friends was gone. Amy hadn't shown up at all, because she wasn't a fan of parties, and Thyl and Sammy Marie hadn't left New Rome to begin with. Which was a bummer, but Thess was happy enough that his very best friend Lizzy had come here tonight to enjoy the party with them and then spend the night at Thess'. When they reached the di Angelo house, Thess and Percy kissed their respective partners goodbye and watched those two best friends heading home together. Thess, Percy and Lizzy barely had time to get out of their shoes and jackets before the doorbell rang again. Seeing as Percy had already collapsed face-first on the couch, bemoaning her loss of Kitty for the day, Thess went to open the door.

"Ah, Danny", said Thess in way of greeting, smiling at the tall blonde Roman. "Thanks for taking them with you today. I hope they weren't too much of a handful?"

"We were really-really well-behaved", declared Jimmy proudly, jumping his big brother.

Within moments, Thess found himself clomped from two sides by Jimmy and Silly. Danny smiled amused at the four di Angelos. Her and Lila had already handed most of the kids back to their parents or big siblings for the night and they were nearly done. Shifting the sleeping Jack in her arms, she stepped closer so she could hand the third di Angelo over to Thess. Being out collecting candy until ten o'clock had apparently been a bit too much for the five-years-old.

"Aw, he's so cute when he's asleep", whispered Thess fondly, cradling Jack close.

"Candy...", mumbled Jack in his sleep, snuggling up to Thess' chest. "Hoods... Moar candy..."

"No, they weren't any trouble at all. They were really well-behaved", said Danny with a fond smile. "Well, have a good night and give your mom and dad my regards when they come back."

"Yeah, you too!", replied Thess and grinned at the older girl.

He carried Jack upstairs, accompanied by the excited chatter of Silly and Jimmy who told him all about how adventurous their night of collecting candy had been and what awesome pranks Lila and Basty had come up with together with the Hoods. Cautiously placing Jack on the bed, he removed the boy's shoes, accessories and clothes, trying not to wake him. Putting on Jack's favorite pajamas, Thess placed a last kiss on Jack's forehead before tugging him in and leaving.

"Okay, okay, enough now with the chatter you two", chuckled Thess amused, ruffling Silly's and Jimmy's hair. "Go and get washed up and then go to bed. I'll check in with you in ten minutes."

"Okay, Bruderherz!", exclaimed Silly, grabbing Jimmy's hand and pulling him along.

/break\

Donny was glad that Phyl was feeling better. Out of multiple reasons. One, of course, being her well-being because she was his friend. Secondly however, there was one thing he had wanted to do for a while now. Pulling Sander along by his hand, he sneaked into his mom's office.

"What are we doing in our moms' office?", asked Sander a bit confused.

"I want to blow you. In our moms' office", declared Donny, pushing Sander onto the couch.

It was utterly adorable how large Sander's eyes were when Donny opened his pants. Grinning wickedly, Donny pulled down said pants and came to kneel between Sander's knees.

"A—Are, uh, you... s—sure?", asked Sander concerned. "What if we leave stains on the couch? If my mom or your mom know this happened, I will positively die of embarrassment!"

Donny giggled at that and ran one finger up and down Sander's shaft, causing Sander to moan softly. It was so cute when Sander got all flustered and making him flustered was so much fun. Once his fiance was half-hard, Donny easily wrapped his lips around Sander's cock, twirling his tongue around the head to make Sander whimper. This was oddly thrilling, sucking his lover off in the office of both their mothers, while their friends were basically in the next room. It didn't take Sander too long, because Donny had by now exactly figured out how to pleasure his hero. Fingers clawed helplessly into the cushion of the couch as he bucked his hips up and came down Donny's throat. The champion of Persephone hummed as he pulled away, licking his lips before getting to lick Sander's thighs and dick clean. Sander was flushed and boneless, panting hard.

"That's the kind of treat I was looking for", purred Donny delighted and climbed onto the couch.

Sander huffed and wrapped one arm around Donny's waist. "You're _horrible_. How can someone so cute and innocent be so naughty and wicked? It's really, really... going to kill me one day."

Donny snickered, large and pleased grin on his lips as he curled together against Sander.

/break\

Trend was pretty much done with the party at this point. It was around one in the morning, they had nearly emptied all the booze, most the dancing had ceased at this point and a lot of the guests had already left to get home due to their curfew – including a Donny who had been grinning like the Cheshire cat as he was carried outside by Sander. Sam was out cold, curled together on Trend's lap like a sleepy kitten, with Derek crouching next to him, cooing over how adorable he is.

"We should probably pack and get home", whispered Trend softly.

"Mh. I'll just go and say goodbye to Phyl and the others", agreed Derek and sat up, kissing Trend.

The blonde smiled amused, waving with one hand at Marshall, who sat in another corner with Sara wrapped around him like a clingy monkey. The son of Enyo nodded at him, amusement dancing in his eyes as he watched Trend gathering Sam in his arms. There were little mewls coming from Sam as he adjusted to being carried in his sleep, nose rubbing against Trend's collarbone.

"Okay. All good. Let's get that sleepy kitten home", chuckled Derek fondly, following Trend.

"Mh...? S... cold... why's it cold?", yawned Sam as they left the dojo. "Where's my Sara...?"

"Your sister is with Marshall and he will safely bring her home with him", assured Trend, kissing the top of Sam's head. "It's cold because we're on our way home, Sammy."

"Ah... kay... night...", mumbled Sam, closing his eyes and snuggling up to Trend again.

"He's the most adorable thing on this entire planet", sighed Derek happily.

"He indeed is", agreed Trend amused, eyes darting over to Derek. "He's ours. You're both mine."

"Mh. Suppose so", stated Derek, nodding slowly. "You know I don't say it too often, but I do... still also... love you. Not just our sweetheart. You're just a hard man to deal with."

"Suppose so", echoed Trend teasingly. "Though I do love you too, even though you're getting on my nerves half the time. And the other half, you spend with molesting my Sammy."

" _Our_ Sammy", corrected Derek with a glare. "Maybe I don't love you that much after all."

Trend just laughed and shook his head. Sometimes, it baffled him how much he loved that annoying little bastard. But then he saw how caring and tender Derek could be and it made Trend's heart flutter in an annoying way. As they reached the apartment building, Derek unlocked the door to Sam's apartment, where they spread their red riding hood out on the bed. Sam made a cute, displeased sound as he found himself on the empty, cold bed. Derek shed his jacket and put his hat away before crawling into the bed. He was a little lightheaded himself from the wine and the dance and he was definitely tired. Trend headed to the bathroom before joining his sleeping lovers in the bed, wrapping his arms around both of them to pull them close. Not entirely the end of the day they had planned, but it was still pretty much perfect right then and there.

/break\

Thyl Grace was stretched out on the Zhangs' way too comfortable couch, one arm folded behind her head, the other laid lazily around Sammy Marie's waist. The chocolate-skinned praetor was pressed against her side, her wild curls all over Thyl's torso. Those curls were absolutely untameable, but Thyl somehow always found them totally fascinating. She really was the splitting image of her mother Hazel. The two of them were on a horror movie binge watch and had already three down, even though at this point, Thyl couldn't even remotely tell them apart. They bored her immensely, yet the legacy of Pluto in her arms enjoyed their ridiculousness, so she endured them.

"You know, Danny is gonna drop out siblings off soon", noted Sammy Marie casually.

"Don't mention it", groaned Thyl, swatting at Sammy Marie's nose.

The dark-skinned girl laughed amused by that. This summer had been hard on them both, being the praetors of New Rome during times of a very important quest that had been given to the Greeks, yet some Romans – involving the older siblings of _both_ praetors – decided to play stowaway and interfere in how things were supposed to go. Granted, in the end it turned out that this too was part of the quest's prophecy, yet at the time being, no one had known that. Turning into an awful lot of paperwork and meetings and explanations that the two had to hand out to the senate, to the Greeks, to Lupa herself, to Chiron, to their own parents too. It had been an exhausting summer.

"I think we owe Danny some kind of... cake", mused Sammy Marie with a frown.

"I guess we do", agreed Thyl, a thoughtful look adoring her face.

She felt kind of bad how hard they had been on their augur this summer. But business was business. Even though the eight years older girl had been babysitting Thyl when she had been small. In her position as praetor however, she had to override her own personal feelings toward Danny.

"Sometimes, I hate the job", muttered Thyl and wiggled her nose.

"Liar", snickered Sammy Marie and poked her stomach. "You love being in charge. You got the combined blood of the king of gods and a goddess of war. Being a leader is like branded into your DNA. And you're doing a good job. It's just... stressful at times, I know."

"We're _both_ doing a good job", corrected Thyl, pinching Sammy Marie's side.

"Oh! Look, another really-really fake zombie!", exclaimed Sammy Marie, pointing at the screen.

Thyl snorted and rolled her eyes, making a mental note to get Danny a cake tomorrow. Something with blueberries, because she loved those. And chocolate. That would probably do.

/break\

The parade with all its color and cheer was an incredible experience to share with not just his husband, but also some of his best friends. Though seeing as Frank had carried Leo off to the hotel about half an hour ago, Percy thought it was due time to head to their own hotel by now.

"You and me, whirlpool, now", whispered Percy firmly, fingers curled into Nico's costume.

"Yes, sir", chuckled Nico eagerly, obediently following his husband.

Tonight had been perfect. Seeing the excitement in their children's eyes as they got ready for Halloween, spending a nice, adult evening with their friends, with good wine and food, then going on the Halloween parade in New Orleans with his husband and his sister. Now, ending the day in the whirlpool of a hotel, having sex with his gorgeous husband, that was going to be utterly perfect. Sleeping in a hotel room seemed rather heavenly too – no legos to accidentally step on, no left-over blue-iced doughnuts, or plush toys, or puzzle-pieces. By the time they were stumbling into their luxurious hotel room, Percy was wrapped passionately around him, kissing him deeply.

"Want you. So badly", growled Percy against Nico's lips, tugging him harshly into the room.

Nico stumbled a bit, not that Percy let that stop him. He pushed the son of Hades onto the bed, closing the door rather loudly. There was a predatory sparkle in Percy's eyes as he stared at his husband. Right. Pregnancies made Percy very horny and also very bossy at times. Times seemed to be right now. Sitting up some, Nico hastily stripped off his costume, eyes glued on Percy to watch how his costume came off too, revealing sun-kissed skin and a cute, little baby bump. It was really just a tiny bulge and not visible if one didn't know it was there – looked more like Percy had just eaten a large dinner. But Nico knew it was there. Nico knew his child was growing in there.

"You're gorgeous, Perce", whispered Nico in awe, making grabby-motions for his Sea Prince.

"Yeah, I know. You tell me often enough, Nico", snickered Percy mischievously, crawling onto the bed. "You got any lube with you? Because I am kinda impatient here."

"I noticed", snorted Nico, reaching out for his clothes again to get the lube out.

Pulling Percy into another heated kiss, he spread out a lot of lube on his fingers. Percy came to sit with his knees on either side of Nico's lap. Wrapping his arms around Percy's waist, he spread the Sea Prince's cheeks to reach for his tight, puckered hole. Percy instantly moaned hoarsely as he felt his lover caress this sensitive spot. It had been an awfully long while since the two of them had last gotten enough privacy to fuck. With school having started again after summer, being parents and working had taken over their lives yet again, the brief break of summer ending all too soon. So this was bliss, pure bliss. Percy's hormones had been demanding for a little while now.

"Okay, okay, okay, I can't wait any longer!", hissed Percy, biting Nico's earlobe hard.

"Ouch. So demanding today", chuckled Nico fondly, scratching Percy's collar with his teeth.

"Yeah. Let's roll over", ordered Percy, collapsing sideways.

Nico followed tail, rolling over to lay between Percy's eagerly spread legs. His fingers found their way back to Percy's hole, pushing three fingers in at once this time, causing Percy to hiss and buck his hips. Nico smirked, very pleased with himself as he looked down at the flushed and wanton man beneath him. Leaning down, he planted a tender and loving kiss on Percy's lips before pulling his fingers out. Percy's nails scratched down Nico's back in silent displeasure. Biting Percy's lower lip, he let his hands slip down to caress Percy's thighs and push them farther apart. He positioned himself at Percy's entrance, teasingly waiting for a moment to get a little whimper from Percy.

"There something you want, amore?", asked Nico teasingly.

"Don't be a sadistic dick today", growled Percy with an adorable pout on his lips. "I'm way too impatient to wait for your games today, Nick. Be a good husband and blow my mind."

"That's a command I'm glad to obey", whispered Nico fondly.

He pushed in slowly, closing his eyes to savor every inch of the journey. It truly had been entirely too long since he had gotten to fuck his gorgeous, wonderful, delectable husband. Leaning down again, Nico started to pepper Percy's flushed face with tender kisses. Trailing his lips down along Percy's neck, Nico started moving. His pace was slow and perfectly tuned to the way Percy liked it. He knew Percy loved it slow and Nico was better at aiming for Percy's prostate when he moved slow, even though Percy's moans were heavily distracting. His lips found Percy's right nipple, kissing and suckling softly, right hand spread out on Percy's stomach, caressing it tenderly before slipping further south to wrap around Percy's cock and massaging it in all the right ways. He enjoyed the weight and warmth of Percy's dick in his hand, enjoyed the control he had over his lover's pleasure, how he got all the perfect sounds as rewards for his touch.

"Will you come for me, amore?", asked Nico, voice low and dark as he started nibbling the other nipple. "Come on, I know you're close. Come for me, Perce."

Gasping breathlessly, Percy clawed his fingers into Nico's curls as he came hard into Nico's hand when Nico traced the vein on the underside of his dick. Blinking blearily, Percy watched in amazement how Nico licked his lips as though he had just gotten a delicious treat. Nico however was also watching in amazement how Percy was laying beneath him, completely debauched, cheeks dark red, eyes half-lid, pupils blown in lust, panting irregularly. The effect Percy had on Nico by just laying there, coupled with how incredible it felt to have Percy's canal pulse in post-orgasmic spasms was all Nico needed to come deep inside his lover. Fingers digging into Percy's waist, Nico stayed deep inside his husband until he had completely rode out his orgasm. Then he proceeded to capture Percy's lips in another kiss, conveying just how much he loved his wonderful husband.

"Happy Halloween", whispered Percy with a teasing grin, arms around Nico's neck.

"Happy indeed", agreed Nico, tilting his head. "Now, shall we move this to the whirlpool and get you all nicely cleaned up, amore? A nice, hot bath and then some cuddles in bed?"

"And tomorrow, we sleep until like longer than six?", asked Percy hopeful.

With one look at the clock, Nico nodded wildly. Gathering Percy up in his arms, Nico made his way to the bathroom, where a large whirlpool like bathtub was located in the middle of it, like an altar. Which was very welcomed by the son of Poseidon and also the main reason why Nico had booked this specific room in this specific hotel. Lowering Percy into the tub, Nico reached out for the vanilla-scented bubble-bath. They were going all-out today. He smiled amused as he watched Percy run his fingers through the steadily rising water, playing with the bubbles slowly forming.

"You think our babies are going to be fine?", asked Percy when Nico climbed into the tub.

The son of Poseidon giggled slightly was the bathtub started whirling the water, causing the bubbles to increase even faster. Nico smiled fondly, enjoying whenever his husband got all carefree. Settling behind Percy, he pulled the son of Poseidon up to rest against his chest. Percy heaved a heavenly sigh as he relaxed completely against his Ghost King.

"They're fine. We left Thess in charge", assured Nico, kissing the spot beneath Percy's ear. "Honestly, that boy could be left in charge of the White House, he'd probably achieve world peace."

"Yeah, he really is amazing", agreed Percy proudly. "That boy is going places, I tell you."

"He is", whispered Nico with a small smile. "It's his twin I worry about..."

"Junior will be fine", countered Percy. "She... She just hasn't found the right path yet, but she will be. It's... part of growing up, to find your own way in life. She will too, I know it."

"It's good you're optimistic enough for the both of us", chuckled Nico, resting both his hands on top of Percy's stomach. "And what about you, little one? You going to be as much trouble as Junior?"

"This one is going to change the world!", declared Percy determined, offering his husband a large and proud grin. "With Bia being such a strong, responsible huntress, Donny now finally being on the right path to become a great hero, Thess being the next president of the united states, how could this little one not thrive after his or her older siblings, right?"

Nico chuckled softly, nodding in agreement. He remembered being a teenager, barely being able to imagine being a responsible husband, much less a father, yet Percy's optimistic and bright nature made it so incredibly easy for Nico to believe they could do anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, you all! Next chapter will feature our heroes attending prom, so look forward to that ;)
> 
> I'm currently having an updating schedule, meaning I'm posting stuff on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Next Wednesday is "A to Z with the di Angelos" going to be updated!


	96. Pumpkin King and Snow Queen

96\. Pumpkin King and Snow Queen

Senior prom was coming up fast, not that Donny had any mind for it. Stella and Derek had basically permanently moved into Donny's room to plan prom, jabbering on and on about finding a theme.

"You could participate too, di Angelo", chided Derek after a while, glaring at him.

"You're the president of the prom committee or whatever. Not me", huffed Donny annoyed.

"Well, but don't you plan on attending Sander's senior prom?", inquired Stella confused.

"The party I want to attend with Sander this year is our _wedding_ ", replied Donny, rolling his eyes.

Derek and Stella exchanged a look before both hung over Donny's shoulder to get a look at what he was working on. They had been so preoccupied with their prom-plans, they hadn't paid too much attention to what Donny was up to, assuming it was homework or something. But the folder in front of Donny was not filled with schoolwork, but with reservations, cut-out-pictures from magazines and what looked like hand-written notes on what was yet to be done.

"Idiot", chided Derek with a glare, hitting Donny upside the head. "You should have told us. We'd be all over this helping you, if you had said something. Now, show us what you've got!"

"A wedding!", gasped Stella, nearly having heart-shaped eyes at the mere thought. "Share!"

Donny ducked his head and blushed a bit. It was still kind of hard for him to adjust to having so many friends who seemed to care about him and wanted to help him. He was used to dealing with his things on his own. Reluctantly opening the folder at the beginning, Donny started.

"Okay, so... I want to do this at the Demeter Park, where my parents got married, but... I'm not my parents, and in the end it was grandma who gave me the quest that finally pushed me into Sander's arms, so I decided on the Persephone Park. Sander? Honestly, if it'd go after him, we could get married in the living room, he just wants it to be _us_ , which is sweet, but so not helpful at all because it leaves all the planning up to me", sighed Donny and made a face. "Clothes from the _Beauty Pearl Boutique_ , I already talked with Drew Tanaka and had her take my and Sander's measures for the suits. Food from _Katie's Salad Bar_ , because even though it's not fancy, it's like our hangout and they have some of the best vegetarian food I've ever had. Jackie already demanded to be the ring bearer. Oh gods. We don't have rings yet! We still need wedding bands! I complete forgot! H—How..."

"Calm down, Donny", soothed Stella, patting his curls. "You still got time to the wedding date, right? One step at a time. You shouldn't rush this, so maybe go shopping for wedding bands after prom? During the Thanksgiving break? You'd have plenty time then, mh?"

"Y—Yeah, you're right", sighed Donny, massaging his temples. "I guess I'm just freaking out a bit. It's less than two months and Sander and I are getting married..."

"And have you decided on your bridesmaids and best men yet?", inquired Derek, raising one eyebrow. "Not that I'm trying to push _anything_ , or something like that..."

"We're actually having kind of trouble with that", admitted Donny with a frown. "I mean, Bia and Thea are mine, obviously. And I figured, I mean, if you two and Phyl and Mel would want..."

"What a _silly_ question!", exclaimed Stella, nearly hugging the air out of him. "We'd love to!"

"But what's the problem?", inquired Derek suspiciously.

"Well... Sander gets Trend, Marshall, Herc, Loki and of course Cally", replied Donny slowly. "But... then there's Sammy, who we both want. I mean, he was the first real friend aside from Thea and Sander that I made, but he and Sander have been best friends for so long that I feel like he should like... have a privilege to get Sam. And then it'd also be very even, six on either party."

"So, there's your answer then", answered Derek simply, shrugging. "You're that sweet, self-sacrificing moron, you're gonna let Sander have Sammy. Not that either of you _get_ Sammy, because he's mine. My Sammy. So don't talk like you can have him!"

"Possessive jerk", laughed Donny fondly and shook his head. "But... yeah, you're... right. It would even things out and they have been friends longer. And maybe I can borrow Sammy?"

"Right, because between me and Trend, he's not already occupied enough", snorted Derek.

"Yeah, I do feel bad for Sam", agreed Donny with a serious frown on his face, before he cracked up.

He started laughing and both Stella and Derek joined in on the laughter. The atmosphere relaxed between the three and after going through every detail Donny had, as well as setting up dates and appointments to do some food-tasting and catering-organization with Katie Cage, as well as clothes-fitting at the _Beauty Pearl Boutique_. Also, Phyl, Melissa and Derek were officially roped into doing the flower arrangements. So with every important thing so far dealt with, they got to turn their attention back onto the prom-plans, seeing as that date was way closer than the Sonny Wedding.

"Okay, back to where we started", chimed Stella and clapped her hands. "We need to finish all the decorations according to the theme and that before next week Friday, because... _prom_!"

"Yes. Uhm, what's the... theme?", asked Donny sheepishly. "I kinda must have spaced out..."

Derek gave him the best bitch-face possible and hit him upside the head. "You are _impossible_ , di Angelo. The theme is the changing of seasons, a quite fitting one considering all the trouble we've gone through, isn't it? To be more precise between autumn and winter. So we will vote the Pumpkin King and the Snow Queen. Kind of like Hans Christian Andersen meets _Nightmare Before Christmas_! And I am talking fairy tale here, not that abomination old-timer movie where Disney screwed this gorgeous fairy tale over to create a whiny Snow Queen, no, no, no. It has to be _perfect_ , not imperfect like that. Brilliance, strength, beauty! It'll be magnificent!"

Donny spotted a tiny grin as he watched Derek gesture wildly. Somehow, a passionate Derek was quite contagious. It explained why Derek had so many followed in the school, why he was always the head of committees or clubs, because he easily got people to follow him.

"So, here's the paper. Start cutting out snowflakes", ordered Stella with a bright smile.

Next to her was a heap of paper nearly as high as Donny and suddenly, he felt far less motivated. But he had been roped into helping out with the senior prom, mom pushing him and telling him it'd look good as extra-credits to do such a thing. And then there was Sander, who had looked all happy-puppy when he had heard that Donny would be involved in the prom and that he'd go with Sander, because going to prom with Donny had probably been Sander's number one dream since he had entered high school. And if there was one thing Donny couldn't deny, it was Sander's puppy-eyes.

/break\

"You look so handsome, sweetie", cooed Percy, taking a hundred pictures of Donny.

"Mamma, I'm going blind if you continue like that", complained Donny embarrassed.

He was wearing a black-white pine-stripe suit and make-up much like Jack Skeleton. After all, the theme was autumn and winter, Pumpkin King and Snow Queen, so he simply had to chose that costume. Papà looked immensely proud as he stood next to mamma, arms crossed over his chest.

"Uhm... Can... Can I have my Donny, please?", requested Sander from next to Nico.

"You can see that my husband isn't done yet, can't you?", chided Nico unimpressed.

"Right. Yes", nodded Sander hastily, feeling kind of awkward with Nico since he got engaged to Donny. "Uh, sorry. I just... I mean, we're kind of running late. And, I guess, I just..."

"Oh, stop being so flustered, Chrysander", snorted Nico and nudged the boy. "Man up some, like your mom. She'd be so embarrassed if she saw you stuttering around like that."

"You're right", sighed Sander and stared at the floor like a kicked puppy. "It's just... really hard, you know? I just want everything to be totally perfect for Donny and sometimes, I don't know how..."

Nico's eyes softened and were nearly automatically drawn to the smiling face of Percy. "Yeah, I know that feeling. Sometimes, the world seems to work against you. And even the best planning can backfire, but... when he truly loves you, he will still deem it perfect, even if it's a disaster."

Somehow, Sander felt encouraged by those words and had to smile as he looked at his fiance.

/break\

Donny was smiling brightly as he stared at his handsome fiance. Sander was wearing a white suit, with a light blue dress-shirt and a beautiful snowflake-pattern make-up thanks to one overly eager Stella Ribeiro. Sander returned his smile as he hooked their arms.

"There you are! I have been impatiently waiting for you two to show up! You can't just run late!"

Donny and Sander turned and instantly ducked their heads at the chiding voice of Derek. When they turned, they had to grin a little. Sam was definitely their autumn, with his red-orange-yellow theme, the silk fall leaves that decorated his red hoodie and dress-pants and the carnival make-up made of red, orange and yellow tiny leaves. He looked gorgeous. Trend flanking him wore a white-silver pine-stripe suit and had quite the similar make-up as Sander, so it most likely also came from Stella.

"What... are you supposed to be, Der?", asked Sander a bit confused.

"The lord of seasons, quite obviously", huffed Derek undignified.

He had one hand slipped in the back pocket of Sam's pants, the other in Trend's back-pocket. His suit had a perfect blend from orange fading out to white, leaves that turned to snowflakes. It was very extravagant and fancy, but it fit Derek perfectly, considering his season was summer.

"Right", chuckled Donny amused. "And you look great. All three of you. Now let's get inside."

Inside, everything was already buzzing with people and chatter. Cotton balls were all over the floor, mimicking snow, brown silk twirled together in thick strands hanging from the ceiling every now and again, decorated with colorful, beautiful silk-leaves to symbolize autumn trees. It was amazing. Stella and Jonas were twirling over the dance floor, with Victor watching from the sidelines, a fond eye on his two lovers while he was talking to Chuck and Melissa.

"Stella rocks the white dress", whispered Donny impressed, watching how the hundreds of crystal-shards decorating her long, sleeveless dress sparkled in the faint light. "She looks amazing."

"Go and tell her, she's a daughter of Aphrodite, she's gonna love that", chuckled Derek.

"Dance. With me, please. Now", requested Sander and grasped Donny's hands.

Donny laughed amused and laid his arms around Sander's neck just as a new song started playing. Donny wouldn't exactly call it 'their' song, but _Can You Feel the Love Tonight_ was basically the first song they had sung as a duet. Back when they were little and Percy was babysitting the Rodriguezes and Donny, Sander, Bia and Cally had been watching _The Lion King_ together.

"This is really cheesy, how did it end up on tonight's playlist?", whispered Donny amused.

"I may or may not have used my 'unbeatable puppy-eyes' on Derek", replied Sander innocently.

Donny giggled and kissed Sander. "You're so sweet. Do you think we could... I mean, for our first dance on our wedding, this is probably not the best choice, right? But..."

"Anything you want is perfect, even if it's the theme-song of _Sailor Moon_ ", disagreed Sander.

"I told you before, I only watched it before Silly loves it!", defended Donny with a blush.

Sander grinned knowingly, chuckling softly. The two own white suit, was dancing slowly with Sara, wearing an autumn-themed dress that went really well with her orange hair. The dark-skinned boy looked incredibly happy that Sara could make it to his senior prom. The two really were an adorable couple and Donny enjoyed just watching them, how Sara chattered away and Marshall stared at her in utter adoration. Grinning into Sander's shoulder, Donny kept watching.

"You know, Melissa is spiking the punch", pointed Sander out.

"Did anyone expect anything else from her?", snorted Donny amused.

/break\

About an hour later, Donny found himself a tiny bit tipsy, sitting on Sander's lap. He was just tipsy enough to make him giggle as Derek was giving Trend a lap-dance. If he was totally sober, he would probably be blushing and trying to pretend he didn't know the other two.

"Aren't you feeling left out, Sam?", asked Sander while patting Donny's curls.

"I dunno about you, but from my perspective, that show is amazing", grunted Sam, looking at Sander ridiculed before turning back to Trend and Derek. "I enjoy where I am, really."

Sander laughed softly and shook his head before munching on his cupcake with the white topping where little sugar snowflakes were sprinkled upon. Donny nuzzled Sander's neck, nibbling right above the collar to leave a nice, big hickey. He did enjoy marking Sander as his, showing everyone that yes, this incredible and amazing hero was _his_. Sander started shifting nervously.

"Don?", whispered Sander reluctantly. "Can... Can you _not_? Because I start getting a... problem."

"Problem?", echoed Donny confused and looked up, tilting his head. "What problem?"

With a stunned and confused look on his own face, Sander motioned to his crotch. "A... problem."

"I still don't know where you see a problem in this", grunted Donny with a frown. "This is kind of the goal of all of this, so... Where's the problem in it?"

"You... You always act so innocent, but _nothing_ about you is innocent! At all!", whined Sander.

He was beet-red as he tried to hide his face in Donny's curl. Sam snorted and rolled his eyes as he watched his two friends. They were such dorks. Shaking his head, he turned back to his lovers.

"Stop being a voyeur and come here", growled Derek darkly, grasping Sam's neck.

The son of Ares yelped slightly as he was pulled into a bruising kiss. Relaxing into the kiss, Sam moaned softly as Derek nibbled possessively on his lower lip.

/break\

"Attention, attention!", called Stella out, clapping loudly. "I wanna announce our Pumpkin King and our Snow Queen! Please, if you'd cease the making-out and dancing for a moment!"

Sam, sitting half on Trend's and half on Derek's lap, snorted amused. "A daughter of Aphrodite who wants for others to 'cease the making-out'? That must be a first."

"Shush!", chided Donny and hit Sam upside the head.

The mohawked boy grinned and stuck his tongue out before hiding in Derek's arms a bit. "De—er! The evil, mean Disney Princess is hitting me! Sa—ave me!"

Raising one unimpressed eyebrow, Derek instead just kissed his cheeky boyfriend, causing Sam to laugh into their kiss. Trend ran one hand over Sam's back to cup his ass and push him a bit closer so he could kiss Sam's by now bare shoulder – his dress-shirt was already half-way unbuttoned and if Stella hadn't threatened them with humiliating charmspeak pranks if they'd leave early, they would already be either back at Sam's to thoroughly ravish the son of Ares, or at the very least in the janitor's closet. As things were, they'd be in said closet in about ten minutes, because Trend was not going to last much longer with all the teasing both his boyfriends did today.

"Hurry up, bella-Stella! I wanna get laid!", called Sam out loudly, not the least bit ashamed.

Even Donny blushed at Sam's behalf at that, but most others in the gym seemed to either laugh amused, or agree with the son of Ares. Stella huffed and straightened her back, glaring at Sam from the stage she was standing on. Clearing her throat, she lifted the golden envelope up.

"As I was saying...", started Stella undignified. "Our Snow Queen, well I suppose due to the hijacking of the theme, our Snow King, and thus king of the graduation class of 2033 i—is..." She made a very unnecessary dramatic pause here. "Really no surprises there, Chrysander Rodriguez! Everybody's favorite puppy! Come on the stage, Sander!"

The cute thing was that Sander actually looked surprised. Donny smiled and kissed his boyfriend softly. It was one of the things he loved most about Sander. This big hero, who had defended camp for years now, who mastered quested, who helped young demigods out, who was always there to support the younger kids at Ares and Hermes cabin like a mentor, who always had a kind smile for everyone – he didn't even realize just how much everyone loved him for it. Because he didn't do any of those things for fame, he did it because it was the right thing to do and he was a good guy.

"And to accompany our Snow King, we have a... huh. Also a king. Did we not have enough gorgeous girls here, or what?", asked Stella and motioned to herself, both eyebrows raised in a scolding manner. "Well, anyway, the Pumpkin King of our graduation class of 2033 is Sam Raser!"

Sam ducked his head to hide the blush and the small smile as he climbed off of his boyfriends. Everyone cheered as Sam and Sander received their crowns. Donny smiled proudly at the two. Sure, he would have loved to be the queen to Sander's king and have the royal dance and all, but it wasn't his graduation. He was only a junior, he still had next year. It was however Sander's and Sam's final year – and the two of them were undoubtedly the most cherished heroes camp had.

"I feel jealous", grunted Derek with a fierce glare aimed at Sander.

"We're the ones taking our Pumpkin King home", offered Trend, one arm around Derek's waist.

"Mh... true that...", sighed Derek with a frown. "Can we spank him though? I mean, we can't spank Sander, so that would be the best substitute to make up for the upsetting feeling I'm having."

"Of course we can", chuckled Trend amused.

Donny just rolled his eyes at them both and continued clapping and cheering for Sam and Sander.

/break\

Donny was mildly embarrassed as he saw how half-dressed Sam and Derek were as Trend ushered them both out of the janitor's closet. Only mildly though, because he had seen Jonas stripping on the table top, with Stella putting dollar-bills into his pants and Victor trying to pick his boyfriend off the table and carry him away. It was already late and Donny's buzz was already fading a bit, so it was the perfect moment to go home, get a good-night kiss from his Snow King and dream about dancing with Sander all night. He had done so half the night and his feet ached.

"Say, what... do you want to do after graduation?", asked Donny as the five friends were on their way. "I just realized, I never asked if you have... plans, for how your life is supposed to be."

Marshall had already left to return Sara home to New Rome, Phyl had told them she'd be leaving with Stella later. Sam, who was catching a piggy-bag-ride on Trend's back, hummed softly.

"I'll work hard and become a kick-ass lawyer and then I'm going to be the best damn agent the DPS has ever seen. After your dad, of course", yawned Sam, nose buried in Trend's neck.

Donny chuckled softly, leaning against his fiance's shoulder. Sander had one arm around his shoulder, while Derek was walking on Donny's other side, adjusting Sam's crown as it was sitting on his head after having been stolen from Sam. Trend was a bit behind them, with his heavy charge.

"I'll apply to the Athena Academy University and train to become a surgeon", replied Trend. "I know it's rather uncommon for a child of none of the health-gods to become a god, but..."

"I can totally see that", said Donny with a small grin. "You'd be a great doctor."

"And a hot doctor at that", added Derek leisurely, eying Trend with hungry eyes. "A doctor and a lawyer. Lucky me, huh? Ah, even though I still have over a year left, I know what I will be doing too, di Angelo. Mel is going to work at a flower shop in Florida, with her aunt, so she'll have some experience by the time I graduate. We want to open up our own flower shop. I already asked Phyl if she'd be interested in joining us. What do you say, di Angelo? That something for you too?"

Donny smiled, but shook his head. "I... don't know what I want to do with my life just yet, but I still have a year to figure it out. And I will. Somehow. I dunno, we'll see."

The others chuckled at that as the five continued their way through the dark night, enjoying the fresh air and chill. It was a beautiful night and the excitement of prom still buzzed in all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Sander and Donny will go ring-shopping! And Trend has a biiig surprise for Sammy. There will be tears and there will be cursing and there will be smut! ;)
> 
> Next update will be the final chapter of "House of Love" on Saturday!


	97. The Forced Engagement

97\. The Forced Engagement

The deadline was practically blinking over their heads. One month to go and Sander would become Mister Chrysander di Angelo. Not that it was all too much of a surprise that Sander had agreed to taking his future husband's name, because no one could deny those impossibly large, sea-green eyes of one Donny di Angelo. Said large, sea-green eyes were the reason why Sam found himself in a jewelry store one month before the wedding. As much as Donny adored his engagement ring (Sam highly suspected that Donny had a shrine made for it and was repeatedly reenacting scenes from _Lord of the Rings_ with it), he still wanted wedding rings, matching wedding rings. Which was why Donny, Sander, Sam, Trend, Marshall and Thea were right now looking at wedding rings. Though Trend and Marshall were more or less just there to be Sander's company while Thea and Sam looked at rings with Donny. Well, Thea and Donny were looking at rings, Sam was more or less scanning the rings with boredom prominent in his eyes. More or less. The wedding rings were _boring_ for him, but there were some relatively pretty engagement rings.

"Sam! What do you think of those?", asked Donny, pointing at two simple silver bands.

"Boring", answered Sam honestly.

"Samuel!", gasped Thea with a glare and hit his upper arm.

"What?", shrugged the son of Ares bored. "They're so... plain. They're nothing like _you_. Or your relationship. They should be special, just like your engagement ring. Just like you."

"Aw, you are so sweet", cooed Donny and leaned over to kiss Sam's cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, now keep looking at rings", grunted Sam embarrassed and shoved Donny off.

"Sander", called Donny, still leaning against Sam though. "Come here. Sam said we should use something more... us. Come and help me decide on that instead of discussing last night's game with Marshall and Trend. You're such little gossipy girls when it comes to sport, really."

While Thea and Sam were on either side of Donny, Sander came up right behind his fiance. Wrapping his arms around the slender waist, Sander rested his head obediently on Donny's shoulder, nuzzling the smaller teen's neck while looking at him curiously. With a tender smile on his lips did Donny lean back against his lover, heaving a relieved and content sigh. Most likely, Sam suspected, because of the warm coat Sander was wearing and now effectively wrapping around his lover too. It was miserably cold outside and they were all still in cozy, fuzzy coats. A rather amused Marshall came to stand beside Thea, more out of companionship than real interest.

"What are you staring at, Sammy?", whispered Trend curiously into Sam's ear.

The son of Ares shuddered slightly as his lover's breath tickled his neck, trying to mask the shudder, he shrugged his shoulders. Mirroring Donny and Sander, Trend wrapped his arms around Sam's waist, pulling the brunette up against his chest. Storm-gray eyes followed forest-green ones.

"You like it?", asked the son of Athena, nodding into the general direction of one of the rings.

"It looks nice enough. For a girly ring", shrugged Sam, feigning boredom and disinterest.

It was a thin silver band with three pointy ovals of ruby, set to look like a sideways flower. On either side of the flower was one small, round shard of moonstone. It wasn't too girly, at least not in Sam's opinion, because the stones weren't big (and only big stones on rings were girly. That was the rule. The Sam-jewel-rule. No objections allowed). And it reminded him of them, because duh, rubies, the moonstones like the one on the mist-form of Trend's sword, a flower like Derek.

"Nice enough for you to want it?", wanted the blonde to know.

"It's nice, for a ring", repeated Sam, slightly confused.

"That's not what I'm asking. Do you want it?", asked Trend, loosening his grip on Sam a little.

The son of Ares blinked a couple of times and turned around in Trend's embrace some, clinging to the blonde's trench-coat. "If that is you asking for my hand, it's the shittiest proposal ever."

"No", chuckled the blonde amused. "This is me asking if I'm supposed to propose with that ring."

Sam frowned suspiciously as the light suddenly dimmed a little and the man behind the counter reached for the ring Sam had been eying to hand it over to Trend. Marshall put the heavy backpack down he had been carrying around all day and got... a violin case out. Oh no. Sam's eyes widened horrified as he watched the silent guy arming himself with the instrument and stringing the first notes of a song eerily familiar to him. Donny started with soft humming, accompanied by Thea.

"There you see him, sitting there across the way. He don't get a lot to say, but there's something about him", started Donny to sing in that soft, Disney-princess voice of his, full of love and tenderness. "And you don't know why, but you're dying to try. You wanna kiss the boy."

Trend shed his trench-coat and scarf, revealing an amazingly hot tux, completed with a bow-tie. The blonde gave him a confident smirk as he took the box with the ring into one hand and a bouquet of red roses from Sander (a bouquet he had suspected to be for _Donny_ , because Sander had carried it) in the other. With the roses in one hand and the ring in the other, Trend knelt down in front of Sam.

"Yes, you want him, look at him, you know you do. Possible he want you too. There is one way to ask him. It don't take a word, not a single word. Go on and kiss the boy", continued Donny softly.

Sam stared, his eyes wide in shock while he took the scene in. Marshall was playing the violin, accompanying Donny and Thea who were singing _Kiss the Girl_ in a gender-accurate version to fit the occasion, while Trend was kneeling in front of him, wearing a tux, offering him a ring and roses.

"Samuel Elijah James Raser the Third", started Trend, his voice filling the room, confident as ever, but also filled with all the emotions he held for Sam, bare on his tongue for everyone to hear. "Will you do me the honors of becoming my husband? Will you let me love you and care for you for the rest of our lives? Because I want to be yours forever and I want you to be mine forever. And I want Eli to be _ours_. Do you want to share that future with me, Sammy?"

"Fuck you", muttered Sam embarrassed, scratching the back of his neck. "Why...?"

"You once told me that you want that teen rom-com Disney happily ever after. So I'm giving you the perfect teen rom-com Disney proposal, because you deserve the happiest, most beautiful happily ever after possible and I want to be the one to give you that", replied Trend honestly.

"Fuck you", repeated Sam, running his fingers through his mohawk all the way from where he had been scratching his neck up to his forehead. "Why do you have to be so fucking perfect?"

He swept his hand over his face to cover the fact that tiny tears were pricking in the corners of his eyes. And then he practically collapsed in Trend's arms, burying his face in the blonde's neck. Trend smiled amused as he tried to wrap his arms around his lover's waist.

"Is that a yes then?", asked the son of Athena, trying to adjust the flowers and the ring.

Sander had mercy on him and took the flowers back so Trend had one hand free to cup his boyfriend's cheek. It always knocked the breath out of his body when he saw all those raw and strong emotions swirling in those forest-green depths. Sam gave him a smile, a genuine, tender and loving smile, so filled with joy that it made Trend fall in love with him all over again.

"Yes, that's a fucking yes", nodded Sam and pressed his right hand against Trend's chest. "Ring."

"Of course", chuckled the blonde amused and took the ring from the box to put it onto Sam's finger.

As soon as the ring was on, Sam slung both his arms tightly around Trend's neck and pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss, fiercer than any kiss before. Trend smirked victoriously into the kiss, his arms finding their way around his fiance's waist as the others started to applaud and cheer.

"I think we're going to excuse ourselves from this little party", chuckled Trend.

He turned his attention away from his fiance to say his good byes to their friends. In the end, it was Donny's decision what wedding bands they would be getting, they didn't need all of the attention. Besides, Trend simply _had_ to rub it into Derek's face that Sam had said yes. The two of them had been bickering about this topic for days now. Derek didn't like weddings, marriage was just a useless piece of paper that – in Derek's eyes – had nothing to do with a relationship. He didn't need the material proof that Sam was his. Trend on the other hand had noticed the sparkle in Sam's eyes ever since the wedding-plans had proceeded. Trend was fine with that, he could marry Sam and Derek would still be part of their relationship, even if he wasn't part of their marriage.

"Engagement-sex. Now", ordered Sam as he tugged Trend away from the others.

"Have fun with that!", exclaimed Donny and waved them.

Sam was practically already attached to Trend's front again, one leg around the blonde's waist, both arms around Trend's neck. The son of Athena was half-carrying his horny fiance, but that was okay, because he could feel the smile against his own lips. Sam was _happy_. And a happy Sam was the best Sam there was, so Trend was just going to let Sam have it for now, whatever it was.

"I fucking love you, Khan", panted Sam by the time they reached their apartment.

"Mh, that looks like horny Sammy. I like horny Sammy. What did you do, Trend?"

The blonde looked past Sam and into their living room. The light was dimmed, Mozart was playing softly in the background, Trend's favorite chess-board was sitting on the table, Derek on the black end, Phyl with the white figures, a bottle of wine already half empty beside it, with two full glasses. Derek's attention was on Sam's ass that was facing his way, while Phyl seemed desperate to find a way to still win the game (there was none, Trend saw that with one glance).

"Hello, boys", smiled Phyl absentmindedly, still focused on the game. "Did you find rings?"

"Yes! Yes, we fucking did!", exclaimed Sam and jumped off Trend to dash over to them and straddle Derek's lap while showing his ring off to Phyl. "See? See? Trend _proposed_! To me!"

"Wow", whispered the daughter of Persephone, totally surprised. "Amazing. I'm happy for you!"

"Yes!", nodded Sam wildly (Trend started to fear that his head would soon fall off). "And now get out of here, Philly. Unless you want to see me impaled on Trend's and Derek's cocks."

Phyl blushed furiously and stood, practically sprinting out of the apartment. Trend shook his head in amusement before turning his attention back to his boyfriends. Derek had his arms around Sam's waist, squeezing his ass tightly and enjoying the way Sam was sitting on top of him.

"Look at my awesome ring, Der!", ordered Sam, practically shoving his hand into Derek's face.

"So I take it, you said yes", grunted the son of Demeter nonplussed.

"You're not the least bit surprised", observed Sam confused. "Wait. You knew. But why weren't you there then? It would have been a hundred percent more awesome if you would have been there!"

"You know what I think about marriage", scoffed Derek, amused by Sam's enthusiasm.

Sam thrust his hips forward to reach into the pockets of his tight jeans, fishing a little black box out of it. "Yeah, but this is different. This is _our_ marriage. Here, it totally matches mine!"

He opened the box, revealing a ring that was identical to Sam's, just that instead of rubies, there were emeralds. Trend blinked confused, wondering where Sam had gotten that ring. He shed his trench-coat and joined his lovers on the couch, observing how Sam tried to force the ring onto Derek's finger while the son of Demeter tried to free himself from the grasp.

"No, Sammy. No", grunted Derek. "I thought I made it clear that I don't believe in the propaganda of marriage. I don't need a stupid piece of paper to tell me who I love. It's a contract, something sterile that you do for _business_. Love is not a business."

"He has a point, Sammy", nodded Trend, earning himself a glare. "Not about the contract-stuff, but that he _did_ make it clear before that he's not into marriage. It can also just be you and me, Sammy."

"Yeah, you do the fancy wedding-stuff and I just sit there and enjoy both of you", nodded Derek.

" _No_ ", growled Sam, looking angry. "You may think so about marriage, but _I_ don't!"

"Sammy?", asked Trend a little surprised.

"I'm a good catholic boy. I'm not going to marry you and life in sin with Der!", replied Sam with a fierce glare. "My ma had to listen to jibes all my life – about how she had a bastard son, wasn't married. Every time we go to the church, the others from our community in England ask if she finally found a man, how she's not getting any younger either. I'm not going to be like that. I'll marry those that I love and live a good, honorable life."

"Uhm... Okay. We should have probably spend a little more time talking to _you_ about this topic instead of bickering with each other", commented Trend with a frown.

"Uhu", agreed Derek and stared doe-eyed at the angry son of Ares (and angry, he could even frighten Derek and Trend). "You were being overly enthusiastic about Sander's and Donny's wedding, but I thought that was just because they're your best friends and all..."

"No. Well, yeah, of course, but... It's a wedding. It's the most sacred form of love there is", whispered Sam and looked at them with the sad-kitten-eyes. "Being together is something you do in private, like that's what concerns no one but you. But being married, that's... final. Till death do us part. Not just some fooling around behind closed doors, but committing to each other for eternity. Declaring your love to those you cherish above all else in front of everyone you care about, to let the world know that nothing will come between you. It's... important. It's not about the piece of paper, the 'contract'. It's about a promise, to yourself and the ones you love, in the eyes of god."

There was a long stretch of silence between the three and Derek and Trend just generally stared at Sam in surprise. It was rare for Sam to talk about feelings. Yes, he liked repeating that he loved them, but a detailed conversation about such things, that was something different entirely. And his voice sounded so raw and filled with emotions. This really meant a lot to him.

"So... Our kids are getting baptized too, aren't they?", grunted Derek and rolled his eyes, sighing in defeat. "How come we never talked about this before? How do I not know that?"

"I know that not many demigods are religious, well, you know what I mean", shrugged Sam awkwardly. "And I know that you don't just have a problem with marriage, but also with the church in itself, so I felt it would be safer to just steer off the topic at all when I talk to you. But yes, our children will be baptized too. And _I_ will go to church with them, at least one Sunday a month."

"This is really important to you, isn't it?", whispered Derek, sounding defeated.

"I _love_ you. I want the world to know that I love you", replied Sam upset and nodded. "I want it written down. I want it on my family-tree, so generations later, our great-grandchildren can see that Sam Raser loved Derek Rhys and Trend Austin. I want proof of our love on the records of New Athens. I want the rings, so people can _see_ that we belong together. I just _love_ you two and I want to shout it off the roof-tops and being married is the closest we can have."

Silence befell them once more, until Derek finally nodded, albeit reluctant. "Okay."

"Okay?", repeated Sam confused, tilting his head.

"Okay. Let's get married", clarified the son of Demeter with gritted teeth. "It doesn't matter to me, but it means an awful lot to you, so if it's so unimportant to me, I can as well do it, I guess. After all, I would do everything for you, because I love you. So if it'd upset you that much if I wouldn't marry you, then, well, I'll marry you. Just don't expect me to fuss over _anything_. I'll be there for the ceremony and I'll take your vows, but I'll not plan _a thing_."

"Deal", nodded Sam, practically glowing as he threw himself at Derek. "Anything you want. Though I had thought you'd want to take care of the flower-arrangements..."

Derek glared a little and cocked one eyebrow. "Okay, fine, _that_ , but nothing else!"

Sam had an impish grin on his lips and Trend had a hunch that at the end of it all, Derek would be forced into _a lot_ of planning. But Trend found it wiser not to tell Derek that just now. Instead, he grabbed around Sam's waist to pull the shirt off the son of Ares.

"There was the mention of engagement-sex earlier...", drawled Trend slowly.

"Oh! Yes!", nodded Sam hastily and stood up to run off.

"I actually thought we'd have sex with, well, each other...", grunted Trend confused. "Come back!"

"I _am_ coming back!", huffed Sam as he got out of the bedroom again, waving a bottle of lube around. "Just getting the last supplies. Why are you still dressed? Get naked, now!"

Derek and Trend exchanged a fond look before they started to undress each other. Sam watched with intense eyes and licked his lips hungrily. He struggled out of his skinny-jeans and sat down on the armchair with the perfect view of his two lovers. The two lovers who both turned to look at him confused and inquisitive now. Derek had one arm leisurely around Trend's shoulders.

"Sammy? Care to join us again?", offered the son of Athena curiously.

"Yeah, naw", shrugged Sam. "You two could make out some while I prepare myself for you."

"I'm fine with that", grinned Derek and laid his other arm around Trend too, pulling him into a long, heated kiss, his hands slowly roaming the delicious body. "Put your hands to good use, Austin."

Trend grunted, but obeyed. His hands wandered down to squeeze Derek's butt, pulling his cheeks apart so he could finger the son of Demeter. Derek moaned hoarsely as Trend brushed his prostate and latched his lips onto Trend's shoulder, kissing and sucking and biting. Sam all the while spread his legs, laying them over the armrests. He lubed his fingers up and started to circle his entrance. His two lovers were still kissing and caressing each other, but their eyes were focused on Sam's fingers. They loved watching Sam when he fingered himself. A second finger joined the first as he thrust into himself, moaning softly as the pink hole stretched widely. Derek bucked his hips back against Trend's administrations, his own hands busy with the monstrosity Trend called a cock. Both were panting heavy and sweating by the time Sam had four fingers inside of him. The moment Sam threw the lube at them, they hastily parted and started to slick their cocks up. Now, Sam stood and walked over to them, sitting down between them, with his arms around Trend's neck, pulling the blonde into a deep kiss. Trend's hands pulled Sam's cheeks apart so Derek had a nice view on the loose and lubed-up hole. Licking his lips, he thrust one finger of each hand into the tightness to loosen it up some more. Sam whimpered under his touch, bucking his hips needfully.

"So tight, so good", whispered Derek and positioned himself at his lover's entrance.

He was slow as he eased his way into the tightness of his beloved sweetheart, filling him out, stretching him in a way that was equally painful and pleasant. Sam wrapped his legs around Trend's waist in a clingy way, urging the blonde on to join Derek. Out of all constellations they had already tried, this was his favorite. Having both his lovers filling his hole, stretching him like that.

"M—More", demanded Sam as Trend had only the tip of his cock inside.

"Such a demanding, feisty bitch", snorted Derek amused, kissing Sam's shoulder.

"Fuck you", grunted the son of Ares embarrassed, flushing brightly.

"You know he means it affectionately", said Trend. "Besides, you call him a bitch all the time."

"Still embarrassing _and_ he means something else", hissed Sam. "And now fuck me!"

"Yes, sir!", chorused Trend and Derek amused.

They both eased more of their cocks into the tightness, filling Sam more and more, until Trend's cock hit Sam's prostate, making the son of Ares moan hoarsely. Their pace was slow and nearly torturous, causing Sam to whimper and wiggle between them. But the secure hold of both his lovers – no, both his fiances – kept him from getting any more action than they allowed. Pouting a little, Sam just bit Trend's shoulder and elbowed Derek. Both groaned at that.

"Really, sweetheart?", huffed Derek and pulled nearly all the way out, just to thrust _really_ hard in again, earning him the loudest moan. "Next time, ask a little nicer, you little minx."

Sam offered him a sheepish grin, at least until both Derek and Trend started thrusting again, this time around harder and more relentless. Sam whimpered softly, reaching out for his own cock, just to have his hand swatted away by Trend. Another pout followed, but before Sam had a chance to elbow either of them, Derek took a hold of Sam's cock, chocking it tightly.

"One more condition if you want me to pull through with that wedding-deal", whispered Derek.

"I—I already t—told you, a—anything", gasped Sam. "Now let me cum, Der!"

Derek jerked, until right before Sam came. "You'll wear a wedding dress _and_ I'll call you my wife."

Which was the moment Sam came, hard, spraying his cum onto Trend's stomach. Trend and Derek took only a few more thrusts before filling Sam, grinning at the glaring brunette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter Trenderam have hijacked. Now in the end, Sonny take the spotlight. Next chapter; bachelor parties!
> 
> Next update will be "Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades" on Saturday!


	98. Party and Panic

98\. Party and Panic

"...You do not even grasp the _concept_ of a bachelor party, do you, di Angelo?"

Donny looked up from his frilly, colorful and non alcoholic (because if he was being honest, Donny has had enough of alcoholic escapes himself by now). Derek was standing next to him with a scolding look. Frowning confused, Donny tilted his head and leaned more against Sander, who happily laid one arm around Donny's waist to pull him even closer and so he could bury his nose in his fiance's fluffy curls. Donny hummed contently at that, closing his eyes for a moment.

"What are you talking about, Derek?", asked Donny innocently.

"This is your bachelor party. Bachelor parties are normally to celebrate the last night of freedom with lots of alcohol and strippers and _without_ your fiance!", exclaimed Derek annoyed.

He pointedly looked at Sander, who returned the look with the most innocent puppy eyes possible. Heaving a sigh, Derek rolled his eyes and collapsed on Trend's lap, who grunted at the impact.

"I never really understood that tradition anyway", shrugged Donny casually, nosing Sander's collarbone. "Why would this be my last night of freedom? I'm marrying Sander because I love him, so there's really no freedom being lost or anything... This is the night to celebrate that I found the love of my life, so why wouldn't I be celebrating that with said love of my life and our friends."

Derek heaved a long-suffering sigh and buried his face in Sam's chest. The son of Ares absentmindedly ran his fingers through Derek's hair in a soothing manner while Trend wrapped his arms around Derek's waist. Sander chuckled fondly as he watched Derek's drama queen performance. He was glad he was here. After all, he and Donny had all the same friends basically, so bachelor parties would mean inviting them all to both parties. What was the point of that, really? They could as well just do this together. And the biggest plus was that this way, Sander got to cuddle his Donny all evening. It was probably silly, considering they were getting married soon and they saw each other every day, but that didn't mean Sander didn't enjoy every single second he got to be with Donny. After all, there was a reason why he wanted to get married to Donny.

"At least they got us strippers", tried Stella to cheer Derek up before whistling loudly.

Donny giggled as he turned to watch the show too. They were in the Silenus Club, not just with their Greek friends, since their Romans had taken the Argo II to fly to New Athens for this party. It was good to see them all together. Stella, Melissa, Jonas, Thea, Sam, Blance and Derek were all over the strippers – three very hot guys who were giving the group one hell of a show. Phyl was too embarrassed to really look, instead talking animatedly with Sara, Victor, Joe and Nico. Chuck, Eric, Marshall, Loki, Herc and Trend were less interested in the strippers and instead playing poker with Sander. Sander, who didn't need the hot half naked men either, because he looked like to him, a bachelor party simply including his best friends and his Donny would have been enough. Donny enjoyed both the cuddling and the show. Just because he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Sander didn't mean he was blind. He could appreciate a sixpack and all that oiled up deliciousness.

"Sander, can you take classes and learn how to do _that_?", requested Donny softly.

Sander joked on his drink and blushed furiously, turning to stare at the cute kitten look on Donny's face, seeing that mischievous glint in his fiance's eyes. He could hear the laughter from those around them, making him blush even harder. Pouting a bit, he looked at the now broadly grinning legacy of Hades and Poseidon. Sander knew he was a bit naive at times and he was used to being teased, but something about Donny teasing him was different. Donny did it with love in his eyes and fondness in his voice. Donny did it because he thought a flustered and confused Sander was adorable. It was an odd feeling, oddly empowering and calming. He loved that Donny loved him completely and for himself. With Donny, Sander could be himself – to the dumbest moments, the most naive moments, the moments he felt weak or inferior, but always knowing that Donny would be there for him. That if shove came to push, Donny would fight for him, even though Donny had so much less fighting experience than Sander had. But when it came to Sander, Donny could unleash an extreme and impressive kind of power. Sander had seen it live during the quest and he had never felt more important in his life than when Donny thought he was worth risking his own life for. Even though it was also Sander's biggest nightmare to imagine Donny risking his life.

"You two are disgustingly cute", accused Derek with a glare.

"Oh please. You should see yourself, sprawled out all over my big brother and Trend like you own them and getting pats from them like you're a cat", huffed Sara with a teasing look.

"I _was_ a cat", countered Derek and smirked at her. "My dear future sister-in-law."

Sam made a content little noise at that and snuggled up more to Derek. Donny just snorted and rolled his eyes. Derek may not be totally on board with the idea of marriage, but he was milking this out for all it was worth and it was hilarious to watch. A small, pleased smile found its way onto Donny's face as he crawled onto Sander's lap and curled up. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed in only half a year. In a way, he truly did feel like a Disney princess. Sure, he got the love of his life ready for the happily ever after, but what many people didn't seem to understand was that getting the guy was only a means to getting the happily ever after. The Disney prince, even in all his handsome glory, was never the happily ever after. For Cinderella, he was the first time she was _seen_ for who she truly was and, also, the means of getting away from her abusive stepmother. For Jasmine, he was the one to open a whole, new world to her and the one to give her a chance to have adventures and see things other than the palace walls. For Rapunzel, he was the one who helped her fulfill her dream and learn who she truly was. And for Donny? For Donny, his Prince Charming was the one who taught him how to fight – both the real monsters and his own, private monsters – and the courage to make friends. For the first time in Donny's life, he felt like he had finally found a place where he belonged and it wasn't just Sander's lap, it was right here, in the middle of his friends, laughing, joking and talking to them. This was perfection, right there.

Of course, perfection in a demigod's life never lasted long. In this case, it was interrupted by Chuck suddenly cursing, freeing himself from his girlfriend Mel's wandering hands to make his way over to Donny. Donny frowned curiously as the broad, intimidating son of Apollo stood in front of him looking clearly concerned and nervous. The two of them didn't know each other too well yet, Donny was definitely closer to Chuck's girlfriend, but Chuck was a good friend of Sander's.

"You alright, Chuck?", asked Donny a bit confused.

"I just got a message from my half-sister who's doing an intern-thing at the hospital, she texted me because she knows I'm on your bachelor party", started Chuck slowly, his voice very soothing like whatever was coming next was supposed to upset Donny. "They just emitted your mother, Donny. Your little brother is having a mental meltdown and they can't seem to reach your father."

And in that moment, Donny's heart seemed to stop.

/One Hour Ago, Ocean Drive 13\

"Mo—om! Mommy, Basty stole my Jimmy again!"

Percy, in the middle of cleaning up the living room after having a horde of kids under ten in it for Disney movie night, looked up to see an utterly displeased Silly standing there, hands on her hips and pout on her face. Somehow he had let himself be convinced that having Silly's and Jimmy's friends over would be no problem. That had been before he realized it was Nico's weekend off. As in, off the surface of the Earth, because he and Hazel were on their monthly family dinner in the underworld. Often enough, they also dragged their spouses and children with them, but just once, it would only be their father, stepmother and them. It was a bit hard to catch up with each other when there were three more adults and eleven more children with them, after all. And it wasn't like Nico and Percy were attached by the hip, after all. No, in fact Percy really enjoyed a little Percy time too occasionally. Not tonight though, because he had been scatterbrained enough to say "Sure, let's have Basty and Andy over for movie night!" on a Saturday. And then it also happened to be the night of Donny's bachelor party, so his oldest son wasn't there to help him either. And Thess, bless his heart, would have been more than willing to babysit the little ones while Percy would have gotten his usual routine of taking a bath, reading a book and going to bed early while wearing the clothes he had stolen from his husband. But Thess was busy with an important school project with Percy Junior and since the two – both of them even – had helped Percy with dinner preparations earlier, he figured he could deal with the rest on his own. Jack was already nicely tugged in and Basty, Andy, Jimmy and Silly were supposed to be upstairs getting ready for bed too. Well, they were actually supposed to be in bed already. So clean up was left for Percy. Heaving a sigh, Percy gathered up the blankets and folded them while looking over at his daughter.

"Jimmy isn't your Jimmy. He's his own Jimmy. And since summer is over and you guys don't get to spend all your time with your friends anymore, he's happy that Basty is staying over", explained Percy slowly and patiently. "Come on, it's just for one night. Tomorrow, auntie Miranda is going to pick Basty and Andy up again and you can have Jimmy all to yourself again, mh?"

"Sti—ill!", whined Silly with a glare. "Come upstairs and do something, mommy!"

Half an hour later, Percy had successfully pacified both Silly _and_ Basty, told two more goodnight stories, tugged the four pre-teens in, went to check on Jack, who had managed to once again fall asleep in the bunny cage, cuddling with Poker, had fed Mrs. O'Leary once more because that dog ate more than all his children put together and finally managed to finish cleaning up the living room. Panting softly, he grasped his side. Of course he'd get stitches in the side after that marathon. Taking a deep breath, he sat down on the couch. Resting for just a moment before he'd finish cleaning the kitchen. Before he even managed to catch his breath, Thess rounded the corner.

"Mamma, me and Percy are done now! You wanna see?", asked Thess eagerly.

Smiling faintly, Percy got up from the couch. Huh, his legs were a little shaky. And the jabbing pain in his side seemed to spread. He frowned and screwed up his face as Thess gasped loudly.

"M—Mom, you're... you're bleeding!", exclaimed Thess and rushed over to Percy.

"W—Wha...?", started Percy confused and turned around a bit.

Sea-green eyes widened as he saw the bloodstain on the couch where he had been sitting just moments ago. Blinking sluggishly, Percy slowly reached for the back of his pants, then bringing his blood-covered hand back up. He tilted his head curiously, as though that information first needed to sink in through the thick fog clumping up his head. As the information sank in, Percy slowly fell to his knees. Everything got a bit fuzzy around the edges and the last thought on his mind before he passed out was that it was happening again. He was losing another child. He embraced the darkness.

"M—Mamma?", asked Thess, fear making his voice shake.

He fell onto his knees next to his mom, but all he could really see was all that blood and how pale his mom was. What was he supposed to do now?! Mamma was the one with all the answers, the one who knew what to do when things were bad like now, but right now his mamma was the one who needed help. And papà wasn't home. Tears streamed down Thess' face as he cradled his mom's head in his lap. He didn't know what to do. Shaky fingers reached for his phone. Dad was in the underworld and there was no phone reception in the underworld. Donny had left his phone at home because phones tended to distract, making people film everything instead of seeing it with their own eyes and living in the moment and then there was the constant need to update statuses, so Donny had left it at home when leaving for his bachelor party today. His fingers dialed automatically.

" _Hey there, babe. I thought you had no time tonight_ ", came Luke's pleased voice after a moment.

A sob wrecked Thess' body. "I—I don't know what to do. Luke, I don't know what to do."

" _Thess, what's wrong?_ ", asked Luke, all happy teasing gone from his voice, now overshadowed by worry. " _Love, calm down and tell me what's wrong. Why are you upset?_ "

"M—Mom", pressed Thess out between gasped breaths and hiccups. "H—He j—just collapsed a—and there's blood. There's so much b—blood o—on the couch a—and his f—favorite jeans!"

Luke only took a moment to mull that information over. " _Okay. Okay, Thess. First of all, you need to calm down. It's not going to help anyone if you hyperventilate and panic, Thess. Listen closely to my breathing and try to match yours to mine, okay babe? Listen. In and out._ " Luke breathed extra loudly so Thess could hear the calming sound over the phone. He was still crying and the hiccuping didn't help much with evening out his breath, but Luke's voice was so calm and firm and soothing. " _Okay, that's it, Thess. You need to calm down so you can help your mom. Keep breathing, babe. Okay... your dad is in the underworld this weekend, you mentioned that. And Thea is on Donny's bachelor party, so your big brother isn't there either. That's why you called me. Okay._ " It was kind of obvious that Luke was more talking to himself than to Thess, but just the sound of his voice was already very soothing to Thess and he felt his breathing slowing down. " _Is Percy home?_ "

"Y—Yeah", replied Thess with a nod. "She's upstairs. We were doing a school project."

" _That's good. Listen to me, you need to go upstairs and get your sister, okay? She can shadow-travel your mom to the hospital and then the doctors can make it all better. Can you do that?_ "

"N—No", whispered Thess and shook his head frantically, staring down into his mother's pale face. "I can't leave mamma alone. I—I can't leave him all alone on the floor, Luke. I can't."

" _Sh, it's alright, love. Calm down. You have to get Percy. Nothing is going to get better by you sitting by your mom's side and you can't just call Percy down. It's already late, so the little squirts are already asleep, right? We don't want to wake them and have them panic too. You don't want them to see your mom as you're seeing him now, do you? So you need to be brave now and go upstairs and get Percy. You can put your phone down right next to your mom, that way I'd stay with him and be there if he wakes up and I'd notice if things get... worse, that sound okay, Thess?_ "

Thess confirmed in a soft voice and put the phone down. With a last pained look at his mother's face, he ran upstairs and got his twin-sister. For the first time in his life, he was glad that Percy bottled her feelings up inside and dealt with them all on her own in the dark of the night, because she didn't just break down into a sobbing mess. Instead, she gathered their mom in her arms and shadow-traveled them away, telling Thess that she wasn't strong enough to transport all three of them. So Thess was all alone in the living room, where there was blood on the couch and by now also on the floor and he was alone and suddenly the panic and fear crept back full force and he broke down into a crying mess again, until strong arms wrapped around him.

"Sh, it's alright, Thess", whispered that soothing and wonderful voice into his ear. "I got you."

Thess' fingers clawed into Luke's shirt and he nuzzled his boyfriend's neck, closely listening to Luke's pulse, having that steady, slow rhythm calm him down. "Y—You're cold..." Thess brought a little distance between them and looked at his boyfriend. "And you're only wearing sweat-pants and a shirt! It's December and it's the middle of the night!"

Luke chuckled fondly and cupped both of Thess' cheeks before bringing his face in to kiss him softly. "You were upset and you needed me, so I started running as soon as I noticed you were crying. But if you can fuss over my body temperature, you seem to have calmed down, mh?"

"P—Percy left without me, she can't shadow-travel so many at once just yet and now she's at the hospital with mom and I'm here and I don't know what to do", whispered Thess upset.

"It's good she couldn't take you with her", argued Luke calmly. "Because the squirts are still upstairs and asleep and what if they'd wake up and notice that everyone is gone, mh? You and me will stay here until Amy comes. I send her a text while you went to fetch Percy. She'll be here any minute to babysit the squirts while you and I will go to the hospital, okay?"

Thess nodded numbly and snuggled up to Luke some more. "O—Okay. Thank you..."

"Hey now, you don't need to thank me", huffed Luke with hurt pride. "When my boyfriend needs me, I'll be there. Even though I was actually in the middle of jerking off while thinking of you..."

That elicited a choked laughter from Thess, making him relax some more and before he knew it, there was a soft knocking on the door, followed by footsteps. Apparently, Luke had left the door open when he had gained access (Thess had long since stopped questioning just how Luke got into places. He was better than some kids of Hermes at that).

"Hello?", called Amy's soft voice out in a low whisper.

"Living room", replied Luke, cautiously helping Thess up.

The brunette legacy of Athena rounded the corner, a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong?"

Thess couldn't find it in himself to form words, so instead he looked lost at Luke, who just held him closer in a reassuring way. "It's their mom. Percy brought him to the hospital. Can you stay and watch the squirts while I accompany Thess to the hospital, Amy?"

Amy, bless her heart, nodded in understanding, worry shimmering in her dark gray eyes. Luke grinned gratefully at her as he laid one arm around Thess' waist and steered him out of the house. Only with half a brain did Thess remember to slip into shoes and order Luke to do the same when he noticed his boyfriend was only wearing socks. It was the beginning of December! Luke borrowed a pair of Donny's sneakers and fidgeted with Thess' phone.

"Why can I reach neither your dad nor your brother?", asked Luke with a cuss.

"The underworld has bad reception", mumbled Thess softly. "A—And Donny left his phone..."

"Great", sighed Luke in defeat. "Thea lost her phone 'somewhere between Munich and Berlin' and since she upset mom and ma, she hadn't gotten a new one yet. I don't have the numbers from anyone else in their circle of friends, what about you, love?"

"I don't know", mumbled Luke and frowned. "I wanted to get Stella's number, but somehow I never did, because we live so close by anyway. I should have gotten her number."

"Hey, it's okay. It's no problem", assured Luke hastily, taking his own phone instead and dialing. "We'll figure something out, babe. Don't worry." He paused as someone picked up. "Hey, Kitty-cat. Listen, you gotta do me a solid. IM uncle Nico. He's in the underworld. He has to come to the hospital ASAP, it's about uncle Percy. And then you should come there yourself, because PJ brought him there and you know her. She won't admit it, but she wants to be comforted too. See ya."

Thess just stared up at Luke in total admiration. Normally, Thess was the one with the plans. The levelheaded one. The one who kept everyone in check. But here he was, a total mess who couldn't even think straight and his aloof and carefree boyfriend was being utterly amazing.

/Asclepius Aid Hospital, New Athens, Now\

Donny was a mess of guilt, worry and that suffocating feeling of pure fear. After Chuck's message, the party came to an abrupt halt. Thankfully enough, Trend had remembered to pay their bill as everyone spilled out. And the heaven's bless Derek, because he ushered their friends home. Even though they all knew Percy and worried not just for Donny's sake but also for Percy's himself, it wouldn't do to clog the hospital waiting room with twenty worried teenagers. In the end, the only ones heading to the hospital were Sander, Donny, Thea, Herc and Nico. Donny was sitting between Thea and Nico while his sea-green eyes watched Sander's nervous and frantic pacing. Strangely enough, it was rather calming to see his fiance fretting like that. Having dealt with his own depression alone for years, Donny was sometimes a little overwhelmed as to how to express his feelings in public. He had gotten quite used to hiding them. But Sander? Sander was an open book. He was so filled with emotions and he always expressed every single one of them. It was in a way a guide for Donny and he also loved to see just how much his lover cared. Opposite them were Percy with Kitty and Thess with Luke. And pacing right behind Sander was Nico di Angelo, the deepest, most guilty frown possible etched into his face, looking ready for murder.

"Where is he? Is he alright? Are there any news yet? What happened?"

Nico stopped his pacing to look at Annabeth. She was clearly wearing her pajama beneath her long coat and her hair was put up in a sloppy bun and she looked like she had run all the way here.

"I have no idea", admitted Nico, running one hand through his hair. "Kitty called me, said that Thess found Percy passed out in the living room. Thess said there was blood, on his... pants..."

"...The baby", whispered Annabeth in horror.

And then she did something very untypical. She collapsed into Nico's arms and for the following minutes, the two just clung onto each other. They both loved Percy, perhaps in different ways, but they they still did. The idea of losing Percy was horrifying to both of them.

"I told Derek I didn't need a bachelor party", whispered Donny hollowly as he watched his dad. "If we didn't have it, I would have been home. I would have found him and Thess wouldn't be traumatized past the point of being coherent right now. And I could have shadow-traveled mamma to the hospital right away. I know it'd have just been minutes, but maybe they'd make a difference."

"Stop thinking like that", interrupted Thea with a frown, reaching out to run her fingers through his curls. "You had a right to celebrate. You couldn't have known what was happening. And Thess and Percy did good. Your mom is going to be alright. Don't blame yourself."

She reached out to grasp his hand and squeezed it and he remembered why she had been his first friend. She was level-headed, she knew what to say, she understood him. Donny smiled softly.

"Sander, move your ass over here and cuddle your fiance", ordered Thea then, voice stern.

Sander's eyes were large as he looked over at them. He zoomed in on Donny and guilt flashed through his nougat-brown eyes for fretting himself instead of comforting Donny. Donny smiled softly and got up so Sander could sit down before Donny curled up in Sander's lap.

"It's alright, San", whispered Donny softly. "I know you're just as worried. You got a right to worry too, San. Just... Just stay right here with me at the moment and we'll comfort each other, yeah?"

Sander hummed in agreement and wrapped his arms around Donny's waist. Tonight had been supposed to be amazing and wonderful. Nothing bad should have happened. They had saved the seasons, didn't the Fates owe them a little peace of mind? Gods, Sander hated this. He hated hospitals and waiting areas and being useless and the look in Donny's eyes. That look of total sadness and fear for his mom's life. And Sander had no idea how to properly comfort his fiance, mainly so because he was going out of his mind too. He loved uncle Percy a lot. He still remembered how uncle Percy and his dad had been playing soccer with Sander, Cally, Bia and Thea in the park when they were little and when Sander and Cally were old enough, uncle Percy had been the one to teach them how to swim. Sander couldn't stand the thought of losing Percy. Not for his own sake and certainly not for Donny's sake. It'd devastate Donny and Sander wasn't even sure if he'd be able to mend that broken heart. He subconsciously pulled Donny closer, burying his nose in the soft curls and placing a tender kiss on top of Donny's head.

"He'll be alright", assured Sander softly.

"How do you know?", asked Donny with a sigh, burying himself deeper in Sander's embrace.

"Because...", started Sander before faltering for a moment.

"It's okay, Sander", reassured Donny with a strained smile. "You don't need to cheer me up."

"I do", protested Sander with a frown and thought for a moment. "And... And I mean it. Your mom will be alright. Because he's a fighter, right? He didn't give up when he faced Kronos, or Gaia, or Tartarus. He _never_ gives up. He's not gonna give up in a hospital now. And... And he will _never_ leave you guys. He loves nothing more than his family and he'll not leave your dad or you and your siblings alone, not if he can help it. So he's gonna fight and stay alive and get better."

Donny stared up at him in honest awe, the expression alone making Sander blush. And then Donny smiled brightly at him and kissed him softly, silently conveying that yes, this was what he had needed to hear and yes, Sander had found exactly the right words.

/break\

Nico had witnessed the close-call to the end of the world on multiple occasions, yet the horrors of the wars and Tartarus would _never_ compare of the horror of a hospital waiting room while Percy was in there and Nico could do nothing but helplessly sit around and pray. During the Titan War, he had been able to give Percy the curse of Achilles and bring him the support of the underworld. During the Giant War, Nico had been able to obtain the scepter by admitting his true and hidden feelings for Percy in front of the god of love and desires and then he had led the Argo II forward while Percy was in Tartarus. Right now? All Nico could do was pace in the waiting room with a feeling like someone was slowly twisting his guts and killing him from the inside. What made it even worse was that Donny, Thess and Percy Junior were there too. The last time, Nico had been alone here, the only pain he had to suffer was his own. Yet this time around, he also had to see the tears in his children's eyes. He was grateful, in the back of his mind, that Kitty, Luke and Sander were there to comfort the three teenagers. Even Thea, Herc and Nico were there. Their parents. Nico would have to tell their parents that Percy was in the hospital. Annabeth and Piper already knew, but Jason, Reyna, Frank, Hazel and Leo and everyone else... Sally and Paul.

"Stop thinking", whispered Annabeth as she grasped his hand and squeezed tightly.

"Well, there's a sentence I never expected to hear from a daughter of Athena", retorted Nico dryly.

There wasn't the usual bite to his jibe and there was no sarcastic retort or eye-roll coming from Annabeth. It was saying a ton of their mental state. Nico turned to look at her with tired eyes. She had bags beneath her eyes, swollen and red from crying, her hair was a total mess even though the perfectionist of a daughter of Athena would never let a single hair fall out of place and the coffee she was holding had gone cold long ago, not that she was drinking it. It was the life of her best friend, her brother at heart, that was at stake. Nico sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"I can't help it", admitted Nico in a barely audible voice. "This is... too much like last time. I nearly lost him last time. Not... Not just physically, but... afterward, mentally. Emotionally. It... It took him so long to... recover. I don't know, I don't think, that his... heart could take it one more time."

"Neither could yours", murmured Annabeth cautiously. "You may see yourself as this brave pillar of Percy's, but everyone knows that Percy is your pillar and without him, you'd crumble."

Nico remained eerily silent at that, knowing it to be the truth. If Percy fell, so would Nico. Dark eyes found the hunched forms of his children. He couldn't break, even if Percy would never return to his side again, Nico would not be allowed to break. He'd have to be there for their children. He'd have to be strong for them and provide the love they deserved. He'd... He'd have to keep living without Percy – and wasn't that just the most horrifying thing to imagine?

"Nico?"

He was startled out of his dark and depressing thoughts by the familiar voice of Will Mason. Will looked worse for wear, maybe even more exhausted than Nico and Annabeth put together. And Nico would never be able to express how grateful he was for that. Will wasn't even living in New Athens, yet the moment Nico shadow-traveled and disturbed the Mason's during their family movie night, he was willing to come and tend to Percy personally. Because there was only one child of Apollo whom Nico trusted with the life of his husband. Nico, Annabeth and the kids stood rigid.

"Yes?", asked Nico nervously. "Tell me. Just... Just say it..."

Will offered Nico a tired and small smile and a nod. "He's stable. They're fine."

"They...? They're... both... fine?", asked Nico, nearly choking on the words.

"Don't get me wrong. It didn't look good for either of them in there for a while, but damn, I guess the little one gets the stubbornness from both mommy and daddy", assured Will softly. "Percy is still unconscious and under drugs though. It'll be a while before he wakes up. But you can go in now. Two at a time only, in case he does wake up. No stress, which means not too many visitors at once. So you can go in with one of your kids at once. And even when he gets out of the hospital, _no_ stress. I'm gonna give Clarisse a call and inform her that for the rest of his pregnancy, Percy won't come in to work. I'm not naive enough to order him on bed rest for the remaining half year of the pregnancy. I know Percy better than that. But he'll do nothing more than the absolute necessary, you hear me? I'll put together some healing potions, with those he should be fine to the end of the pregnancy as long as he does as I just told you. Are we clear, Nico?"

The son of Hades nodded numbly, unsure if all the words truly registered in his mind, because only one thought seemed to stick – _Percy and the baby were okay_. Annabeth stepped up and rested one hand on Nico's shoulder while looking gratefully at Will. "Don't worry, I'll make sure the Seaweed Brain listens and I'll tell Nico again once he wakes from his stupor. Now, where's Percy's room?"

Annabeth let go of Nico's shoulder again in favor of waving Thess over. The boy looked so small as he was curled together on Luke's lap, silently crying into his boyfriend's chest. Luke too got up and guided his distraught boyfriend over to their parents and Will.

"Come on, you go with your dad to see your mom now, okay Thess?", suggested Annabeth softly.

Thess' eyes widened and he instinctively looked over at Donny. But his older brother smiled at him and shook his head, indicating that it was alright when Thess went first. Thess was the one who had found their mom, the one to see Percy looking lifeless, covered in blood. That was probably an image the boy would never forget again, but perhaps seeing that their mother was indeed alright, still alive, maybe that would help him some. Donny sighed and relaxed a little in his seat, though he knew he wouldn't be able to fully relax until his mom opened his eyes again. Sea-green eyes wandered through the waiting room, noting that Thea, Sander, Herc and Nico were all texting.

"What are you doing?", asked Donny confused, burying his nose in Sander's neck.

"Telling our parents", answered Herc simply. "They must be going crazy over in New Rome."

"No kidding", snorted Nico and rolled her eyes. "Mom says that they could barely hold mamá back from just walking to New Athens. Not that that's really possible, or at least not practical."

"I already told mom and dad. Moved on to telling Sam and the others", added Sander softly.

"Yeah. I'm sending a text to Amy so she can relax around the squirts and knows that the older di Angelo siblings will be returning home soonish", agreed Luke while fidgeting with his phone.

Donny's eyes softened as he looked up at the blonde boy. "Thank you. For everything you've done today, Luke. The way I understand it, you were amazing at calming Thess down and calling Amy and Kitty to the rescue. Thess is lucky to have you. Very lucky."

Luke flushed brightly and decidedly looked down at the screen of his phone. "It was the obvious thing to do. Thess needed me and he wasn't in any condition to organize anything."

"Donny is right though", said Annabeth as she pulled her son into a hug. "I'm very proud of you."

Now Luke's blush lit up even more, though he eagerly returned his mother's hug. For the first time of the night, Luke felt like he could breath a little easier again. Honestly, after tonight he really wondered how Thess did it all the time. Keeping a cool and rational head, providing the solutions while everyone else was running around like headless chickens. It was exhausting.

/break\

Nico stayed the entire night at his husband's bedside, but by the time morning rolled around, he got kicked out by the united force of Annabeth and Will. Will ordered him to go home, get showered, eat, talk to his children and sleep some. Annabeth assured him that she would stay at Percy's side and call him as soon as there was even the hint of a change in Percy's condition. In the end, only the mention of his children managed to sway Nico. As soon as he unlocked the front door, he was swamped by the little ones. Jack, Silly and Jimmy stood around him in a half-circle, staring up at him demandingly and upset. In the time Nico took to blink slowly, his three older children joined.

"Donny said mommy is in the hospital", stated Silly with a quivering lower lip.

"Is mommy alright? Why didn't you bring mommy home with you?", demanded Jimmy to know.

"Why's mommy in the hospital?", asked Jack next, tugging on Nico's pants.

Nico took a deep breath and knelt down in front of his children, pulling the three little ones in front of him into a tight hug and kissing their foreheads. "Mommy is... He... He's fine. Mommy is fine. He's just still sleeping, because it was very exhausting for him, so uncle Will said mommy has to stay in the hospital for a couple more days, but then he'll come home to us. And when he's home again, he needs to rest a lot, until your baby sibling's birth. That means you guys have to help me around the house some more, so mommy doesn't stress himself, okay?"

"Uhu", nodded Jimmy wildly, staring up at his dad. "We'll do everything!"

"When can we visit mommy?", asked Silly, worrying her lower lip now.

"Dad's gonna go and take a nap. Percy and I will prepare lunch and after we eat, we could go and visit mom all together, right dad?", suggested Thess, one hand on Silly's head.

"That... sounds like a good plan", agreed Nico slowly. "I'll go and hit the shower. You'll be fine?"

"We will", promised Donny with a smile. "You need to rest some, papá."

Donny heaved a relieved sigh when their dad actually went upstairs to rest and didn't put up a fight. That man was the most stubborn member of their family and Will had already called earlier, informing him that Nico was on his way back home and that Donny was to make sure Nico would sleep for at least a little while. It had been hard to explain to the little ones what had happened to their mother. He was just grateful that Thess, after having seen their mom last night, seemed to be doing better now. He was a little worried about Percy though, because she hadn't spoken at all since they met up in the hospital. She had wordlessly helped preparing breakfast this morning and cleaning up behind the younger siblings, but she hadn't spoken.

"Hey. Is your dad alright?", asked Sander as he walked down the stairs, looking after Nico.

"I doubt it", shrugged Donny and stepped up into Sander's personal space for a hug. "Listen, could you go and occupy Jackie, Silly and Jimmy for a little while, please?"

Sander had brought them home last night and he hadn't even asked Donny if he should stay, he just did. He held Donny while Donny cried himself to sleep, partially the aftermath of the shock and partially out of sheer relief that his mom would be okay. When Donny had woken up this morning, Sander had already been busy preparing breakfast with the older twins.

"Sure", replied Sander with a grin, kissing Donny softly before turning to the kids. "Okay. Who wants to build a fort and watch _The Little Mermaid_ before lunch with me?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!", exclaimed Jack excited, humping up and down.

Silly pursed her lips. "Can we build a princess fort?"

"Of course we can", grinned Sander.

Silly and Jimmy grabbed his hands and pulled him upstairs in excitement, with Jack following close behind. Donny smiled pleased before he turned toward Thess and Percy. He laid his arms around them and steered them toward the kitchen. Once there, he prepared them all hot chocolate.

"You... want to talk?", questioned Thess suspiciously.

"Last night was... difficult. For all of us", started Donny slowly. "But mamma will be alright."

"Mamma wouldn't have been in the hospital if we hadn't been so selfish to begin with", whispered Percy, barely audible as she stared at the table. "You heard uncle Will. Mamma was too stressed. If we had helped around the house instead of doing our stupid school project..."

Donny blinked slowly and stared at her in awe. It was so unlike her to admit wrongdoings, or even to suggest helping around the house. Then again, ever since he had returned from his quest during the summer, he had noticed that Percy had grown up quite a bit. She was trying very hard to help, to be more attentive and tune down the fuck-off-vibes. Donny sighed softly.

"If I hadn't gone on my bachelor party, I would have been there to help", offered Donny. "If papà wouldn't have been in the underworld, he could have helped. If mamma wouldn't try to always do everything himself, he would have asked one of us for help or put things off. But that's not how it was and it wasn't anyone's fault. It happened. Now we know and now we can actively do more. We'll make a new plan for household chores and we'll help mom the best we can."

"I already started putting a plan together", offered Thess and grasped Percy's hand over the table. "As long as we stick together as a family, we can handle anything, gemella."

She looked doubtful for a moment, but then she nodded reluctantly. Donny smiled and placed the mugs of hot chocolate in front of his younger siblings, knowing that Thess was right.

/break\

Begrudgingly, Nico had to admit that Will was right. The shower, the nap and the food had helped and most of all, seeing his children had helped. The hospital visit in the afternoon was a bit exhausting, but all the kids were more reassured after seeing their mom, even though Percy had yet to open his eyes. When it got late, Donny rounded up his siblings and brought them home. Nico promised them he'd be back home as soon as their mother was awake again. But so long as Percy was still unconscious, Nico didn't wish to leave. He wanted to be there when Percy woke up. Annabeth informed him that Percy had been in and out of it throughout the morning, never actually waking up though. Now Nico sat there, all alone, holding Percy's limp hand and listened intently to the sound of Percy's breathing and his heartbeat. He was slowly dozing off as he had his head resting on Percy's chest so he could listen to Percy's heart. It was a nice, calming sound.

"Hng...", groaned the man he was using as a pillow.

"Percy", whispered Nico breathlessly and sat up. "Percy, l'amore della mia vita, are you awake?"

"...No", whispered Percy back reluctantly before coughing.

"Sh, it's alright. Don't over-exhaust yourself, wait a moment", instructed Nico and got Percy the glass of water with the straw in it that stood next to the bed. "There you go, my love."

"S—Still not awake", moaned Percy, trying weakly to hide in Nico's arms.

"Why not, my Sea Prince?", asked Nico a little amused, caressing Percy's hair.

He adjusted to lay more comfortable next to Percy so his husband could properly snuggle up to him, which Percy greedily did, fingers clawing at Nico's shirt with all the might he had. "If I'm... I'm... awake, then you'll... tell me... t—that... that I... l—lost the... the... I don't want to hear it."

Nico's eyes widened and he tightened his grip on Percy, kissing his forehead. "No. No, my love, you did not lose the baby. The baby is fine. And so are you. You were bleeding due to stress, but you did _not_ lose the baby. The baby is right here, I swear."

He placed one hand on Percy's stomach and the son of Poseidon took a shaky breath. "P—Promise? You're not just saying that to calm me down...? Our... Our baby is still with us?"

Nico took Percy's hand and placed it on Percy's stomach to feel the bulge. "Still there and as much a fighter as mommy is. Gods, Percy, you scared me and the kids and everyone else so much."

Another shaky breath, but this time Percy seemed to relax in Nico's arms. "Sorry..."

Nico laughed strained and shook his head. "Oh, you will be sorry. Will ordered you not to do anything dangerous or exhausting. Only the most necessary things. The kids already put together a plan how we'll divide the household chores excluding you."

"Not doing anything?", whined Percy with a pout. "I'll be bored to death."

"...Too soon for these kind of jokes", grunted Nico with a dark glare. "And don't worry. Jack, Silly and Jimmy already prepared a bunch of their favorite games, books and DVDs to occupy you."

Percy smiled, only a tired stretch of lips, as his eyes slowly closed again. He nuzzled Nico's chest as he drifted off to sleep again already. Nico just held him close, grateful beyond measurement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda grew bored writing the party so I decided to put Percy into the hospital... So, we're nearing the end pretty fast. Two more chapters and it's over. Next chapter will cover Sonny's wedding. All the fluffy fluff fluff and there will be a wedding night. The looong awaited Sonny smut *wiggles eyebrows*
> 
> Next update will be "Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades" on... Wednesday, if I can manage. But if it's not up on Wednesday, just expect it on Saturday and take into account that I'm still not through with my finals. ^^°


	99. Capturing Hearts

99\. Capturing Hearts

All Ponthos wanted, aside from reading the sports-pages in his newspaper, was to maybe have Hymenaios' attention. The god of weddings was so to speak the other side of his coin; Ponthos was all about longing, the pre-relationship part, Hymenaios was all about the end-game.

"Where's Hymen?", asked Himeros as he rounded the corner into their living room.

Sometimes, Ponthos regretted that he lived together with all five of his brothers. Himeros blinked, pushing one of his red hair-strands back. Probably his most annoying brother. The little match-maker was always trying to set people up. In a way, his realm was probably too similar to Ponthos' for them to get along; longing and sexual desires. And Himeros was a mother hen.

"No idea", shrugged Ponthos, pointedly glaring down at his newspaper. "Where are the others?"

"Hedy and I are right here, Ponthos", pointed Anteros out, unimpressed.

Putting the newspaper down, Ponthos looked up a little surprised. The oldest of the Erotes sat opposite him, beard neatly trimmed, coffee mug in hand as he read the other half of the newspaper. On Anteros' lap sat his younger brother and lover; Hedylogos, the little sweet-talker.

"I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!", sighed Hymenaios as he waltzed into the kitchen.

"Drama queen", muttered Ponthos beneath his breath and rolled his eyes.

"Oh my us, you won't believe what I just got with the mail!", exclaimed Hermaphroditos.

The dark-haired god rushed into the kitchen, startling his still sleepy siblings. He was waving around a letter like the world depended on it. Anteros put the newspaper down, looking at him.

"What is it, brother?", asked the oldest in a patient voice.

"Wedding invitation", declared Hermaphroditos and put the letter down on the table. "I am invited to the wedding of Hades Poseidon di Angelo and Chrysander Rodriguez!"

"Oh my gosh!", yelped Hymenaios, suddenly wide awake. "I gotta go to New Athens!"

/break\

Donny blinked slowly as he looked up from the math homework he was trying – and failing – to do. There was, all of a sudden, a god sitting on his desk. The god looked to equal parts happy and displeased. Hymenaios cocked one unimpressed eyebrow as Donny just continued staring at him.

"You're getting married. You have a wedding date and I didn't get to plan it!", complained Hymenaios with a pout. "I can't help but think it was something to do with how I drained your fiance of his life-force and got him turned into a human puppy."

"That was part of the issue, yeah", agreed Donny after a beat, nodding slowly. "The other being that this is _my_ wedding. I'm going to get married and I won't let anyone else plan my big day."

"Very well", sighed Hymenaios dramatically. "So, that invitation...?"

"I guess it extends to the family", muttered Donny with a shrug. "I mean, you guys didn't try to actually harm us and in the end, you actually saved Derek's life, so... I owe you for that."

"That is so sweet of you", chimed Hymenaios pleased. "Though, if you need someone to seal the bond, you know... I'm an official. It'd be the _least_ I could contribute, right?"

Donny contemplated that for a moment. Him being the legacy of Poseidon and Hades and now a great hero himself meant that his wedding was a bit of a big deal. His grandpas had already warned him that their meddling sister was pushing herself forward, being the goddess of marriage and all. Donny was not particularly looking forward to being married by Hera.

"That'd be very nice", declared Donny with a smile. "Thank you."

With that, the pleased god vanished in a pink puff. Donny rolled his eyes at his drama.

/break\

It was Monday the twentieth December, which meant that Christmas was closing in and – more importantly – it meant that Donny's wedding was in two days. 12/22/32 – it was a funny date, Donny liked it. And he didn't want his wedding to be on Christmas itself either.

"Two more days", whispered Donny as he stared absentmindedly into the mirror.

"Less daydreaming about your dream wedding, more cleaning", ordered Thess and threw a rag.

The brothers were in the living room, dusting and moping and generally tidying the place up. After all, Christmas would be rolling around in four days and they were going to hold a Christmas party, but with Donny's wedding in between, they needed to move the cleaning a little up. Their mom was laying on the couch, not looking pleased at all that his kids were doing everything and he was just laying there and doing nothing. To keep Percy from moving, his family had simply put Small Bob onto his chest and Mrs. O'Leary next to him on the couch with her head on his lap.

"Kids, I could help you, it'd be faster", complained Percy loudly.

"It would be faster than having to clean up after Jack's cleaning up, yeah", agreed Thess softly as he rubbed the rag over the fingerprints Jack had left all over the glass vitrine when he had been cleaning shelves earlier. "But if we have to stop cleaning to get you to the hospital again, that'd slow us down immensely. So you just stay there and let us work, mamma. Please."

Thess looked at his mom with the most intense hurt puppy eyes and Percy flinched and sighed. He knew he had scared his kids – and his husband and his friends and his parents once Nico told them – when he had collapsed and they were all one united front in their efforts to keep him from overworking himself. Percy pouted a little as he turned his attention back to what was supposed to distract him aside from his pets. The seating arrangement for the wedding. Everything looked good, easier than his own wedding had been. A fond smile laid on Percy's lips as he thought of it.

"Have you decided on your honeymoon yet, Donny?", asked Percy curiously.

"Sammy made us an offer we can't refuse", replied Donny with a broad grin. ""He said we could have the Raser Mansion for the duration of our Christmas break, though we're of course only leaving after Christmas. I would never want to miss papà's Christmas dinner. So we're leaving on the 27th. We'll stay over New Year's, but Sam already warned us that he, Trend and Derek are going to crash our honeymoon on New Year's Eve together with 'whoever else wants to party'."

"That sounds really nice", pointed Percy out, a fond smile on his lips.

"So, where are you going to live after the wedding?", asked Thess curiously.

"I...", started Donny slowly. "I'm not going to move out until the baby is born. I won't risk mamma getting worse and I won't leave all of you on your own with this. We're a family."

"...So is Sander moving in with us?", asked Jack confused and crawled out from beneath the couch. "Look! I found my favorite toy car again! ...And lots of Small Bob's cat toys..."

"You need to stay that small so you can keep cleaning down there", chuckled Donny and ruffled his baby brother's hair. "And no, Sander is not going to move in with us. We're just... We're staying home, with our respective families, until we graduate from high school. We're not getting married so we can get a house and have a bunch of kids and stuff. We got married so... so we'd be married in case something happens to one of us, so everyone knows we belong together. We're not going to rush anything. We'll graduate, move in together when we start college and then build a life."

"I approve", declared Nico pleased as he came down the stairs. "So, how's the cleaning going here? Your sisters are complaining in the bathroom. I think they're scared for life now."

"Poor princesses", laughed Percy amused, reaching out for his husband. "Come here, please. I need something to distract me from doing nothing. You're done with your work for today, right?"

Nico was mainly working from home ever since the incident with Percy bleeding all over the living room. He didn't feel comfortable leaving Percy alone. If possible, he even let Piper and the others come home to him if they needed to have a meeting. Thankfully enough, Lou and Piper understood. They covered what they could, did everything to make things easy for Nico so Nico could be there for Percy. The son of Hades would be eternally grateful to his friends.

"How about you and I move this to our bedroom and watch a movie so we're out of the way?", offered Nico with a tender smile. "You get to pick the movie. I'll endure anything you want."

"Oh. Tempting", hummed Percy pleased and slowly stood up. "Okay, you got me. Let's go and watch _Kingsman III_ , I haven't seen that in a while and you know how much I love it."

"You only like it because Harry returns in that", sighed Nico amused.

"I do", agreed Percy and wrapped one arm around Nico's waist. "Let's get going."

"Urgh, old people and their old people movies", huffed Percy Junior as she walked past her parents.

"Yes!", called Percy out and stuck his tongue out at his daughter while she sauntered down the stairs. "And Robert Downey Junior will forever be Iron Man to me too! I refuse your generation's relaunches of all the amazing movies from our generation!"

Junior snorted and rolled her eyes as her parents passed her, though there was a fond expression on her face. She was immensely glad that her mom was home again and alright, or at least on the way. It would take until after the birth for Percy Senior to be fully alright.

"Okay, the bathroom is clean. Which has like zero effect because Silly instantly sprinted under the shower because she felt 'ew'", declared Percy Junior and snorted. "How are things here?"

"Good, so far. But since it got a little too crowded in here, we send Jimmy to start with the kitchen. If you're done, you could go and help him?", offered Donny reluctantly.

Without arguing, the young di Angelo punk moved on to the kitchen to help. Donny frowned curiously. She had matured a lot over the summer and especially now, Donny was grateful for it. After what had happened with their mom, they needed all hands on deck.

/break\

Donny was sitting with his three favorite people, aside from his fiance. It was the evening before his wedding and he was watching Donny's favorite Disney movie and while on screen, little Kiara and Kovu were playing with each other, Thea was braiding Bianca Maria's hair and Donny was cuddling up to Sam. He appreciated that Sander had lend him Sam for tonight, while Sander was off with Trend, Marshall and Herc watching some kind of sports game somewhere.

"Tomorrow, you're getting married to your oldest friend", pointed Bia out in a soft voice.

"When you say it like that...", muttered Donny and wiggled his nose.

"I think it's beautiful when she says it like that", argued Thea with a smile.

"Oh, did I tell you that Hymenaios is going to officiate the wedding?", asked Donny amused.

"...One of the Erotes? As in the gods who tricked us and nearly got us killed?", asked Thea stunned.

"It's either him or Lady Hera", shrugged Donny casually.

"You really changed a lot", whispered Bia fondly as she reached out to ruffle his hair.

"I guess I grew up. Saving the world kinda does that to you, huh?", mused Donny thoughtful.

"Saving the world does that to you", agreed Sam softly. "That, and actually making friends."

The son of Ares grinned teasingly as he nudged Donny, who just huffed offended. Both of them started giggling at the same moment, collapsing against each other. Bianca Maria observed them with tender eyes. She was filled with so much pride and love when she saw her little brother like this. With his own friends, having found love and courage. Donny had grown to be quite the hero.

/break\

"You look beautiful, just like your mother on our wedding day."

Donny, in the middle of pacing through his room in the estate of the winery where he was getting ready with his mom and grandma, paused to look at his father. He had rarely seen Nico look that proud. Percy stopped braiding white rose-buds into Donny's hair long enough to pull Nico into a kiss. After all, Nico had just indirectly complimented Percy. And that was what Donny wanted too, even after eighteen years of marriage and twenty-one years of relationship. He wanted Sander to look at him the same way Nico was looking at Percy at the moment – like he was the most beautiful thing on this entire planet and Nico was the luckiest person to be with Percy.

"Yes, our boy is quite handsome, isn't he?", mused Sally Blofis with a gentle smile.

Her azure-blue eyes were soft as she looked Donny up and down and straightened his white three-piece suit once more. She had already done that about five times. Not that Donny minded, he enjoyed being pampered by his mom and grandma. His siblings had been there earlier too, but it got too loud and too wild, so Sally had ordered Paul to take them outside. The promise of getting to play with uncle Tyson and aunt Ella was very convincing.

"I just came here to see how you're doing", stated Nico. "Everyone outside is ready, the last guests finally arrived. No war broke loose yet, so that's a good thing, but Clarisse complained to me that his son is getting on her nerves, so we need to hurry up."

"Just... five more minutes?", requested Donny and chewed his lips.

Sally and Percy exchanged an amused look before ushering Nico outside.

/break\

Sander took a deep breath, trying to calm down his racing heart. It did not help. Not even a little bit. He fidgeted with the rose in his pocket. A white rose with an iced rim, thanks to Blance. The Roman daughter of Chione had iced everything over with a thin sheet of frost, which gave the whole thing a wonderful winter wonderland touch, especially since thanks to Derek and Phyl, they had tons of fresh and beautiful flowers all around the park. It was a little chilly, but not snowy yet and not cold enough for winter clothes, so it was absolutely perfect for the wedding.

"Dude, relax", ordered Sam as he elbowed his best friend hard.

Sander grunted at the force, glaring at the son of Ares. His six best men were all wearing light blue suits, all nicely lined up next to Sander. Trend, Marshall, Herc, Loki, Sam and Cally. Though Cally looked kind of embarrassed and annoyed by his fidgeting. He blushed and ducked his head.

"Sorry. It's just... what if Donny changed his mind?", asked Sander worried, frown on his face. "What if he doesn't want to get married anymore? What if he's not showing up? O—Or what if I fail at being a husband? What if I screw this marriage up? What if-"

"What if you'd just shut up and marvel at your gorgeous husband-to-be?", drawled Hymenaios.

The god was wearing official robes as he stood next to Sam, in the middle of the two lines of best men. Opposite Sander's support group stood the bridesmaids of Donny, their dresses matching the suits of Sander's best men. Thea and Bianca Maria were chatting lowly while Derek, Phyl, Mel and Stella stared eagerly over at the tent where Donny was slowly emerging from. Sander's breath hitched as he followed their line of sight to see his very gorgeous husband-to-be.

"Oh my gods, he's beautiful", whispered Sander in awe, eyes wide and mouth hanging open a little.

Sam next to him snorted amused and rolled his eyes, with Cally grunting in agreement and elbowing her brother for good measure for being a ridiculous sap. At least until Bianca Maria reached over to punch her upper arm hard enough to make her wince.

"You will let your brother say all the girly and embarrassing things he wants, because today is my brother's wedding day and he deserves to be complimented and praised and loved", hissed Bia.

"Yes, Bibs", mumbled Cally obediently, eyes cast down and glower on her face.

"You're as hen-pecked by your own di Angelo as Sander", teased Sam amused.

"It's part of the di Angelo charm", hummed Bianca Maria knowingly.

Nico di Angelo stood tall and proud as he led his son down the aisle, with Jimmy and Silly walking in front of them. Both little ones were grinning broadly and proudly as they threw rose-petals at the ground and then at the guests too. The demigods and legacies in the many rows in front of the altar laughed at the enthusiastic twins. Donny smiled fondly, slight blush on his cheeks. In the first row of guests sat their family of course – Clarisse, Chris, Carry, Paul, Sally, Tyson, Ella, Percy, Thess, Percy Junior, Jack, Poseidon, Hades and Persephone sitting and watching proudly. As soon as the four reached the altar, Silly and Jimmy hurried to sit with their mom and the older twins. Percy smiled and ruffled their hair in a praising manner. Nico held onto Donny for a moment longer as he faced Sander with a serious frown. Sander started squirming right away.

"I'm giving you one of my most precious people, I'm trusting you with a part of my very soul", stated Nico seriously. "I hope you will protect, love and treat him the way he deserves."

"If not, I have a special spot in the Fields reserved for that", called Hades out loudly.

"Darling", hissed Persephone, elbowing her husband with a glare.

"What?", grunted Hades defensively. "It's the truth."

The guests chuckled dryly and laughed amused, while Sander just nodded sharply. "O—Of course, sir. Donny is my heart, hurting him would break my heart. I'd never do that."

Now that earned him coos from the audience and a snort from his sisters and mother. Sander blushed as he stared at the pleased smile on Donny's face. Nico nodded pleased and let go of Donny, kissing his forehead before sitting down next to his own husband and their other children.

"Dear community", started Hymenaios after Donny and Sander stared at each other for a little too long. "We gathered here together to witness how Chrysander Rodriguez and Hades Poseidon di Angelo are joined in the holy union of marriage. Now, you two got vows prepared?"

"Yeah", confirmed Donny, exchanging a look with Sander, who nodded wildly.

"I, uhm, can I start?", asked Sander, with Donny nodding this time.

"Go ahead", nodded Hymenaios with an encouraging smile. "And please, breath."

Sander blushed and took a shaky breath, too nervous about everything. Donny, with his lower lip caught between his teeth, grabbed Sander's hands in his own, linking their fingers. At the contact, Sander visibly relaxed, even the smile on his lips seemed more relaxed.

"I'm... I'm going to get married to the love of my life today", started Sander, voice soft and filled with love. "I've been in love with you way before I could even grasp the concept of love. Uncle Percy used to tell me those embarrassing stories about how I fawned over you even when we were toddlers. I guess I always knew just how special you are. But for the longest time, I was... one of the only people aside from your family who knew just how amazing and special you are and I'm... I'm very happy that now there are so many people here to celebrate with us, not for my sake but for your sake. I'm glad that I could help others realize how wonderful and awesome your are and... and now that we're getting married, I promise I will keep doing that. I will help you with anything you need help with and I wanna make sure others realize how amazing you are. I promise to always love you and protect you and cherish you and... and I can't wait for our life together to start. I know we're just getting married so... so we're married in case anything happens, so we won't regrets, because we _are_ heroes and a hero never knows how long life will be. But I'm looking forward to graduating with you and... and finding our own place together, to waking up next to you for the rest of our life and have our own awesome family one day. I'm looking forward to being with you forever."

Donny had a dopey smile adoring his lips as he listened to the honest words of his fiance."I am getting married to my best friend. For the longest time, you... were only just that. My best friend and I didn't notice what else you were. I was... so busy drowning myself in misery and self-pity and... my depressions that I didn't realize what I had right in front of me. But... thanks to you and all the wonderful people in my life, I'm... in a better place right now. I love you, I love you for loving me. You were there for me when I was at my lowest, even when I didn't believe in myself, you would believe in me. You were fighting for me when I didn't see anything that was worth fighting for. You're my hero, not because you slayed dragons and defended camp, but because you rescued me from the depth of myself. You did so much for me and I promise that I will do everything to be there for you. I will always believe in you and support you and fight for you as you have done for me. I'm... I'm also looking forward to sharing my life with you. You have always been the greatest part of my life outside my family and I'm so happy that now, you will be part of my family."

"Gosh, that was beautiful", sighed Hymenaios dreamily. "Okay, moving along. The rings?"

Percy smiled amused as he nudged Jack a little. The youngest di Angelo stared wide-eyed and nodded hastily. He looked utterly proud as he stumbled over to the altar to present the rings to Sander and Donny. Each took one of the bands. They had a special wave-shape so they fit perfectly against each other, each ring having half a heart cut out so when they were against each other, there was a heart-shaped hole between the two silver bands. Both had a phrase engraved in it – _Il mio amore é per sempre_ – as well as the nickname of their respective husband; Donny's ring ended with _mio eroe_ , while Sander's ended with _mio mare scuro_. Sander took a shaky breath as he put the ring on Donny's finger, before Donny returned the favor and stuck the other ring on Sander's.

"Wonderful! I hereby pronounce you husbands, Mister and Mister di Angelo. You may kiss now."

Donny practically lunged forward, arms wrapped around Sander's neck as he pulled him into a slow, long kiss. Sander gasped softly, his arms around Donny's waist as he pulled his husband closer. The crowd around them stood to cheer and clap for them, some of their friends whistling loudly.

"Okay, okay, okay, enough with the kissing, this is getting gross", complained Cally with fond annoyance. "You may continue this during your wedding night, in private."

Sander and Donny were embarrassed and blushing as they parted. Grinning broadly, Sander grabbed Donny around the waist to lift him up into his arms and carry him down the aisle and toward where their buffet was standing. They were sitting at the large main table, together with their families and their bridesmaids and best men. Donny was practically sitting on Sander's lap, they sat that close, holding hands and leaning against each other, looking dreamily at each other.

"I'm yours now", whispered Sander with the dopiest grin possible on his lips.

"Yeah, and I'm yours", agreed Donny, kissing Sander's chin.

"Oh goodness, are they always like this?", snorted Hades amused, shaking his head.

"Yeah, they are", grunted Nico, shaking his head in a similar manner.

"Stop teasing the children", chided Percy, staring fondly at Donny.

"I'm really proud of my nephew!", declared Tyson proudly as he stood behind his big brother's chair. "You did great with your kids, big bro. So, when Donny and Sander have babies, that that make me a grand-uncle...? Like grandpas, but as uncle?"

"I guess it would", grinned Percy, grin widening as he saw the bright blushes on Sander's and Donny's cheeks. "Oh, relax, kids. I don't want to hear _anything_ about grandkids for _at least_ until after your graduation and until after you're off-age, Hades Poseidon."

"Seconded", chorused Clarisse, Chris and Nico.

"But once that happens, I expect lots of adorable little great-grandchildren", interrupted Poseidon, patting Donny's back hard. "You do have your mother's cute genes and you have to pass them on. Imagine, those third generation legacies of mine, still as heroic as my darling boy over there."

Percy ducked his head and rolled his eyes a little. "Dad. No pressuring the kids."

"Shush, we old folks get to demand cute little off-springs of you youngsters", argued Sally teasingly, patting Percy's head in a patronizing way. "After all, not all of us will be around forever."

She sighed overly dramatic, causing Percy to protest loudly. "Mom! Don't talk like that!"

She laughed, the same mischievous laugh Percy would make sometimes. Paul and Nico exchanged a look, knowing that the Jacksons could be awful teases at times. The two men smirked as they turned toward Sander, who was just trying to follow the entire conversation with a lost puppy look.

"Get used to that. You just married your own Jackson", advised Paul.

"But Donny is a di Angelo", argued Sander confused.

"He's half di Angelo, half Jackson", pointed Nico out with a smirk. "And believe me, the Jackson gene is a very dominant gene. It causes mischief, teasing, plotting and undeniable kitten-eyes."

"I can only confirm all of that", agreed Paul, suppressing a grin of his own.

"And just wait until you have to _raise_ little Jacksons", warned Nico, faking seriousness. "Believe me, I raised seven of them and the next one is on the way. It does not get easier. Even previous experience raising a little Jackson does not make it easier when you repeat the action."

"Oh, I second that", grunted Paul with large, fake traumatized eyes. "I mean, I only raised _one_ and only from his teens upward, but do you know the messes, drama and all the worry he caused us? Like when he fought two wars, or when he went missing for over half a year!"

Nico snorted, nodding gravely. "You're telling me. My oldest signed up for the Hunt and my second oldest just saved the world, leaving me to worry for months while he was on his quest and now he's getting married, soon moving out and leaving the next. Believe me, that's the worst."

Nico and Paul were having the time of their lives as they watched the level of horror rise on Sander's face the longer they talked. Donny sighed and rolled his eyes, glaring at his dad and grandpa before leaning up to kiss his new husband soothingly.

"Don't worry. Whatever comes next, we'll face it together", assured Donny softly.

"Yes, yes, enough of that! Get on the dance-floor for the first dance so I can have the next dance with my Sammy!", interrupted Derek annoyed, pushing the married couple toward the dance-floor.

Donny and Sander yelped and laughed as they stumbled onto the dance-floor. Soft, beautiful music set in, courtesy of Chuck and the Apollo Cabin. The newly weds got lost in each other's eyes for a long stretch as they started slow-dancing. After the first song, they got tapped on their shoulders. Clarisse smirked as she stole Sander from Donny, while Percy took Donny by the hand.

"I'm proud of you", stated Clarisse as she started dancing with her son.

"Really?", asked Sander in awe, looking at his mom surprised.

"When...", started Clarisse before clearing her throat. "When I was your age, I didn't know how to express my feelings, or how to deal with them. Because... Because of that, I nearly lost your father."

"...You never told us that", muttered Sander with a frown. "What... uhm, what happened?"

"Your father was torn between staying at camp and... staying loyal to his big brother Luke, because he had been the only parental figure Chris had known at the time", started Clarisse, keeping her voice low and soft. "I... didn't stop him from following Luke, because I didn't know how to tell him how I felt and then he got... mixed up in a quest and was... he wasn't in a good place by the time we found him and I nursed him back to health, but the entire time, all I could think was that it was my fault, that if I had told him I loved him and didn't want him to go, he would have stayed. He would have stayed at camp and never got endangered in the first place." Clarisse paused for a second, tilting Sander's chin up to look him in the eyes. "I'm very proud of you for knowing how to express your feelings and for standing by the side of the person you love, not letting them down."

Sander grinned softly before hugging his mother tightly. "Thanks, mom. I love you."

"I love you too, brat", sighed Clarisse fondly. "Now go and dance with the wife."

"Husband, mom", chided Sander and rolled his eyes.

Chris cut in to take over dancing with Clarisse and Sander turned to look for his husband, who was just being handed around between di Angelos. After Percy had finished his dance, Nico took over and right now, Bianca Maria was dancing with Donny. There was literally a line behind her though. A line of di Angelos. Not that they didn't know how to waste time until then. Thess was dancing with Luke Chase, Percy Junior was dancing with Kitty Ellen and Jimmy and Silly were dancing with each other. Looking a little lost, Sander scanned the crowd of happy couples dancing. Hades and Persephone were dancing close by, chatting with Sally and Paul who were dancing next to them. Herc and Thea, Marshall and Sara, Loki and Blance, Melissa and Chuck, his cousin Nico and Joe, Trend and Sam, Victor and Stella. Sander frowned confused and took another look around.

"If you're not dancing with anyone, you can as well dance with me."

Ah, there he was. Sander grinned down at Derek. Derek stared at him demandingly, offering one hand. Without further letting him wait, Sander took it and wrapped his other arm around Derek's waist. The son of Demeter hummed pleased as they started dancing.

"Trend, Sammy and I are taking turns dancing with each other and we agreed who doesn't partake should dance with Phyl", stated Derek before nodding into the general direction of Phyl. "But then Erik Anderson asked her to dance and just look at her."

Sander grinned as he saw the blush on Phyl's face while she danced with the son of Enyo. "That's nice. So... You agreed to get married after all, even though you hate this whole mess?"

Derek heaved a sigh and shrugged like it was some kind of big sacrifice on his part. "Oh well, whoever could say no to those adorable kitten-eyes of Sam's... Besides, looking at it from the outside... A gigantic party thrown for me, with flowers and good food, I can live with that."

"You're ridiculous, Der", snorted Sander amused.

"I'm happy for you", whispered Derek suddenly serious, not looking up at Sander. "I know I always made fun of you for liking the Disney princess, but I know he makes you happy and I'm glad you have this. Now... Now that I have Trend and Sammy, I _know_ how much it means to be with your true love and I am so, so happy for you to have that, because you're the best person I have ever met on this entire planet and no one deserves happiness more than you, because I love you. And if you utter a single word of what I just said to anyone, I will claw your eyes out, Chrysander."

"Got it", grinned Sander amused, ruffling Derek's hair.

"Urgh, look at all those old people pretending to be young", grunted Derek to change topics.

Sander grinned and shook his head, but obeyed. Piper and Annabeth were dancing and laughing as they whirled past Reyna and Jason, both couples mercilessly teasing their off-springs until Thea and Herc looked like their heads were exploding. Frank, Hazel and Leo somehow made it work to dance in a set of three. Sander's grin faded into a faint smile.

"I think it's nice", mused Sander softly. "Imagine us being old and still in love with our husbands, dancing on the wedding of our children. Heh, imagine your kids and ours getting married."

"Why, your kid would be lucky to marry any offspring of mine", huffed Derek haughtily. "Especially when it happens to also be Sammy's. Oh gods, those kids will be endearing darlings."

"Could you two stop planning the fictional wedding of our fictional kids? Instead, unhand my husband, Rhys", ordered Donny as he butted in with a smirk.

"Oh please, he's all yours!", exclaimed Derek, throwing his hands in the air. "I have to try that dance the Zhangs are pulling off anyway. Now, where are my sweetheart and my blondie."

Donny smiled and rolled his eyes as he watched Derek saunter off. The smile softened some more as he turned toward his husband. His husband. The thought was more than just pleasant.

"Hey. You escaped your family", grinned Sander as they started dancing.

"What can I say? I still owe the twins each a dance", sighed Donny exhausted. "But I thought it was time I'd share another dance with you, Mister di Angelo. After all, we got interrupted earlier."

"Say that again", prompted Sander with his largest, most loyal grin.

"Mister di Angelo!", exclaimed Jack suddenly, jumping in between them. The freshly married couple paused long enough so Jack could stand on Sander's feet and join in on the dance. "So, if you're a Mister di Angelo now too, like mom and dad, you're my brother now, right? I heard nonna say that earlier! That you're our law-brother now!"

"Brother-in-law", corrected Donny fondly. "And yes, Sander is now your brother-in-law."

"Cool", whispered Jack with sparkling eyes, staring up at Sander adoringly.

"Yeah, cool", agreed Sander with a grin.

"But why did you decide to become part of our family? Aren't auntie Clarisse and uncle Chris sad that you're not part of their family anymore?", asked Jack confused.

"I'm still part of my parents' family", argued Sander amused. "Like... Like your momma, just because he's not a Jackson anymore doesn't mean he's less Sally's family. And Sally and Paul, they're still also part of your family even though you don't share a last name, right?"

Jack's face screwed up as he thought really hard, before he nodded wildly. "Makes sense, okay."

"Good", nodded Sander, obviously relieved.

"But", started Jack, causing Donny and Sander to tense up. "How do you chose?"

"Chose what, tesorino?", inquired Donny curiously.

"Who gets to keep their name", explained Jack, waving his arms around a little. "Did you flip a coin, like Hunt and Heist do when we have to do pair projects at camp?"

"No", laughed Donny and shook his head. "We discussed this, actually. And it's not... like one _has_ to stop having their names. We agreed together that Sander would become a di Angelo, but I could also have become a Rodriguez, or we both could have become... Rodriguez di Angelos. Or we could have just kept our last names as it is. That's all an option when you get married, you know? So you and your partner have to talk and agree what you want. Sander said that he doesn't mind not being a Rodriguez anymore since he still knows who his parents are, while I wasn't so ready to give up being a di Angelo, since I have all of you awesome baby siblings and Bia with whom I want to share my name. And be both thought that Rodriguez di Angelo is way too long."

"...Adults are so weird", sighed Jack and nodded before hugging Sander. "But I'm happy you're a di Angelo now and that you didn't take Donny away from the family!"

Sander and Donny laughed as they watched Jack running off toward where the Hoods were.

/break\

Due to the fact that their honeymoon was only going to take place in a couple of days and that both were living with their respective family instead of together, the matter of where to spend their wedding night had been an issue. One that was easily taken care of, of course. Donny had discussed the matter with his mother. His mother had made him a beautiful suggestion. Now, the only problem was to get away from their wedding to actually _have_ their wedding night. Which was harder than anticipated, because basically everyone wanted to dance or talk with them and it felt as though once one course was eaten, the next one came right away. Donny had lost track of what he had eaten throughout the night, but he was glad that his dad had taken care of food. Nico had made the plans and the united forces of Frank and Hazel, together with Katie's restaurant and thus the Stolls, had dished out every Italian dish ever known to mankind. Or so it seemed.

"It was beautiful", murmured Donny, cheek resting against Sander's chest.

Both were staring at the last remains of the wedding celebration. It was already dark outside and the youngest were deep asleep – Jack, the Hoods, Matt Chase and Claire Zhang were laying curled together close to their respective parents. The older kids were past their point of tired and also on a sugar high, leading to an awful karaoke night that was currently dominated by Thyl Grace and Sammy Marie Zhang rocking a duet of _Can You Feel The Love Tonight_ , which had been chosen as Donny's and Sander's official first song. The hyperactive kids weren't the only ones having fun; the drunk adults were cheering and enjoying it just as much. Poseidon and Hades were having a dance-off, much to the amusement of their children. Ella had the young ones – Carry, Jimmy, Silly and their friends Fred Chase, Andy Cage, Basty Ellen, JP Grace and Milly Zhang – gathered around her as she told them a bedtime story. Or at least that was what it looked like.

"And you're sure it's okay to sneak away like this?", complained Sander skeptically.

"Look at them. Do they look like they're going to miss us?", inquired Donny fondly.

Sam was stuck between Derek and Trend as the two were quite obviously trying to get into their fiance's pants. And they were by far not the only couple busy making out. Luke and Thess had been interrupted by Nico earlier and Donny was pretty sure the two were now scarred for life. Then again, so was Nico apparently, because his dad had instantly fled into Percy's arms for comfort about the 'bad' picture he had just walked in. After comforting his husband, Percy had successfully roped Nico into a snowball fight with Sally, Tyson and whoever else wanted to partake; though they had to thank Blance for that, because her snow-powers had made this even possible. It had started out as a distraction for the little ones by making them build snowmen.

"Mh, I guess you're right", agreed Sander with a slow nod. "They're all busy themselves."

"Exactly", hummed Donny mischievously. "And I still have one wedding gift to unwrap."

"Really?", asked Sander surprised and confused. "I thought we did all that after the dancing..."

Donny giggled and ran his hands over Sander's torso. "It... wouldn't have been _appropriate_ to unwrap that particular... gift in public, Mister id Angelo."

"Oh?", grunted Sander before his eyes widened and his cheeks lit up. "Oh."

"Yeah", laughed Donny and pecked Sander's lips. "Come on, let's go."

Sander barely had time to nod before his shadow-traveling husband shadow-traveled them out of the park. Sander didn't like the feeling of falling through the shadows, but he liked the feeling of being pressed up against Donny. Besides, he knew his Donny would never let anything happen to him. He still grunted at the impact though. They landed right on Donny's bed, in the di Angelo vacation home. The childhood home of Nico di Angelo, the one he had bought and renovated with the help of his friends back fifteen or so years ago. It was perfect. They had it all to themselves, they could see something different – they could see Venice, something Sander had never seen before – and they were free to stay until Christmas Eve. Then, they would return to New Athens for Christmas celebrations and after that, they'd move their honeymoon to England, to the Raser mansion. It was an incredibly nice offer from Sam, seeing as Sam's grandfather, aunt and cousins were living in Dublin and the mansion was generally only used for big family celebrations or vacations. Total peace, safe borders thanks to Liam O'Riley and the beauty of England.

"This is pretty amazing", whispered Sander as he looked around, gaze caught on the window's view over the beauty of Venice. "Oh, I can't wait to drive down the canals here!"

"...Can we maybe for now enjoy my bedroom? More specifically my bed?", suggested Donny.

Sander's eyes were wide as he nodded sharply. It wasn't like he hadn't seen Donny naked before, they had gotten each other off a lot of times by now. But this was _it_. They'd finally have proper real sex. He grew giddy and hard just thinking about it, so he was fidgeting so much that he barely managed to get out of his clothes. Donny watched him fondly while stripping down himself.

"Hey there", whispered Donny softly, grabbing Sander's hand. "Calm down, mio eroe."

"Easier said than done", mumbled Sander with a pout. "You have _any_ idea how long I've been dreaming about this? It's been like eternity. And now... now you're finally mine."

"Yes, I am", confirmed Donny and leaned up to kiss Sander.

The half-Italian pressed closer against his husband, hands spread out on Sander's firm chest. Sander grunted into the kiss and let his hands rest on Donny's hips to pull him even closer until their erections were pressed against each other. Both moaned into the kiss and started rubbing against each other. The beauty of the 1850s mansion paled compared to his gorgeous new husband, marveled Sander as he slowly lowered Donny onto the bed. All that olive-colored skin, the black curls with the white rose-buds braided in, the hooded sea-green eyes and pretty pink lips.

"You're so pretty", whispered Sander in awe.

"Dork. You already saw me naked", huffed Donny and rolled his eyes, though he still blushed.

"So what", huffed Sander with a teasing grin. "I will _always_ marvel at how pretty you are."

"That a promise?", asked Donny pleased as he pulled Sander down with him.

"Totally", agreed Sander, resting his hands on either side of Donny's head. "Every single day of our married life. Because I love you and I will love you every single day."

"Good", hummed Donny happily and placed a chaste kiss on Sander's lips.

"Do you... uhm...", stated Sander unsure, looking down at his own dick and then at Donny.

"Yes, love, I brought us lube and even condoms, in case you, well, wanna use them. But we don't have to, since I've been drinking my tea every day", replied Donny amused. "Relax."

"Why are you so relaxed?", complained Sander with a frown while Donny reached to the nightstand where he had put everything earlier this week. "You're the virgin! I've already had sex before!"

"It's because, for one, you spend literal years thinking about this, so now that it's happening, you're nervous", replied Donny calmly while lubing up his hands. "And I guess if I hadn't been exposed to the united force of Derek and Stella for the past months. I've seen and heard more than I could ever picture about sex. And I want to enjoy this, I don't want this to turn into a mess because we're both having mental breakdowns, mio eroe. Now listen here, we are going to have sex and it is going to be totally mind-blowing and then we're gonna cuddle and _then_ we can have even more sex. So, even if it's not mind-blowing, we can just... repeat until it's perfect. So there's no reason to be nervous."

Sander slowly relaxed at Donny's soothing words. "Yeah, you're right. You're right. We're married now, so we can have as much sex as we want. Heh, I like that."

Donny grinned and nodded while using his slick hands to grasp Sander's dick. Sander groaned as he thrust into the touch, nearly falling over, which made them both laugh a little. They smiled at each other before leaning in for a soft kiss. This time, they adjusted to lay comfortably next to each other, facing each other and running their hands over the body of their respective new husband.

"I. Love. You", stated Donny, punctuating every word with a kiss. "Do _you_ want to... or should I..."

Sander looked a little lost until Donny motioned with one hand toward his own ass. Then Sander's eyes widened in realization and he nodded so wildly, cheeks red and grin broad. He hastily reached out for the lube, stumbling a little until he got the lid open. Within seconds, his hands were slick and he reached out to the cute bubble-butt of his husband, squeezing it once tightly.

"S—San, you tease", yelped Donny embarrassed, blushing.

"What? It's mine now", grinned Sander broadly, squeezing again before slipping his hands down.

His fingers easily slipped between the two cheeks, pulling them apart and reaching for the puckered entrance. Donny bucked back against the touch, pushing for more. Sander happily obeyed and circled the hole with one digit before pushing in. He wiggled the finger, pushing in deeper. They hadn't done _anything_ in like two months now. Well, nothing below the clothes at least. And for the last month, neither of them had even masturbated. In short, they were both ridiculously horny.

"You're so cute", whispered Sander in awe as he rolled them over a little. "So, so cute..."

He was hovering above Donny, half laying between Donny's spread legs, one hand busying itself with Donny's hole and with preparing his husband. With his other hand did he support himself next to Donny's head, staring deep into those sea-green eyes.

"You're so hot", countered Donny, dragging his fingers slowly up Sander's abs. "So, so hot..."

He shamelessly groped Sander's firm chest before running his hands over Sander's shoulders to hold onto those gorgeous biceps. Sander grinned at him before diving in to bite his neck. Though it was more a playful nibble, really. The nibbling continued down Donny's pulse and along Donny's collarbone. His tongue traced one of the perky pink nipples, circling it in a playful manner before he wrapped his lips around the nipple and started teasing it with his tongue.

"S—San, you're killing me here", groaned Donny desperately.

His fingers curled into Sander's hair, tugging a little as Sander bit down on his nipple while adding a second finger. Sander started scissoring Donny, obeying the harsh pull on his hair before he'd lose any of it. The fingers slipped from the brunette mane, putting quite the pressure on Sander's scalp in a massaging way, running his fingers down Sander's neck until he reached the muscular shoulders where Donny dug his nails in sharp to hold onto his husband.

"Ouch", complained Sander and looked up long enough to glare at Donny.

"Not sorry", shrugged Donny with a smirk, wrapping his legs around Sander's waist. "C'mon, that's enough prepping, really. If you don't give me your cock voluntarily, I will take it by force."

Donny threw the most adorable threatening glare at Sander that Sander had ever seen. It made the brunette trickster snort in amusement before sealing Donny's lips with his. The half-Italian scratched his nails down Sander's back until he reached the firm ass. Sander broke their kiss to yelp high-pitched as his Dark Sea squeezed his ass like his life depended on it.

"What?", asked Donny innocently. "It's mine now."

"You will be the death of me, Donny", sighed Sander and shook his head.

Donny actually looked proud at that and wrapped his legs tightly around Sander's waist, using all of his force to bring Sander closer until the brunette finally and willingly adjusted himself to position his dick at Donny's entrance. Donny slowly loosened his grip on Sander as he felt the hard cock push in. His eyes closed, head resting against the pillow as Donny fully enjoyed the foreign feeling. Sure, he had Sander's fingers up his ass before and Sander's cock down his throat, he already had had toys inside himself, _this_ however was so entirely different and new and weird and awesome. It kind of hurt, because Sander was bigger than Donny's toys and definitely bigger than fingers, but even the burn wasn't entirely unpleasant, especially with the added sensation of warmth from the flesh being pushed into him. So different from a cold plastic toy. So... real, in lack of a better word. It felt entirely too real and amazing and all Donny could to in reaction was pull Sander down into the most passionate kiss they had ever shared. Sander moaned into the kiss, leaning in pleased, also pushing in deeper in that motion. Donny gasped as more of Sander entered him, nearly accidentally biting Sander's tongue. He looked honestly apologetic as they parted, leaning up to kiss Sander's nose. Sander grinned at that, pecking Donny's lips innocently before easing his entire dick in. Both gasped strangled as Sander was seated balls-deep inside Donny.

"Okay. Okay, I like that", mumbled Donny wide-eyed. "But, uh, gimme a sec."

"As much time as you need, my Dark Sea", whispered Sander with a grin.

He shifted a bit, to lean more comfortable and just stare into Donny's eyes for a few moments before he started tracing kisses all over as much of Donny as he could reach. Donny twitched and arched his body in all the right ways as the soft lips touched him. All his twitching however made it hard for Sander not to move. Sander's lips just ran down Donny's arm to his hand until he could kiss the wedding ring on his ring finger. Donny giggled a little happily at that.

"Okay, you can move. Please move", requested Donny, caressing Sander's hair.

"Love to", hummed Sander, pulling out in slow-motion until he was nearly all the way out.

Donny whimpered softly as he felt Sander leaving him, which put a ridiculously dopey grin on Sander's lips just before the trickster thrust back in. Donny gasped strangled at the force, hands and nails back on Sander's shoulders. He knew his husband would have scratch marks all over his back, but neither of them really cared at the moment. Sander's rhythm was slow and steady and Donny knew he never wanted to live without this feeling ever again. Not that he wanted to constantly have sex, but he wanted to know that Sander was there for him and that they could do this as often as they wanted, whenever they wanted and wherever they wanted.

"Oh gods, yes, please, right there", groaned Donny and threw his head into his neck.

Sander looked adorably proud that he found Donny's prostate that early on. He tried to keep in mind the angle he had used and repeated the action, hitting it head on once more. Once he had established the perfect rhythm and angle, he leaned down to kiss Donny once more. Their lips stayed connected in a slow, messy kiss the entire time they had sex. Sander only half remembered to also get Donny off, feeling utterly embarrassed that he had completely forgotten about that, so sucked into the sensation of finally being inside Donny, after all those years of dreaming of this. He was finally inside the love of his life. He sloppily grasped Donny's cock and started massaging it in a pace to match his thrusts. Donny bucked up against it, moaning into their kiss.

"C—Coming", moaned Donny as all the warning Sander got before his hands got sticky.

Sander kept jerking Donny off until the last drop was spend. Slowly, Donny grabbed Sander's wrist and pulled the sticky hand up between their faces. A mischievous grin was on Donny's lips as he started to lick the hand clean, sucking sensually on Sander's finger.

"D—Donny", gasped Sander out, staring wide-eyed at the intriguing picture.

The pulsing convulsion of Donny's muscles together with the image of Donny licking Sander's hand clean was all Sander needed to come hard and deep inside his husband in the most explosive orgasm he had ever experienced himself. He crashed their lips together in a harsh kiss that was about eighty percent teeth and thirty percent orgasm high. Sander's breath was ragged as he rode his orgasm out inside his boyfriend-turned-husband before slowly pulling out and collapsing sideways. Donny instantly followed, snuggling up to Sander and resting his head on his lover's chest, right above his hear. While listening to Sander's heartbeat, Donny started tracing Sander's abs with a finger with lazy, slow motions. Sander hummed pleased at that, laying one arm around Donny.

"So... how was that for your first time?", asked Sander after a beat.

"Repeat-worthy", declared Donny with the grin of a cat who ate a canary, licking his lips.

"That is good to ear", grinned Sander pleased, kissing the top of his head.

"So... how was your first time as a married man, Mister di Angelo?", asked Donny teasingly.

"Really good", whispered Sander exhausted, grinning happily. "So... when we napped a little, will you show me the city? Because it looks really pretty and I've never been in Italy before..."

"Sure. We could go out for dinner", agreed Donny happily, kissing Sander's neck.

"Say... uhm...", started Sander with a frown. "Why aren't we spending our honeymoon here? I mean, it's... it's a beautiful house that belongs to your family and it's also a beautiful city and it's Italy, so... I mean, I don't get it. Why aren't we staying here for our honeymoon?"

"Because...", started Donny before sitting up enough to look Sander into his beautiful nougat eyes. "I already know Venice. It's kind of like a second home to me. Our honeymoon would just be me leading you around, showing you everything. I'd... I'd have like a home advance. But I don't want that. I want our honeymoon to be... equal. Both of us should be equally in awe and experience something new. That's where the Raser Mansion comes in. Neither of us know our way around England, or the mansion itself – I mean, it's a mansion build by one of the knights of the Round Table. Pretty sure there's like the Holy Grail hidden in the basement or something. I want to explore the mansion with you together, I want to be in total awe with you together. I want to, like, take a day trip to go and see London with you together, I want to visit Stonehenge with you together and maybe talk to Merlin and Arthur again. I want to explore with you _together_ , I don't want to be the one leading the way and showing you wonders. We can do that another time, you and me going on vacation together, but not this week. This week is supposed to be _our_ adventure, right?"

Sander's eyes softened as he pulled Donny into a passionate kiss. "That's why I love you."

"...Because I wanna go to England?", asked Donny confused, tilting his head.

"No", laughed Sander and pulled Donny into a tight hug, burying his nose in the wild curls. "Because you want our honeymoon to be an adventure. You wanna go on an adventure with me instead of just... having sex for a week straight or something."

"We're married now", pointed Donny out, raising one eyebrow. "We can have all the sex we want now. Why would we have to have all the sex now? That's unnecessary. No, we'll only have one honeymoon and I want it to be special and awesome – like us."

"Like when we were kids?", asked Sander playfully, rolling them over so he was leaning over Donny and kissing him slowly. "We'd sneak around your house, searching for hidden treasure..."

"Yeah", laughed Donny, smoothing down Sander's hair. "You... were my first real friend, Sander. And... part of me loves you for that, for making the effort to get to know me."

"Only part of you?", asked Sander teasingly, trailing kisses along Donny's neck.

"Yeah", agreed Donny thoughtful. "Only part of me. Because part of me loves you for being such a selfless, brave hero and another part of me loves you for being so kind and sweet to everyone and only seeing the good in people. And maybe part of me also loves you for that delicious sixpack and your biceps, because I'm only human too and you're insanely hot."

"That I can live with", laughed Sander before laying down again.

"You're going to graduate in summer", stated Donny out of the blue.

"Uhm, yeah?", nodded Sander confused, face screwed up. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just... that's soon. But... you're graduating a year before me", continued Donny with a frown, drawing signs on Sander's chest with his finger. "What are you going to do after graduation?"

"I wanted to start college, in New Athens so I can maybe live with my parents for another year, until you graduate and then, maybe... we could... move in together?", offered Sander thoughtful.

"We could", agreed Donny with a playful smile. "And then we go to college, together. Live together. Start... our own life. I like that idea. And you wanna become a DPS agent, right? I know you'll be great. You're so kind and sweet and I love you so much and I believe in you."

"What about you, Don?", asked Sander with a thoughtful frown. "I... don't think I remember you ever telling me what _you_ wanna do after high school. Most the time, you don't talk about those things at all or... you just... shrug it off."

"Because...", started Donny before pausing unsure and a little embarrassed. "Sometimes, I didn't think I'd _have_ a future. It's... a weird kind of feeling because it's not like I ever even tried to kill myself or had serious suicidal thoughts, but sometimes I'd just feel like my future doesn't matter. Y—You don't need to worry about it. I'm better now. I mean, Doctor Barton got me on good meds and I... I think I owe a lot to you and the others. This quest... it's probably ridiculous because it was dangerous and all, but for the first time, I felt like part of something, I felt important. And now I have all those... friends. All that... love and support. Mom... still made me go and see Doctor Barton though, but he too says I'm... better, I guess? Urgh. Sorry, that's not even the answer to your question. I _feel_ like... I'm happy about my future, for the first time. So... yeah... I've been... thinking about it, about... what I want. And I think I want to become a vet. I love animals and due to me being the child of the sea and underworld and with the blessing of spring, I can communicate with _very_ many animals. So I guess helping them when they need help is what I want to do. I want to... help. And that they can talk to me probably makes the whole thing easier, huh?"

Sander looked a little pained at first, because he knew that Donny suffered from depression, had since a very early age. It was part of why Donny used to be such a loner. Most kids didn't bother trying to force their way into Donny's life when he was in no state of mind to accept people into his heart. But to hear that Donny was better, at least now – Sander knew that depression wasn't something that was miraculously cured and he knew they would have to deal with bad days too, but they would do this together. Sander wanted to be with Donny, good days and bad days.

"That sounds nice", declared Sander with a soft smile. "You'd be a great puppy doctor."

Donny giggled at that. "Puppy doctor? I like that. Yeah, I'll be a puppy doctor."

Donny hid his face in Sander's chest, grinning to himself. "Let's nap before dinner, okay?"

"Sounds like a perfect plan", agreed Sander and yawned. "Our wedding was kinda exhausting..."

/break\

By the time Sander and Donny woke up again, Donny was glad that he had stoked up the house on Monday already, bringing clothes over for both of them and filling the fridge with some basic things. At least until his mom had said 'make it more than just basics'. Apparently, Nico had decided to take Percy to Venice for a little vacation of their own between Christmas and New Year's. After all, now that Percy Junior was being responsible too and considering that it was Christmas break so Thess and Percy Junior would be home, Nico decided it'd be a great opportunity for the parents to go on a little vacation themselves. Percy was slowly going insane being home so much and that way, they could dodge Percy's chores and the most they'd do would be going on walks together and taking in the scenery, everything nicely calm. No worries about work or the kids or the household. Donny was relieved about that, because the hardest part about throwing the household without their mom wasn't roping the siblings into helping, it was making Percy stay put.

"So... we _could_ cook something nice ourselves", stated Donny while buttoning his shirt up. "But to be honest, I'd prefer to go out. I could show you the sights a little, Venice at night is beautiful."

"I'm all in for that", declared Sander pleased while finishing dressing himself. "We could do the cooking tomorrow. Make awesome lunch, pack it and maybe have a picnic or something?"

"That's a nice plan", agreed Donny with a smile while grabbing his pants. "So, fancy dinner tonight, exploring tomorrow and when we'll return home by tomorrow evening, yeah?"

"So we can help our families with Christmas dinner and last preparations and all", confirmed Sander. "I still gotta wrap Carry's present, I kinda completely forgot with all the wedding planning... But I already bought it like two months ago, so it's really just the wrapping."

"You're such a good brother", grinned Donny and craned his neck to kiss Sander. "I can kind of see you buy Christmas gifts for our kids in like February already, huh?"

"If I'd find something that's perfect for the kids", shrugged Sander embarrassed, blushing a bit. "Once we do have kids, I am so gonna spoil them rotten probably. But that would be your fault then, because you're way too cute and you'd pass the cuteness on to our kids. Don't look at me like that! Paul and Nico warned me about it! It's the Jackson genes! They're dangerous!"

Donny nearly doubled over with laughter, shaking his head before sobering up a little. "It's going to be a great life, right? You, the big-shot DPS agent, me the puppy doctor and our kids totally spoiled. Not just by you, I can see papà spoiling his first grandchildren too."

"...Yeah, he would", snickered Sander before kissing Donny. "And yeah, it'd be a great life. We just gotta survive high school first and manage to live through college, right?"

"Yeah, just", snorted Donny and grabbed his jacket. "Now come. Time for dinner."

/break\

They chose a cute, little and homey-looking restaurant with an elderly, charming waiter who congratulated them heartily when they said that today was their wedding day. Both were a bit surprised at first, they had expected more judgment due to their young age, but the elderly man had just winked and them and told them that when you find your soulmate, age doesn't matter. They had just gotten their drinks and were told dinner would be ten more minutes when they heard a roar outside. Donny and Sander turned toward the window to see a red bull stomping along. As they locked eyes, both had cheeky grins on their face and slowly got up.

"What do you say? Want to slay a bull before dinner?", asked Sander, offering Donny his hand.

Donny's grin nearly split his face as he took the hand. "That sounds lovely, mio eroe."

"Well, we got ten more minutes until dinner, so why not have some fun?", grinned Sander.

They both drew their swords as they exited the restaurant and attacked the bull with flowing, synchronized movements. They had such a good feeling for each other's reactions and bodies at this point that their fighting style was so fluent and well-paced with each other that by the time the bull turned to dust, the bystanding tourists clapped and offered them money for their street performance. Donny and Sander exchanged an amused smile and a kiss before they returned inside to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... huh. Wow. There is only one more chapter left and this story will be over. Feels kind of unreal, considering how long it's been with me now. The final chapter will be about their honeymoon and celebrating New Year's with their crew.
> 
> The next update will be "A to Z with the di Angelos" on Wednesdays, which is probably going to become this story's fixed slot seeing as it's only short chapters but still so many are left. So, Wednesdays for this story. Saturday will stay the routational slot for the other stories.


	100. The Beginning of Happily Ever After

100\. The Beginning of Happily Ever After

Sander moaned softly, licking his dry lips, just to be hit by Donny. "Shush, mio eroe."

"It's not my fault", groaned Sander and leaned down some. "It's just too tight."

"Oh, stop whining. You'll fit", huffed the Dark Sea and rolled his eyes. "You're not that big."

"I _am_ ", pouted Sander, glaring over at his husband.

"Stop arguing and get in here, will you?!", demanded Donny sternly. "Or I'll go without you."

Sander's pout intensified as he stared down at his husband. Sighing in defeat, Sander dropped onto his knees, as Donny demanded. Grinning pleased by Sander's surrender, Donny turned around again to continue his way through the small, confined tunnels going through the entire Raser Mansion. Sander threw a last forlorn glance at the big secret chamber they had discovered and were now about to leave again. It had been the first time Sander had stood upright in the past two hours. Not to say that venturing through the Raser Mansion wasn't one of the most exciting things Sander had ever done, but those tunnels were _small_. Sander had already hit his head about a dozen times. The worst was that they hadn't packed enough water. Both their bottles were already empty and Sander was thirsty. He was thirsty, dirty and his head, neck and back hurt. His face brightened a little as he faced Donny's butt in front of him while his husband led the way.

"Are you _sure_ this will lead us somewhere?", inquired Sander. "Because if not, we are so gonna crawl out the next hole and take a bath, please? I'm tired."

"You're whiny", huffed Donny amused, grabbing his self-drawn map. "Something _has_ to be there."

Sander had to smile a little, despite himself. Yes, he was complaining, but damn, he was really enjoying himself too. They had spend all of their honeymoon so far exploring the mansion, searching for hidden passages, sneaking around through them, making a map of those hidden ways. They had found a hidden study already that was filled with true literate treasures. But they hadn't found _it_ yet, whatever it was. The biggest treasure hidden in this castle-like building.

"I love you, Donny", whispered Sander as he looked forward at his husband.

"You're just saying that because you got a perfect view on my perfect ass right now", teased Donny.

Sander blushed furiously, because yes, okay, there was a perfect piece of ass right in front of him right now, but Sander hadn't meant _that_. Huffing a bit, Sander reached out to pinch said perfect ass, making Donny yelp and jump – and thus hit his head on the too low ceiling, making him cuss.

"Ouch", complained Donny, craning his neck to glare chidingly at Sander. "Really? _Really_?"

"What can I say?", sighed Sander dramatically. "That perfect ass was too tempting."

Donny snorted and shook his head fondly. "I love you too, my pervy hero."

/break\

They didn't find anything that day, but the following day, after another two rounds of sex, about three delicious meals and two showers later. And what they found was more than worth all the searching. Sander stared wide-eyed and dumbfounded, taking Donny's hand to squeeze it.

"Is... Is this really real?", whispered Sander, voice shaking a little.

"I... I don't know?", offered Donny surprised and took a slow step forward. "We could... try it?"

"You sure?", asked Sander doubtfully. "What if it does something?"

"What's it supposed to do, San? It's a sword. In a stone", countered Donny amused. "Come on, my great and mighty hero. Pull it out. Let's see if you're the next king of England."

Sander would have glared at Donny for the silly joke, but then he would have to tear his eyes off of what only could be the Excalibur. Not many other fancy swords that were held in a stone. Biting his lips in excitement, Sander wrapped a hand around the handle and tried to pull. He was only a little disappointed that it didn't work. After all, he was no king. Still, the fact remained...

/break\

"That you have Excalibur in your cellar? How did you fail to tell us that?!", exclaimed Donny.

Sam blinked nearly lazily as he looked up from the delicious meal he was cooking. "We have a couple original prototypes of da Vinci in the attic and a so-called lost Van Gogh in the library over the fireplace? Probably some other stuff all over the place too. Why?"

"A Van Gogh?", echoed Thea and perked up wide-eyed.

"How are you being so casual about these things?", asked Herc borderline frustrated.

"Because I grew up with it?", shrugged Sam and returned his attention to the food. "There's a mirror in the second floor hall that was, supposedly, the portal to Wonderland. But no idea how it works. It's some kind of... portal between the worlds? Doesn't work for Greek or Roman demigods. Only for Norse. Since the kind of dabble in other worlds and stuff. These kind of things become normal if you're raised with them, you know? After all, my uncle is a relic hunter. And he only became obsessed with the job after moving in here. Guess he found some of our rarer belongings."

"Yeah, but _why_ do you have this stuff?", asked Joe and threw her hands in the air.

"Samuel the First, knight of the round table, took the sword into... uh... custody after King Arthur's untimely passing. For safe keeping. Safe keeping became... a thing, for the Raser family. Demigods from other old families started to seek us to protect their treasures", explained Sam casually before taking a spoon full of sauce to turn and hold it up in front of Derek's mouth. "Taste."

Derek more than eagerly obeyed, laying one arm around Sam's waist to pull his lover closer. Stumbling, Sam nearly fell. If not for Trend, who caught Sam and pulled him onto his waist.

"Delicious", purred Derek, eyes wandering over Sam's body.

"I think I'll have to take a closer look at your library", declared Trend, kissing Sam's neck.

"I second that idea", agreed Thea wide-eyed. "There must be treasures in it!"

"Not tonight!", interrupted Donny with a frown, waving his arms around. "It's New Year's Eve and I forbid you to have your noses in any books! No, no, no! Food, games and fun!"

Sara and Phyl giggled and nodded in agreement while preparing the salad. After all, they really hadn't come all the way to England with a hellhound to read. Nico and Joe also made agreeing noises while setting the table. Marshall watched them with amused eyes.

"What are we going to play?", asked Derek to distract them before they murdered the Athena kids.

"No matter what, I'm gonna kick your asses", declared Sam confidently and grinned.

"Mythomagic?", offered Donny with a teasing smile.

"Seconded!", exclaimed Sander excitedly.

"Haven't played a good strategic game in a while", shrugged Trend thoughtful.

"But can we, like, maybe eat first?", asked Joe with a glare. "Haven't eaten all day because I was promised a really, really delicious feast here, ya know?"

Nico smiled the tiniest smile as she ran her fingers through Joe's freshly dyed fire-red hair to pacify her. The glare melted from Joe's face as she tilted her head enough to plant a kiss on Nico's lips.

/break\

Donny was sitting between Sander's legs, a plate on his on lap as he fed himself and Sander occasionally. They were on the ground on the large furry rug in front of the fire place, in a circle with all others. Derek was on one of their sides, next to Sammy who was stuck between Derek and Trend, the son of Ares being red from both sides and looking utterly pleased by that. On Donny's and Sander's other side were Herc and Thea, followed by Joe and Nico, then Marshall and Sara. Between Sara and Trend sat Phyl, taking animatedly with Derek over both his boyfriends.

"So, you and Erik looked really... cozy on the Sonny wedding", teased Derek for the tenth time.

Once again, Phyl blushed brightly at the accusation before averting her eyes and focusing on her salad instead. Donny giggled a little, turning more toward Derek. Sander didn't mind too much, he was busy talking to Herc anyway, he just kept one leisure arm wrapped around Donny's waist.

"I did see them dancing on my wedding, but... did anything more happen?", asked Donny eagerly.

"Well, there is about an hour where both of them are... unaccounted for", drawled Derek out with a mischievous smirk. "I know because bella Stella was looking for Erik to occupy Jonas' mind for a little while so she could have a bit of one on one time with Victor. Threesome relationships, so complicated to get some one on one time." At this, Derek paused to heave an over-dramatic sigh and glare pointedly at Trend. "Anyway, no Erik to be found anywhere. Very suspicious."

Trend rolled his eyes fondly, knowing that Derek was just teasing. To tease back, the blonde started kissing and nibbling Sam's neck. Donny snorted amused by those three. Honestly, he wouldn't know how to deal with three people in a relationship. He was having a hard enough time dealing with one boyfriend – husband – as it was. How did one split their attention onto two lovers...?

"Well, Philly, where _were_ you?", asked Sam teasingly.

"Yeah. Who's that fella that got your attention?", agreed Joe loudly, waving her fork. "Gotta meet him. Did I meet him? Purgatory, help me outta here. I don't remember their names."

Nico looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging a little lost. "Sorry. No idea. There were too many Greeks on that wedding and I was distracted by you in a dress..."

"Erik is your brother, right, Shally?", asked Sara with a grin, turning toward her boyfriend.

Marshall grunted in confirmation, nodding slowly. "Erik is a good kid. Strong fighter."

"Oh. So little Philly got herself her own war boy, eh?", teased Joe, throwing a crouton at her.

Phyl dodged it, her cheeks aflame. "N—Nothing happened! I as feeling rather lightheaded from the champagne and Erik was an utter gentleman by taking a little walk with me so I got a bit fresh air."

"Somehow that is even better than the dirty things in my mind", stated Thea surprised, blinking.

"So... you gonna see him again?", asked Herc and wiggled his eyebrows teasingly.

Phyl groaned and hit her face in her hands, while whispering about how awful it was to have friends. Donny, being the only one to have mercy on her, started to set everything for their game seeing as all that was left of their grand dinner was finger-food and semi-cold left overs that were being eaten throughout the night. Sam took that as his sign, so he got up and grabbed Trend and Marshall to follow him toward the alcohol cabinet and the wine cellar to arm themselves.

"Erik is a good guy", stated Sam casually as the three returned with the alcohol.

"More details", ordered Nico, making a hither motion with one hand.

"Son of Enyo, his father is from... Denmark, if I remember that correctly, sixteen years old, good with a sword, I was dating him, uh, three years ago, then Derek was dating him right afterward. Honestly, didn't know he also went for girls. Then again, ninety percent of demigods are like pansexual, because straight or gay are a bit too limited for the kids of those who used to fuck as animals and stuff", replied Sam with a snort as he sat down and opened a bottle of red wine. "He definitely does have a type though. Gorgeous brunettes, eh, guys?"

The shit-eating grin on his face made everyone in the room laugh and helped Phyl relax a little. "Maybe... Maybe I did enjoy the night. But with the holidays and all, there wasn't even time to think about this, or such a thing. Honestly, I've never thought about... dating."

"But now you're thinking about dating? And about Erik?", asked Thea softly, not teasingly.

"I don't know?", shrugged Phyl helplessly, pushing her hair behind her ear and ducking her head. "Perhaps? Maybe? It'd be nice to at least go on like... one date?"

Sam laughed as he saw her embarrassed face before he reached out and ruffled her hair. "Man, you're adorable. If I was straight, I'd totally be dating you myself, girl."

"...That is an awful horror scenario", muttered Derek mortified, shuddering.

"There's probably a parallel universe where Sam's straight", offered Donny to poke the dragon some more, a wicked look on his face. "Totally straight and not interested in guys _at all_. Dating some pretty, sweet girl like Phyl – maybe even Phyl – while you're an old cat lady."

"I hate you, di Angelo", hissed Derek and tackled Donny.

The two boys laughed and rolled around on the ground for a little while, wrestling playfully until Derek had Donny pinned on the ground, glaring down at him viciously. Until Trend leaned down from above, sighed and picked Derek up like he was a kitten, carrying him back to Sam.

"Do not manhandle me, Austin", exclaimed Derek agitated, wiggling around.

Donny watched the scene with fond and amused eyes before he crawled back toward Sander and curled together on his husband's lap. Derek stopped bitching as soon as he was dumped in Sam's lap. Sighing softly, Donny rested his cheek on Sander's chest.

"2032 was great", whispered Donny below his breath.

"Mh? You think so?", asked Thea and looked up at him with soft eyes.

The laughter and conversation around them died down a little as everyone settled to pick up their cards and prepare everything for the game at hand, their attention somewhat on Donny. For a second, Donny tried to find the right words, while Sander caressed his curls tenderly.

"It was... an intense year. A good year. I gained all those friends and... and I gained you, San", continued Donny with loving eyes, leaning up to kiss Sander. "I'm a married man now."

Sander hummed into their kiss before adjusting some. "Okay now, let's start this game.

/diary|entry\

_Long time no write. It's New Year's Eve, the last few hours of 2032 and my friends are busy debating the rules of Mythomagic. Who would have thought Trend is such a sour loser and a nitpicker on top of that, huh? So I figured while they're researching Mythomagic rules – Nico is IMing her dad and Trend is legitimately consulting my dad, which will not end well for him because my dad does not appreciate when someone interrupts his time with mom – I thought I'd use the time for one last journal entry in the year 2032. To, I dunno, reminiscent on the year or something?_

_So, yeah. 2032 was a hell of a ride, I guess?_

_When Bia joined the hunt last year, it broke something inside of me. I mean, I've been fighting with depression since I was six, but Bia was always my pillar, the one person I trusted most. When she left, I felt like she had left me, personally. Over the following year, I crumbled more and more, bit by bit. I was in a really bad place by the time 2032 rolled around. Like, really bad._

_I remember last New Year's Eve. The day itself was a good one, I had a good day. Those happen. That's the thing about depression. Even when you're really down, there can be a good day in between. And that day was one of them, because I was included in a big New Year's party. I wasn't invited as a friend, more as an... add on. But Sander had asked me to come and being with Sander was one of the few things that made me happy, because after our sisters joined the hunt together, the two of us started to grow closer. But aside from Sander, I really only had Thea at that day._

_Now, one year later, and I am spending the night with eleven of my best friends. I have friends. I have a lot of friends by now. Not just those I'm spending tonight with. I have even more friends. I'm part of a team. Well, two teams, I guess. The gardening club and the cheerleading team._

_And all of this started with this very book, I guess. The journal where mom and dad wanted me to write my feelings into, that made me reflect on my feelings for Sander. Or, well, made me realize I had feelings for Sander to begin with. Which then motivated me to train and become stronger, to impress Sander. Which then led to me being nominated quest leader. Which then brought me closer to those I now consider friends and in the end, got me and Sander together as a couple. And now I'm married to Sander. I am married to my oldest friend._

_I made friends. I found love. I got married. I saved the seasons and thus the world. I went to Tartarus and back to save a friend. But most of all, and probably the reason any of those things happened, I gained a boost of self-confidence. I started to believe in myself, I started seeing a... worth to myself, something I had lost so, so many years ago that I forgot about it._

_So much has happened this year and I'm just... so grateful._

/entry|end\

"Donny. Don-Don? Try not sleeping and missing out on the new year, princess."

Donny looked up doe-eyed to find Sam leaning over his shoulder, grinning amused. Tough there was some hidden sadness in his eyes, indicating that Sam had read through the entry. Blushing embarrassed, Donny closed his journal and got up to follow Sam outside. Nico and Joe were setting up the fireworks while Thea was preparing champagne for everyone to toast to the new year.

"How long was I writing?", asked Donny a bit disturbed.

"Well, after Trend was getting a bit too smug about being right and being backed up by your dad, we wanted to continue with the game, but you seemed a bit distracted, so we figured we'd just start setting everything up for the nearing midnight. It's ten minutes to the end of year, so I was send to poke you out of your writing trance. Give or take twenty minutes, if I had to guess a time."

Donny nodded in understanding and shivered a little at the cold, chilly air. It wasn't cold for long, because Sander stepped up to them and laid his hooded jacket over Donny's shoulders, grinning down at his husband and kissing his cheek. Donny sighed contently, inhaling the intoxicating scent of his husband while leaning back against Sander's comfortable chest.

"Come, come!", ordered Herc with a broad grin, waving at them.

Everyone was slowly settling on the deck chairs in the garden, where Sara was currently putting fluffy blankets out so they wouldn't freeze to death while watching the fireworks. Sam left Sander and Donny behind in favor of cuddling up between Trend and Derek on one of the deck chairs.

"C'mon, let's join them", whispered Sander and guided Donny over.

Together, they settled down in the chair next to Trend, Derek and Sam, stretching out and getting comfortable. Soon after, they were handed champagne flutes by a brightly grinning Thea.

"Okay, countdown time, guys", announced Sara loudly and very excited.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...", started all of them to chant at once, slowly getting up to stand in a circle and hold their flutes up into the air. "Five, four, three, two, one... Happy new year!"

Glass hit glass and they all cheered while fireworks erupted in the sky. Nico and Joe sneaked away for only a moment to fire their own colorful pictures into the sky before returning for all the hugging and kissing. The first kiss Donny received was from Sander, with strong arms around his waist, lips soft and tender and conveying all the love possible. His second and third kiss were on the cheeks and from Thea. The fourth one was a full frontal attack from Sam, causing Trend and Derek to uproar in disagreement and Sander to stutter and blush.

"Well, the year kicked off amusing enough", snorted Herc amused.

"What? Want one too, Grace?", asked Sam teasingly and challengingly at once.

Herc was reduced to an embarrassed, stuttering mess and everyone laughed at him. Once everyone had hugged, kissed and wished each other a happy new year, they settled back down on the deck chairs to enjoy the show in the sky. Of course, Nico's and Joe's was the most impressive, but the village close by was painting the sky in beautiful colors too. Donny sighed contently as he rested his ear against Sander's heart, listening to the excited beat, sea-green eyes observing the awe on Sander's face. This was his now. His husband, his friends, his _life_. And he couldn't be happier.

_~*~ The End ~*~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. The end. "Chasing Fireflies" is now officially over. Wow. I kinda can't believe it. Especially not considering that it started out as a short, maybe like 5 chapter story that I mainly wrote for myself. That so many others enjoyed it with me and fell in love with the characters I created; that means the world. And I'd like to thank you all for your support throughout the years. Now, just because this story ends doesn't mean this universe ends. In my Headcanon Timeline, you can still see a lot of stories marked down that aren't linked yet because they aren't written - and knowing me, there will be more to come. I can tell you that the next one to fill the timeline will be the story of how Luke and Thess got together - but I can't tell you when it'll be done, so keep your eyes peeled for "Charmed by a Siren".
> 
> My next update is going to be "Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades" on Wednesday.
> 
> I do hope to see you guys around in either one of my other open stories or my coming stories. Thanks for the love. ;)


End file.
